{"id":2068,"date":"2026-06-23T04:11:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T04:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2068"},"modified":"2026-06-23T04:11:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T04:11:13","slug":"the-latest-smelly-episode-in-trumps-embarrassing-reflecting-pool-saga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2068","title":{"rendered":"The latest smelly episode in Trump\u2019s embarrassing Reflecting Pool saga"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

In recent months, President Donald Trump\u2019s endeavor to clean the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has taken on an episodic quality as the project has raised controversy and encountered mounting problems. Now, a new odorous issue has been reported.<\/p>\n

Read more Analysis of Trump DOJ results pours cold water on his pledge to jail DC \u2018vandals\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAs they drain it,\u201d noted Joe Flood<\/u>, \u201cthe Reflecting Pool is starting to smell.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the weekend, Trump admitted that the pool would have to be drained to fix the peeling paint and algae blooms that have plagued his mission to have it \u201cAmerican Flag blue\u201d in time for the 4th of July. While many have suggested that the no-bid contractor his administration secured to do the job could be to blame, Trump has his own theories.<\/p>\n

According to the Guardian, \u201cTrump acknowledged \u2018real problems<\/u>\u2019 with the site, which he said he had examined himself, this week. He has not acknowledged any issues with the renovation he ordered, however. Instead, the president blamed the pool\u2019s woes on \u2018vandals\u2019, which he claimed had taken \u2018some form of knife or blade\u2019 and delivered a 250ft gash into the pool\u2019s facade. By Monday, when Trump was still posting about the site, this alleged damage had grown into a \u2018300 foot long gash\u2019. Reporters at the Washington Post who visited the pool on Sunday could see no evidence of such damage, it reported<\/u>, despite Trump\u2019s claims. Trump also claimed that unidentified vandals have poured \u2018corrosive and destructive chemicals\u2019 into the pool.\u201d <\/p>\n

No evidence has been provided of such claims, though as the Guardian notes, \u201cGovernment workers were seen pouring hydrogen peroxide into the water to tackle the algae.\u201d <\/p>\n

Read more CNN supercut lays bare Trump\u2019s embarrassing boasts about his doomed Reflecting Pool<\/a><\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s project dates back to April, when he announced that he\u2019d hired a contractor to coat its granite basin for $1.5 million. That cost quickly exploded to $14 million, and by mid-June $16 million<\/u>, and that was before the new draining and repairs to come. Early in the renovation, it was found that the White House had hired a no-bid contractor, and then last week, it was revealed that the company\u2019s owner was in fact a Trump donor and neighbor of Mar-a-Lago who the president had once called a \u201cfantastic man<\/u>.\u201d By that time, images of the pool turned bright green by algae had drawn no shortage of ridicule, and it was being reported that large flakes of paint or sealant were breaking loose. <\/p>\n

The president then declared that anyone caught vandalizing the pool would be given a 10-year prison sentence<\/u>, and since then several people have been arrested and cited for vandalizing the pool, though reporting has cast such allegations in a dubious light: \u201cIt\u2019s not clear if any committed acts of vandalism. Washington Post reporters witnessed people interacting with police after pulling objects from the water. Peeling paint has been floating on the surface at times.”<\/p>\n

A three-time U.S. Olympian and canoeist says he was arrested after noticing a partly detached piece of the blue liner and reaching into the water to touch it. “I didn\u2019t vandalize anything,” David Hearn, who had been cycling, told the Washington Post. “I didn\u2019t destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.”<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Give me a break\u2019: Even judges appointed by Trump are sick of his \u2018bad behavior\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In recent months, President Donald Trump\u2019s endeavor to clean the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has taken on an episodic quality as the project has raised controversy and encountered mounting problems. Now, a new odorous issue has been reported.\u201cAs they drain it,\u201d noted Joe Flood, \u201cthe Reflecting …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2067,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nThe latest smelly episode in Trump\u2019s embarrassing Reflecting Pool saga - Next Address America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2068\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The latest smelly episode in Trump\u2019s embarrassing Reflecting Pool saga - Next Address America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In recent months, President Donald Trump\u2019s endeavor to clean the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has taken on an episodic quality as the project has raised controversy and encountered mounting problems. 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