Trump reopens Reflecting Pool after renovations

President Donald Trump on Monday announced the reopening of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after it was closed for several months this year for renovations. Trump said the repairs to the pool’s bottom and its water pipes would resolve its longtime problem with leaks and algae. Trump joked that his administration had thought of changing the name to the “Trump Reflecting Pool.” While speaking next to the pool on the eve of Election Day, Trump said Washington, D.C., under his administration is cleaner and safer.

The Trump administration first closed the Reflecting Pool in April for renovations that ultimately cost about $16 million. A contractor resurfaced the bottom as dark blue and the pool reopened in June. But visitors soon reported peeling paint and algae growth that caused a green tint. Trump blamed vandalism for damaging the project, but a later inspection report blamed application mistakes for causing the pool’s new surface coating to peel.

Was the pool really vandalized? Trump has previously accused vandals of cutting the pool’s rubber coating with box knives. In July, the Trump administration charged a former Olympian for allegedly vandalizing the pool’s rubber coating, but the case was later dismissed, and some other charges against vandalism suspects have also been dropped. On Monday, the president showed a photo of “8647”—a slang term for “kill Trump”—that was drawn with acid on the grass near the pool. Trump said there are many more cameras now to catch the vandals.