Even President Donald Trump admits that his pet project to “restore” the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has failed miserably.
In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump commented on the sad state of the Reflecting Pool after he ordered a hasty $14 million project to paint it “American Flag Blue.”
“Work will begin immediately on fixing the seriously vandalized Reflecting Pool. I just inspected it, and could only say to myself, and those gathered around me, WOW, who would do such a thing?” the president, 80, wrote. “SICK, DERANGED PEOPLE! We will fix it?”
It’s unclear how Trump “inspected” the pool, though the president shared his social media post shortly after returning to the White House following his weekend visit to Camp David in Maryland. The president may have viewed the pool from above while aboard Marine One. He was later seen returning to the White House by vehicle.
The White House did not immediately return the Daily Beast’s request for comment.
Trump’s pet project—which was originally estimated to cost $1.8 million—has become a disaster, as his vow to renovate the D.C. landmark has led to one of the pool’s worst algae blooms in years.
Within days of the pool’s reopening after its basin was repainted, the water turned a swampy green from algal growth.
Workers have tried to offset the bloom by removing the algae and pouring hydrogen peroxide into the water, though witnesses have reported that blue paint flakes have floated to the surface of the pool.
The president has blamed the catastrophic “renovation” on vandals, and said on his social media platform that “multiple individuals” have been arrested in connection with the alleged acts of vandalism.
In one post, Trump claimed that the alleged vandals “took some form of knife or blade, and put a 250 foot long gash into the beautiful facade of what took so much work, competence, and money to build and complete.”
Trump’s top federal prosecutor in Washington, Jeanine Pirro, echoed the president’s claims of vandalism, warning against those planning to use “serious products” to spawn algae in the pool.
“Anyone who is in a position of vandalizing or attempting to vandalize the Reflecting Pool will face the criminal justice system in D.C.,” the former Fox News personality, 75, said on the conservative network on Sunday.
