Trump gives 'filthy' Reflecting Pool a facelift near Lincoln Memorial
Trump gives 'filthy' Reflecting Pool a facelift near Lincoln Memorial
Bart Jansen, USA TODAYThu, April 23, 2026 at 9:47 PM UTC
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WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump unveiled a project to restore the Reflecting Pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, after hearing complaints about the filthy water and leaking foundation.
Trump said the Biden administration had studied replacing the iconic pool’s granite but never embarked on the project estimated to cost $301 million and to last more than three years.
Instead, Trump said contractors would sandblast, caulk and resurface the bottom like an industrial-grade pool for an estimated $1.5 million and be finished in a few weeks.
“A fraction of the cost and a fraction of the time, and you’ll get a better product,” Trump told reporters April 23 in the Oval Office during an event on drug prices.
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Construction work has been stopped on President Trump's White House Ballroom on the site of the former East Wing of the White House on April 1, 2026 in Washington, DC. A federal judge has temporarily blocked construction of the new ballroom "unless and until Congress blesses this project."
Trump has been sprucing up the capital city as a showcase for World Cup soccer games in June and July, and the country’s 250th anniversary on July 4. He is also building a $400 million ballroom for the White House and proposing a triumphal arch on an island in the Potomac River.
Trump noted that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke in front of the Reflecting Pool in 1963 in front of 1 million people, delivering his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech. Trump said he gave a speech there, too, during his first term and he disputed crowd estimates of 25,000, saying his audience was probably larger than King’s.
“I had the same exact crowd and maybe a little bit more,” Trump said.
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President Donald Trump shows an image as he speaks about renovations at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool during a healthcare affordability event in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 23, 2026.
The Reflecting Pool was built in 1922. Trump described it as an odd shape: 2,200 feet long, 167 feet wide and about 1.5 to 2 feet deep.
Trump said granite and other stones used to construct it weren’t the best for holding water, like the hundreds of swimming pools he built as a real estate developer.
“It was leaking like a sieve,” Trump said.
The president added that he inspected the pool after hearing from a friend visiting from Germany who called the appearance “sad.”
“He said it’s filthy, dirty, the water is disgusting looking,” Trump said. “It’s not representative of the country.”
The Reflecting Pool, near the Lincoln Memorial and along the National Mall, is boarded up as it undergoes renovations in Washington, D.C., on April 16, 2026.
When a contractor working on the project asked what color he would like for the bottom, Trump said he suggested “turquoise, like in the Bahamas.” But Trump said the individual quickly persuaded him to choose the color: “American flag blue.”
“That’s the color I like,” Trump said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump gives 'filthy' Reflecting Pool a facelift on National Mall
Source: “AOL Breaking”
