The Reflecting Pool Farce

The saga of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool started out as a sort of humorous sideshow to much more serious antics by cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump. However, it has morphed into a microcosm of all that is wrong with Trump and his administration. Trump is corrupt, incompetent, unwilling to accept responsibility for his failures, and a consummate liar. He has demonstrated all of these characteristics when it has come to refinishing the Reflecting Pool, a prized project of his that has blown up in his face.

First, some background. The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was opened in 1922. It is fair to say that its original construction was somewhat shoddy. It was built on marshland and dredged material from the Potomac, resulting in the bottom sinking and cracking in places. This led to the pool constantly leaking. There was no means for filtering the water. As a result, it filled with bird droppings, trash, and dirt. In a 2012 article, the Boston Globe described the Reflecting Pool as a "fetid wreck."

During the administration of former President Barack Obama, a $30 million project was undertaken to sink pilings under the floor of the pool and to install a state-of-the-art filtering system. However, this failed to completely resolve the issues with algae growth in the pool. Officials identified the cause of the problem as being broken or faulty pipes that feed water into that filter and decided that these pipes would need to be replaced. However, that project was determined to be too expensive and put off.

As I have previously written, during Trump's second term, he has demonstrated that he would rather be "Bob the Builder" than President. From the start of his second term, Trump has focused on building, rebuilding, or renovating a number of projects in Washington, DC. Trump has consistently refused to follow any rules, seek authorization, or even consult anyone outside his small group of yes-men confidants. When the Reflecting Pool caught Trump's eye, he did not act any differently.

Trump tends to fixate on how things look rather than how they work. In the case of the Reflecting Pool, the issue needing attention was the pipes. Trump, however, wanted the Reflecting Pool, which had purposely been designed to be a neutral grayish color in order to provoke contemplation and to better serve as a reflective surface, to be vivid blue to match swimming pools. This was the opposite of the original design intent of the pool.

As is Trump's tendency, he ignored legally required review processes. He did not adhere to the National Historic Preservation Act or the National Environmental Policy Act. There was no public comment period or any other process to solicit feedback on the project.

In addition, Trump did not follow government procurement laws when choosing contractors for the project. Legally, Trump was required to solicit multiple bids, allowing vendors to compete for contracts with the one that could do the best work for the lowest cost being selected. Instead, Trump awarded no-bid contracts to firms to which he had connections. A $6.9 million contract went to Atlantic Industrial Coatings, which had previously done work at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia. Trump told reporters that "I have a guy who’s unbelievable at doing swimming pools." A firm named — somewhat ironically in view of the algae-filled water that has subsequently colored the pool green — Greenwater Services received a $1.7 million contract. This firm is owned by John J. Cafaro, a donor to Mr. Trump and a neighbor to Mar-a-Lago. Cafaro had previously been involved in bribing a Congressman. The New York Times reported that Greenwater Services was likely selected by David Schutzenhofer, the general manager of Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. Schutzenhofer has been an unpaid advisor on the project.

When the refinishing was completed, the pool immediately filled with algae, turning the water green. This became the source of a number of jokes and Internet memes. This outcome was not only predictable but predicted. The Reflecting Pool started to be refilled on June 5. More than three weeks earlier, on May 11, the New York Times published an article saying:

They also show that Mr. Trump’s plan does not address one of the pool’s main problems: faulty plumbing in its filtration system. As a result, experts said it was unclear if Mr. Trump’s pool would remain blue — or if it would soon be obscured by a recurring layer of green algae.

“Painting is not going to solve that problem,” said Tim Auerhahn, the chairman of the Aquatic Council, a consulting firm for the pool and hot-tub industry.

When, as expected, algae caused the water to turn green, National Park Service employees dumped gallons of hydrogen peroxide into the water and used skimmers to attempt to remove the algae. This had a limited effect, somewhat solving the problem on the edges but leaving algae in the middle. Looking at a live shot of the Reflecting Pool, I can see a wide, wavy streak of green down the center of the pool right now.

Another problem occurred when the polyurea covering used to color the pool blue began to come off. In some places, the coating simply peeled off. In others, chunks of it detached and floated to the surface. Trump blamed this on vandals who he said had used a knife or box cutter to carve a slice, which Trump has variously described as 250, 300, or 350 feet long, into the polyurea. Simply put, Trump is lying. There is no evidence, despite a great many reporters attempting to find some, that there was such a cut.

For instance, the New York Times investigated the alleged cuts and, according to its report:

But government documents obtained by The New York Times show that while National Park Service workers found two cuts in sections of foam between the pool’s expansion joints, those were not directly related to the “American flag blue” coating that is now peeling, or to the algae that has turned the pool a bright shade of green.

The Times further reported:

Park Service workers discovered holes, cracks and peeling caulking in parts of the pool, along with cuts in sections of the foam, according to the documents.

The cause of the cuts was unclear. While a June 9 report by the U.S. Park Police described the cuts as “razor blade slashes” made along a 20-foot-long stretch of the foam, the administration has yet to present evidence supporting that assertion. The documents reviewed by The Times described them as two 171-foot blade cuts but did not address how they were made.

It is important to clarify that these cuts were in foam between the pool’s expansion joints, not the blue polyurea covering. These are two different materials.

There is simply no evidence of long cuts in the polyurea as Trump has claimed. NPS has repeatedly been asked by reporters to provide photos or video to support Trump's allegations and has failed to do so. In a declaration by Frank Lands, the NPS Deputy Director of Operations, submitted as part of a lawsuit attempting to stop Trump's renovations, Lands stated:

On June 9, 2026, after the rehabilitation project was substantially complete, the U.S. Park Police responded to an NPS report of damage to the reflecting pool, including a caulk over the foam sealant that was cut with a sharp knife or razor and destruction of delaminating surface material. In addition, approximately 70 fence post tops were thrown into the pool.

If you read this carefully, this alleges two types of damage: 1) cuts in caulk over foam sealant; and 2) destruction of delaminating surface. The first is consistent with the New York Times report that there were cuts in the foam. The second does not allege that vandals caused the "surface material" — which we can assume to be the blue polyurea — to come off. Rather, it claims that already detached polyurea was destroyed. In other words, individuals may have torn off pieces of floating polyurea. This is consistent with reports that people were taking chunks of the polyurea as souvenirs. It is also probably worth stressing that no cause for the cuts in the caulking is cited.

While Trump has repeatedly claimed that several individuals have been arrested for vandalism of the Reflecting Pool, administration and NPS officials have refused to provide court documents reflecting such cases. One known arrest was of David Hearn, a three-time US Olympic canoeist. Hearn was charged with destruction of property. However, he told ABC News that:

I saw a piece of this loose end of this blue coating … I reached out and touched the end of that piece that was loose but still attached to the bottom. I was able to reach out and touch the edge of that that was still attached at the bottom and handled it a little bit … I did not remove, I did not damage, I did not rip, tear, break, destroy or harm any part of the Reflecting Pool

A second person known to have been arrested in the vicinity of the Reflecting Pool is Christian Miles. He was charged with violating a federal obscenity law because he protested a group of Oklahoma state troopers guarding the Reflecting Pool. Miles plans to fight the charges in court.

On Wednesday, the United States Park Police issued a "BOLO" or be on the lookout for an unidentified woman who is being sought as part of a "Destruction of Government Property investigation." Video provided with the BOLO showed a woman kneeling next to the Reflecting Pool with her arm in the water. She seems to tug or jerk for a few seconds and then pulls out something 4 or 5 inches square and puts it in a bag she was carrying. She appears to be one of the "souvenir hunters" about which there have been reports.

Journalist Jim Acosta filmed a video report of a walk around the Reflecting Pool searching for damage. In his report, he said:

You can see whole sections of the bottom of the Reflecting Pool where the paint has just come off of that bottom. It is just not there anymore. In part because they just did such a shoddy job down here that the paint has literally disintegrated in sections of this Reflecting Pool. You can't see a slit. There are no slits.

Trump's claim that someone cut the polyurea with a knife even contradicts a statement he previously made about the strength of the material. In May, he told journalists that "If you had a knife, you can't even cut it. It's so strong, so powerful, it's like powerful rubber." Trump's original claim may have been true. So far, there is no evidence that anyone cut the "powerful rubber" with a knife. There is evidence that it has simply detached itself from the floor and floated to the surface.

In it's report, the New York Times quoted Anthony Flett, the chief executive of U.S. Coating Specialists, a Florida-based company that specializes in waterproofing coatings as saying as blaming poor installation of the polyurea:

If they put more material down, maybe none of this would be an issue.

There’s people in the pool industry whose whole life is polyurea, and they should have been called in. They should have been there to watch over the project to make sure that these failures weren’t prevalent. I think it was just done too hastily.

It should also be noted that during the application of the polyurea, Trump had his convoy drive through the empty Reflecting Pool so that he could inspect the project. The armored SUVs that accompany Trump probably weigh at least 2 tons each and there were several of them. They drove directly across the recently applied polyurea. This may well be the source of some of the damage.

Now, the Reflecting Pool has been fenced off with signs saying, "Danger Explosives." It's an indication of what our country has become that it is not inconceivable that Trump has created a minefield around the Reflecting Pool to protect it from imaginary vandals. That's probably not the case, but what's the deal with the signs? Trump was hoping to have a beautiful blue pool that reminded him of Mar-a-Lago's swimming pool to impress visitors on the 4th of July. Now, it appears that, instead, there will be a fenced-off area which visitors will avoid due to fear of explosives.

To summarize, what has happened with the Reflecting Pool is textbook Trump. He ignored federal laws and standard processes that would have likely avoided the resulting problems. Instead, he relied on contractors to whom he has personal ties. The work was done poorly. When problems appeared, he blamed others. The buck never stops with Trump. Most dangerously, however, is the now standard White House practice of backfilling reality to fit Trump's claims. Trump blamed non-existent vandals and, therefore, authorities have been in search of so-called vandals to arrest. As a result, the police are arresting people for simply sticking their hands in the water.