Biden Slams Trump Over Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, White House East Wing Ballroom Plans

Former President Biden late Saturday slammed President Trump over his Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and other Washington, D.C., renovation projects in a rare public appearance, calling them “What a loser.”

Biden said, “It’s not just his vanity projects,” and accused Trump of “tearing down the East Wing of the White House, making room for his ballroom,” while also “Putting his name on the Kennedy Center” and “Building an arch in his own honor.”

ABC News

Biden added that Trump was “Even hiring his own pool guy to fix his Reflecting Pool,” and then attacked the administration’s conduct as “the corruption, the brazen, blatant corruption.”

The Hill also reported that Trump’s Reflecting Pool renovation has faced officials battling an algae bloom and alleged vandalism since the site was repainted and repaired, and that the White House ballroom is being built on the site of the East Wing.

In the same coverage, The Hill noted that Trump’s name was added to the Kennedy Center exterior before it was removed after a federal judge’s order.

The Inquirer editorial described the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as “algae-choked” and said Trump’s effort “has become a microcosm of his excesses,” arguing the pool was “not reflecting much other than its hospitality to primitive aquatic life.”

It said Trump “vowed to complete the renovation in as little as a week for no more than $2 million,” while also asserting the project “took about six times as long as the president promised and cost eight times as much.”

CNN

The editorial also said workers dumped hydrogen peroxide into the water to beat back “pond scum,” and it tied the algae persistence to contractors that “simply resurfaced the pool’s concrete bottom with foam and a blue-tinted sealant.”

For corruption, The Inquirer wrote that the administration awarded the work on an emergency basis without competitive bidding and that some business went to an Ohio company called Greenwater Services owned by James J. Cafaro.

It further claimed Trump declared on social media that “half a dozen people had been arrested for alleged vandalism of the pool,” and quoted the editorial’s description of the arrests as “textbook authoritarian behavior” via Norm Eisen’s argument.

Forbes reported that President Donald Trump said the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was in “full use” after being damaged from alleged vandalism, and it said he announced extensive renovations to Washington, D.C.’s East Potomac Golf Links would begin in September.

Forbes said Trump repeated claims that the pool was damaged by vandals who “cut and butchered a 350 foot long strip” in the basin that was previously “100% free of leaks.”

Forbes also reported that Trump confirmed the government planned to drain the pool after Independence Day, while claiming it is currently “working well” and “the criminally made algae is gone.”

The same Forbes coverage said Trump toured East Potomac Park with golf course architect Tom Fazio and lambasted the course as “badly damaged from years of neglect,” with greens that are “virtually unplayable.”

Forbes added that a federal judge, U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes, warned the Trump administration to stop planned renovations without properly notifying the court, saying, “Let’s just say, given some issues around the District recently, I would have a particular concern that we not act first and ask forgiveness later,” and warning of “serious consequences.”