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WASHINGTON (AP) — In a surprising move on Thursday, President Donald Trump made an unexpected visit to the Lincoln Memorial, where he inspected the Reflecting Pool, now sporting a hue he dubs “American flag blue.”
Trump didn’t just observe the transformation; he was driven across the newly colored surface before stepping out of his SUV to deliver remarks and respond to questions from the press, who had been gathered there ahead of his sunset arrival.
The Reflecting Pool’s new blue finish replaces its previous gray stone, a shade Trump criticized as “never good.” He stated that the renovation carried a price tag of nearly $2 million.
“It never had the color people wanted, but now it’s going to have the great color,” Trump declared, addressing the media while standing in the pool flanked by several Cabinet members, including Doug Burgum from Interior and Markwayne Mullin from Homeland Security.
Trump’s critique of color isn’t new. Last year, he expressed dissatisfaction with the gray granite facade of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, adjacent to the White House, labeling it a “really bad color.” Now, he proposes covering it in white paint, a suggestion currently under review by two federal agencies.
Trump said he is also working on the memorial to President Abraham Lincoln itself, but he offered no specifics, saying only that “we have a beautiful plan” in mind.
Work has been underway at the memorial for the past few years on an underground visitors’ center scheduled to open in June.
Trump last month announced the reflecting pool renovation during an unrelated Oval Office appearance. He said he was inspired by the complaints of a friend visiting from Germany, who he said told him the water in the pool was dark, filthy, and looked disgusting.
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.
Critics have said Trump is spending too much time and attention on his pet projects and not enough on issues that voters care about, like the cost of living, in the run-up to the November elections. Others have said he wants the reflecting pool to look more like an actual swimming pool.
Trump lashed out when a reporter asked why he was focused on the Reflecting Pool, given U.S. military action in Iran. He said several truckloads of garbage had been hauled away after it was removed from the pool and said, “Our country is about beauty, cleanliness, safety, great people. Not a filthy capital.”
“We’re fixing up the reflecting pond to the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument and you say, ‘Why are you fixing it up?’” Trump continued. “Because you can understand dirt maybe better than I can, but I don’t allow it.”