Blue Material Peels From Trump’s Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Days After $14.7M Renovation

Days after President Donald Trump’s Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation was refilled and painted “American flag blue,” CNN observed blue material peeling off the bottom at the National Mall on Thursday.

CNN reported that the flap of blue material was partially attached to the bottom in one area of the pool and floating toward the top, and it said it was unclear whether the material was paint or sealant and unclear what caused it to come up.

AP News

KTEN said the Department of the Interior did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while Eddie Wood of Atlantic Industrial Coatings said the images did not provide enough information “to tell exactly what that is.”

KTEN also reported that the renovations were initially estimated to cost $1.8 million, and it said the cost of the project appears to be up to $14.7 million according to a contract summary of the Interior Department’s award to Atlantic Industrial Coatings.

KTEN said that not long after the newly renovated pool was filled with water earlier this month, algae again discolored the water, and it reported that earlier this week workers were seen pouring jugs of hydrogen peroxide into the pool.

KTEN added that workers deployed what an Interior spokesperson described as “advanced nanobubbler technology,” and it said that as of Thursday afternoon the pool was still green in large sections with algae visible.

CNN

The Independent said the algae bloom turned the newly refurbished pool into a green-tinted swamp and that flaps of recently applied “American flag blue” paint were bubbling on the surface.

The Independent also reported that Trump initially said a refurbishing project for the pool could be done quickly for $1.5 million in time for White House-backed Fourth of July celebrations in Washington, D.C., but it said the government has now spent nearly $14.7 million.

The Independent reported that in April the Trump administration initially awarded a no-bid contract worth nearly $7 million to Atlantic Industrial Coatings LLC, and it said the company received another $6.2 million in May.

The Independent further reported that on June 3 the company received another $1 million, followed by more than $461,000 on June 15, and it said the administration bypassed a typical competitive bid process by arguing the need was so urgent that delays would cause “serious injury” to the government.

People said videos and photos shared on Thursday, June 18 showed Trump’s “American Flag Blue” paint job may not be doing the trick, with the liner appearing to be peeling off 12 days after it officially reopened on June 6.

People also quoted the Interior Department on X saying, “The advanced nanobubbler technology very effectively killed the algae that has plagued every Lincoln Reflecting Pool reopening—most infamously Obama's reopening—since 1922,” while People reported that the Reflecting Pool water had discolored back to the muddy green shade.