President Donald Trump is blaming the shocking deterioration of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool following his multi-million renovation on an unverified act of vandalism.
“We’ve cleaned, renovated, and beautified over 45 Monuments and Memorials, 28 Statues, and 22 Fountains in Washington,D.C.,” the president, 80, wrote via his social media platform Truth Social on Friday, June 19. “Things are really looking good in our Nation’s Capital, and add to that the fact that when I became president, Crime was rampant, and now, Washington, D.C., is one of the Safest Cities anywhere in the United States.”
Trump continued, “However, we’ve had some real problems with Vandalism at the beautiful Reflecting Pool, which sits between The Washington Monument and The Lincoln Memorial. Just like three days ago, they destroyed the grass outside of the Pool, they’ve also done everything possible to hurt the inside surface that was just installed.”
The president previously ordered an estimated $15 million renovation of the pool in time for the country’s 250th birthday celebration. After its ordered completion, the pool appeared to be “rejecting” it’s so-called makeover, The New York Times reported. According to the outlet, the bottom of the pool is peeling, creating “chunks of coating” and islands of “American flag blue” patches in the pool.
The peeling issue comes after renovators attempted to tackle an algae problem that turned what should be crystal-clear blue water a murky, acid-like green.
“They’ve been out here for days,” Alex Hobe, a food delivery driver who spoke to The New York Times said, adding that from his point of view the president’s expensive renovation project is “a complete failure.”
