Washington– He bragged about repairing city fountains and power-washing a local swimming pool—making a careful distinction between sandblasting versus gravel blasting—and detailed efforts to repair brick walkways in a public park.
But this wasn’t a small-town mayor assuring a few dozen community members at City Hall that municipal improvement efforts would be completed in time for the Little League season.
This was the president Donald Trump – Directing his contracts as a high-level real estate developer – enjoying his life Assembled wardrobe and a nationally televised audience on Wednesday with the ins and outs of beautification projects across Washington.
“I love the construction. It’s very exciting,” Trump said, stressing that the facelift he helped oversee in the nation’s capital means that “the capital looks beautiful.”
His breakout session lasted 10 minutes and was far more comprehensive than anything said on the other key issues discussed during the meeting, including War in Iran. There were also only passing references to Gas prices nationwide are up And concerns about a Weaken the economy This could hurt Trump’s Republican Party as it seeks to retain control of Congress after the November elections Midterm elections.
He provided new details of his building plans, suggesting for the first time that they would extend to the existing fountain at the World War II Memorial.
The president also said that construction crews, under his leadership, were improving 28 fountains, and then bragged about trying to renovate the “reflecting lake” or “reflecting pond” — which is actually the reflecting lake. Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool — which he said had been steam-cleaned, fumigated, and coated in “blue American flag” paint.
“Over the years, I’ve built hundreds of swimming pools,” Trump said, recalling his days as a New York construction magnate in the 1970s and 1980s. “I always love building Olympic-sized pools.”
As part of the renovation, cleanup crews removed “more than 10 trash cans,” the chief noted.
“Every corner has huge amounts, I guess that’s the way the tide goes,” he said before demonstrating – even though no tide has flowed into the pond.
Trump said the idea is to complete the project by Independence Day, and that it is mostly on track, except that recent rains in Washington have led to delays.
But most of the details came when the president turned to power washing.
Trump said that the workers “grinded it with sand, then we ground it with gravel,” explaining that it was “a larger version of sand.”
To protect against leaks, crews were using “a very sophisticated type of rubber,” he said.
The president also said he was responsible for rebuilding the park across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House.
“I helped rebuild Lafayette Park. This is the entrance to the White House. It was embarrassing that the floors were broken,” Trump said, referring to the brick walkways in the park.
In the midst of it all, most members of the Cabinet listened intently and with little emotion, with the exception of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick—already known for his conspicuously loud laughter at such meetings—who was nodding repeatedly and enthusiastically all the while. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has also provided comments on some renovation projects when asked.
Before turning his attention to city improvements, the president opened the meeting by saying that only a select few Cabinet members would be allowed to speak in the hopes of moving things along more quickly.
“Everyone here has a lot to say,” Trump said. “But we did it once, and it went on for four or five hours. It was a bit much.”
That was an exaggeration, although his previous Cabinet meetings did include lengthy comments — often praising Trump — from senior officials. One such meeting last summer pushed the public portion past the three-hour mark.
In the end, Trump’s building update took about one-eighth of the 80-minute meeting. It was up to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to help get things back on track and head toward Iran. “I think, actually, your efforts in the reflective complex are actually a great piece,” Hegseth offered.
The Secretary of Defense said: “If you look at Washington and Lincoln, you will find that these two men faced huge tasks and stood up in a historic way and provided their services to the American people.” He added: “And when you go back and look at the 47 years of war that Iran launched against us and against our people, you will find that there is only one man, over the course of two presidencies, who stood up and said that they will never obtain a nuclear weapon.”