The site of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool started as a stretch of land called Kidwell Flats. Only back in the early 20th century, it wasn’t so much “land” as a mosquito swamp. So the Army Corps of Engineers dumped 12 million cubic yards of Potomac river mud on top of it. That’s what the original asphalt and tile pool was built on — riverbed mud. The integrity of the structure has been leaking, sinking, and failing since it was first completed in 1923. Bandaids were thrown on it periodically, but it wasn’t until the Obama administration that the underlying problem was actually addressed. The pool was rebuilt, it was expensive ($34 million), and algae still bloomed once it was reopened. Still, I give Obama a lot of credit for finally tackling the necessary, costly renovations. As for the algae, the particular depth of the stagnant water combined with the DC climate is all but an invitation for cyanobacteria to go hog wild in there.
So, do I similarly give the current president a pass on algae blooming immediately after his renovations? NO, I do not! Because as per usual, President Dumbf–k’s changes were all surface no substance, enacted brazenly without federal oversight, and undertaken with pernicious, politicized commentary. Trump has constantly framed the latest pool refurbishments as fixing what Obama didn’t do right, so for it all to blow up in Don’s face in such neon fashion is exactly what he deserves. I was all set to write about just how vast this algae bloom is, when lo and behold, another problem emerged: the new blue-hued lining is already peeling. After only two weeks.
Cracks in the system: Some blue material at the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is peeling off, days after the pool was painted blue and refilled as part of a multi-million dollar renovation ordered by President Donald Trump. On Thursday at the National Mall, CNN observed a flap of blue material that was partially attached to the bottom in one area of the pool and floating toward the top. It is unclear if the material is paint or sealant, and it’s unclear what caused it to come up. The Department of the Interior did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The renovator responds… kind of: Shown pictures and videos of the materials, Eddie Wood, who owns Atlantic Industrial Coatings, the Virginia-based firm hired to renovate the pool, said the images do not provide enough information “to tell exactly what that is.” “There’s several things that we’ve got to address when we come back for maintenance, and anything like that will be addressed, if it’s a problem,” Wood said.
An expert weighs in: Tim Auerhahn, a pool infrastructure expert and the chairman of the Aquatic Council, said it’s difficult to tell from the videos what was causing the “apparent delamination.” “A coating system can fail for several reasons, including substrate preparation, surface contamination, application conditions, adhesion issues, product selection, mechanical damage, environmental exposure, or a combination of factors,” Auerhahn said. The larger question, he added, is whether this represents a localized issue in that part of the pool or a larger, more systemic issue with the coating. “If the coating is losing adhesion in multiple locations, that could indicate a more significant concern,” he said.
The algae of it all: But it didn’t take long for many of the same issues to resurface. Not long after the newly renovated pool was filled with water earlier this month, algae again discolored the water. Earlier this week, in an apparent effort to remediate that discoloration, workers were seen pouring jugs of hydrogen peroxide into the pool and deployed what an Interior spokesperson described as “advanced nanobubbler technology.” As of Thursday afternoon, the pool was still green in large sections, with algae visible.
What?! The advanced nanobubbler technology didn’t work?? Not the “state of the art ozone nanobubbler filtration” the Department of Interior has been touting?? Surely you jest?!! Ok, I’ve since learned that nanobubble technology is a real thing, but I also can’t be the only one who heard “nanobubbles” and immediately conjured an image of farting in the bathtub. Also, c’mon, it’s just plain funny sounding! “The nanobubbler is malfunctioning!!” (Yes, I am a child. No, I do not apologize for that.) As for the work done by Trump’s handpicked pool guy under a $14 million no-bid contract already falling apart… if you’re surprised, the joke’s on you. There have always been structural issues with the Reflecting Pool; not one of them has ever been that the water wasn’t “American-flag blue” enough. The one thing the pool is accurately reflecting right now is the ineptitude of this administration. If the hydrogen peroxide somehow turns out to be the culprit for the lining falling apart, I call Bingo.
>Give $14M no-bid contract to your friend to paint the pool blue
>Pool turns green anyway because algae grows in warm stagnant water
>Pour hydrogen peroxide into the pool to kill the algae
>The hydrogen peroxide peels off the blue paint https://t.co/QGJoHWioPz— Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) June 18, 2026
Went back to the reflecting pool with a waterproof camera. Here’s what it looks like underwater where a section has peeled up and was removed. pic.twitter.com/jWS9LtGGZE
— Andrew Leyden (@PenguinSix) June 19, 2026
I’m sorry, no. This is not the guy who did the reflecting pool. No. Come on. We’re just putting a hat on a hat here.
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/18/u…— Philip Bump (@pbump.com) June 18, 2026 at 9:50 PM
One more thing for the magas to chalk up to a conspiracy against their dear leader. (Though, as a person with a small garden pond, I do feel sorry for the people who have to keep the algae out of there without any plants or anything to help).
Smash it up like the East Wing!!!
I was alive in 1976 for the bicentennial. I was so proud and excited. Now I just want to see it all burn down.
They don’t deserve it.
Yeah, ten bucks says drumph uses this as an excuse to just rip up another American landmark.
For God’s sake, do not give him any more bad ideas.
Yeah, he’ll probably pave it over as he did the Rose Garden.
I’m surprised he didn’t want it covered in a gold filigree from you know, his gold guy.
You mean Michael’s Art Supplies? Looks like he had them buy all that shit, tacky spray it bright gold, and had it tack onto the walls (in almost every square inch)
How are they SO bad at this? Absolutely everything he touches gets ruined. He starts one project, it goes badly so he just shrugs and moves on to ruining the next thing.
Because THEY CAN. Until someone holds them accountable and prosecutes all of them to the max, this will continue to go on. So much of our democracy used to rely on ethical leadership (see Obama Center opening post). No mas!
That’s just it, there are laws in place–like NEPA, for one–where this stuff gets analyzed by actual scientists but trump & his acolytes just ignore the law, each and every time. WHY????? How DO they get away with it???
Okay, but the guy who brought an underwater camera to film the peeling is just so American.
Perhaps, but I’d gladly contribute toward his expense given how clearly it shows the actual state of failure. When the govt lies about everything it makes sense that people want to do their own investigating — even about something as simple as this.
The corruption and money laundering are on clear display….
I wonder if the hydrogen peroxide they poured in is what’s causing the peeling. It sure seems like anything the orange one touches turns to sh*t.
Normally the president would not be so directly involved in federal pool repairs, so I’m enjoying that every bad decision here is directly tied to the Oval Office.
Yeah, me, too!
When this all started I thought okay, that shouldn’t be too hard and if he keeps busy with projects like this maybe he won’t have time to start another war. But no, he messed this up too.
Science people on various podcasts I listen to have been explaining how the new paint actually made the algae worse because of how the darker color would increase the temperature of the water in the sun and encourage more growth. The algae is in the water source and it will never *not* be there. There are things that could have been done to mitigate the algae but it will never be eliminated from a pool that big. But hey at least the pool has peeling blue paint that makes it *not* reflect the monuments around it as intended any more! [sob]
Felon47 had the filtration pumps — that Obama put in — torn out, because his pool guy’s intellectual capacities seem to be severely limited.
Obama used water from the Potomac because they didn’t want to let millions of gallons of drinking water go to waste, e.g. by evaporation. Felon47’s maladministration is, of course, back to using potable water.
But it seems the pipes that are used to fill up the pool were not thoroughly cleaned.
The sealant was actively damaged by tRump having himself driven across the pool in the Beast, which in itself must have caused additional structural damage.
Plus the dark paint accelerating the algae bloom, and the hydrogen peroxide damaging the sealant…
… and all of this put together results in making the pool appear American flag green.
when did that barely sentient, festering boil drive across it in the beast??
And they’re currently draining the green algae water into the Potomac.
I hadn’t heard that the filtration pumps were torn out. That sucks. Well, that sucks on multiple levels.
A green, peeling, algae filled pool, festering in the sun is such a fitting monument to Trump.
It’s been hard watching my city get wrecked, and hard learning about the vast sums of taxpayer dollars that are being flung into wrecking it. Billions upon billions of dollars spent on bored troops being deployed in some of the safest areas of the city — to get citizens accustomed to having a military presence; the destruction of the White House; the damage to the Kennedy Center; the gilding and the plans for monuments… the list goes on as our democracy unravels.
It’s Juneteenth, so I have plans for celebrations — today and in the not too distant future.
The entire thing was a money laundering scheme.
That’s his entire presidency, and he’s not even trying to hide it because he knows Congress is spineless and won’t call him out on it.
That’s because a lot of the rThugs on the receiving end(s) in one way or another.
Remember that AI meme Trump created of him, Vance, Rubio, Burgum, and a bikini lady in the pool? I guess they won’t jump in now.
Also, Burgum — who is in charge of this — was asked by Congress if he was acquainted with Atlantic Industrial Coatings. He said “No,” even though his department awarded that very company the no-bid multi-million dollar contract. He has no idea what is going on in his own department, no matter how big the spend is.
The reflecting pool has always been a problem and always will be. No matter what renovations, repairs and technology, it will always be a shallow pool of water in the middle of a swamp. The issue here is that Trump is an ignorant, egotistical slob and every project he touches reflects that.
Yeah, DC doesn’t really have the climate for a reflecting pool. We had one here in Hawaii at the War Memorial but it later got filled in because it always got so gross. At least it was a lot smaller than this one.
I think this should be renamed The Donald J Trump Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Sure but only after he’s dead.
And only if it’s left as a festering swamp
NOTHING should be named after trump, except the Epstein Files need to be renamed the trump-Epstein Files. With a small t, always with a small t.
They need to get whoever did the water feature at the Oklahoma City National Memorial. I just went in May and it’s so beautifully done. They used some kind of black stone slabs on the bottom, and the water is fairly shallow. It’s the perfect reflecting pool.
I heard folks are now picking up chunks of blue paint floating to the top of the Pool.
They’re being offered for sale as Nuggets of Pure Failure.
Ha! Love it!
Last night I saw a video made by a chemist who explained the chemical reactions happening (none of which I remember, not being a chemist myself) due to the hydrogen peroxide being added, and yes, yes indeed, that’s causing the blue paint to ‘delaminate’.
Everything trump touches turns to 💩
Also, as a former fed, I remember the no-bid contract cost threshhold to be much lower, like $2k, not millions.
And one more thing, I originally read ‘nanobubbler’ as ‘nanoblubber’ & for the life of me couldn’t figure out how that was supposed to improve anything. I immediately thought of the old Disney movie, Flubber.
Science says: hydrogen peroxide is a paint remover. The same stuff they dumped in by the gallons yesterday. I think the Four Season’s Landscaping company is in charge of this project. Or maybe Barnum& Baileys’ Circus. Hmmmm.
Aren’t we tired of all this “winning?” Also take down the tarp so we can see the destruction of the marble caused by illegally putting his name on the building. And………release the files!