President Donald Trump announced that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is being coated in a swimming-pool surface he described as “American flag blue,” signaling a fast turnaround compared with a full replacement of the pool’s granite. Speaking at an Oval Office event Thursday, Trump said the work had already begun and that he wanted the reflecting pool to get a new surface rather than wait years for a more extensive overhaul.
Trump said he was motivated to push the renovation after a friend visited from Germany and criticized what the president described as dirty, unappealing water. Trump said he toured the site with the Secret Service and raised the condition of the pool, showing reporters a photo of the reflecting pool during the work.
“And I went over there with Secret Service in tow, and I said, isn’t that a shame? That’s terrible,” Trump said, as he described the decision-making process that led to the coating project. He also said his team explored different colors before settling on the “American flag blue” option.
The reflecting pool, lined with elm trees between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, is one of Washington’s best-known sites. It is also where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963, according to Trump’s remarks on Thursday.
In Trump’s telling, the decision to move to a coating was driven by cost and timing. He said he scrapped plans to replace the granite, which he said was estimated to cost $301 million and would take at least three years. Instead, he said he would have the granite cleaned and lay down what he called an “industrial grade pool” surface for $1.5 million.
Trump said he called pool contractors he knew from prior real estate projects and chose a plan after advice from a contractor. He said he initially preferred a turquoise-colored look “like in the Bahamas” but changed course after a contractor suggested “American flag blue.”
Trump said the project would be completed in a few weeks and would be ready well before July 4. He framed the change as part of a broader pattern of renovations and modifications in Washington, including other projects he has described as changing prominent parts of the capital to his liking.
At a separate White House event on efforts to reduce drug prices, Trump brought up the reflecting pool renovation again unprompted and said he expected it to look better once the coating is in place. “You’re going to end up with a beautiful, beautiful reflecting pool,” Trump said.