Kathrine Frich
Behind the jokes lies a messy repair job.
Home renovation projects have a nasty habit of spiralling out of control.
What starts as a quick weekend paint job can easily drag on for months and burn through ten times your original budget.
Now, one of America’s most famous landmarks has suffered that exact same headache.
Just kidding around
On Sunday, US President Donald Trump hinted at a surprise event after stepping off Air Force One in Iowa, according to the Irish Star.
He told reporters that visiting the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool would “show how beautiful it is.”
“We might hold it tomorrow or something,” he said, despite calling his Sunday night rally in Kansas “my last stop” before Tuesday’s midterm elections. Hours later, the White House locked in a Monday afternoon speech at the water.
When he took the microphone on Monday, the president immediately floated a bold rebrand. “I’m thrilled to announce the office opening of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, that we’re giving serious thought to changing the name to the Trump Reflecting Pool, we’ll announce that sometime tomorrow. I’m sure Secretary Doug Bergam will have a lot of fun in announcing that… I’m only kidding! I’m only kidding!” Trump said.
He quickly poked fun at the press. “Please don’t report it. They’ll cut it off and they’ll say, ‘he’s changing the name…'” Trump joked.
A troubled makeover
Behind the jokes lies a messy repair job. Back in April, the president promised his chosen builders could repaint the basin before Independence Day in a few days for about $1.5 million, the Irish Star reported.
Nothing went to plan. After workers unveiled the pool in June, green algae bloomed and the new “American flag blue” lining started peeling. Crews had to drain the basin for more repairs in mid-July, pushing the bill past $15 million.
While Trump insisted on Sunday that the pool “was vandalized badly,” federal prosecutors in Washington disagreed.
According to the Irish Star, the local US attorney’s office run by Trump ally Jeanine Pirro blamed shoddy workmanship, right after the Justice Department dropped charges against former Olympian David Hearn.
The pool is just one part of the president’s push to remodel Washington. He has already packed the Oval Office with gold trim, paved the Rose Garden into a Mar-a-Lago-style patio, knocked down the East Wing for a ballroom, and closed the Kennedy Center after failing to put his name on it.
