MUST SEE: Liberals Are Losing Their Minds After President Trump…

President Donald Trump launched a vigorous public defense on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, of his ongoing project to renovate and repaint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in what he has called American flag blue, pushing back against reports that revealed the no-bid contract for the work is costing $13.1 million, significantly more than the $1.8 million figure he had initially cited.

Trump wrote on Truth Social on May 12:

“Just like they covered my Landslide 2024 Presidential Election Victory inaccurately, and without shame, constantly making major mistakes and incorrect predictions at every path along the way, they are now trying to justify Obama and Biden’s expensively botched attempt at fixing the long broken, unsightly, and unsanitary Reflecting Pool that NOW sits majestically between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.”

Workers have applied a blue protective coating as part of the renovation project. The Reflecting Pool has long featured a gray basin. Trump said he expects the work to be finished within the next two weeks.

The project is another way for Trump to leave his mark on the city, following his demolition of the White House East Wing to build a large ballroom there.

The reflecting pool project, announced on April 23, is framed by the administration as a straightforward beautification and infrastructure repair that corrects decades of deferred maintenance and prepares the iconic Washington landmark for the nation’s 250th birthday celebrations this summer.

Trump told reporters he drew inspiration for the project from his days as a New York real estate developer, during which he estimated that he built more than 100 swimming pools.

He said it was essentially a pool surface and that he told one contractor to think of it as a swimming pool.

“You’re going to end up with a beautiful, beautiful reflecting pool, the way it’s supposed to be. Much better than it ever was, actually.”

Trump announced the project on April 23.

“In another couple of weeks, we’re going to have the most beautiful reflective pool between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial that you’ve ever seen,” he said, calling the work necessary because the pool was filthy, dirty, and leaked like a sieve for many years.

The leak problem is documented and not disputed. An Interior Department official confirmed that the pool leaks 16 million gallons of water per year, a structural failure that has been acknowledged for decades.

Trump said he is also working on the memorial to President Abraham Lincoln itself, but offered no specifics, saying only that “we have a beautiful plan in mind.”

Work has already been underway at the memorial for the past few years on an underground visitors’ center scheduled to open in June.

Trump said he was inspired by complaints from a friend visiting from Germany, who reportedly told him the water in the pool was dark, filthy, and disgusting.

The president initially said the renovation would cost $1.8 million, but federal records show a price tag more than seven times that amount.

Atlantic Industrial Coatings, a Virginia company, has been awarded a no-bid contract totaling $13.1 million for the project.

The Interior Department attributed the cost to the accelerated timeline required to complete the renovation in time for America’s 250th birthday celebrations.

Emergency mobilization to meet a compressed schedule generally costs more than a competitively bid project with a standard timeline.

Reports also highlighted that Atlantic Industrial Coatings previously performed work at Trump’s property in Sterling, Virginia, prompting conflict-of-interest concerns.

The Interior Department has not directly addressed that prior relationship.

From 2010 to 2012, the Obama administration oversaw a major reflecting pool renovation costing approximately $34 million.

That project took roughly two years.

The Trump-era renovation is projected to cost $13.1 million and be completed within weeks.

Trump lashed out when asked why he was focused on the Reflecting Pool while U.S. military action continued in Iran.

He said several truckloads of garbage had been hauled away after the pool was drained.

“Our country is about beauty, cleanliness, safety, great people. Not a filthy capital,” Trump said.

“We’re fixing up the reflecting pond to the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, and you say, ‘Why are you fixing it up?’ Because you can understand dirt maybe better than I can, but I don’t allow it.”

Trump’s motorcade also drove across the drained and coated pool basin on May 7, a visual that circulated widely on social media.

Officials also said the National Park Service is installing a state-of-the-art ozone nanobubbler filtration system and assigning a dedicated maintenance crew to manage wildlife and water quality.

The administration says the improvements will ensure the site remains functional and visually striking for generations.

Trump has framed the renovation as part of a broader effort to beautify Washington and address long-neglected infrastructure.

Critics argue the process matters as much as the aesthetics, especially when altering iconic national landmarks without broader consultation.

Senator John Fetterman publicly defended the project, dismissing criticism over the increased price tag.

“Stop this henpecking,” Fetterman said.

Trump has repeatedly argued his approach treats the reflecting pool like a highly sophisticated swimming pool, allowing faster and cheaper repairs.

“It’s much more beautiful than it was new because it never had the color people wanted, but now it’s going to have the great color,” Trump said.

“So it’s going to be good.”