Washington– president Donald Trump On Thursday he went on an unannounced trip to the Lincoln Memorial to see Reflecting pond After he coated it in a color he called “American Flag Blue.”
He did more than just see it – the Republican president was carried through the fresh paint before stepping out of his SUV to make a statement and answer questions from reporters who had been flown there to await his arrival before sunset.
The new blue paint will hide the pool’s gray stone, a color that Trump said “wasn’t good at all.” He added that the cost of the project is approximately $2 million.
“It didn’t have the color that people wanted, but now it’s going to have a great color,” he said, standing in the pool surrounded by some of his Cabinet secretaries, including Doug Burgum of the Interior and Markwayne Mullen of the Department of Homeland Security.
Trump had similar feelings about the gray granite exterior of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next door to the White House, calling it a “really bad color” last year. The president wants it Cover the building with white paint Two federal agencies are reviewing his proposal.
Trump said he was also working on a memorial to President Abraham Lincoln himself, but did not provide any details, saying only that “we have a beautiful plan” in mind.
Work has been underway on the memorial for the past few years on the underground visitor center scheduled to open in June.
Trump last month announced the renovation of the reflecting pool during an unrelated appearance in the Oval Office. He said he was inspired by complaints from a friend visiting from Germany, who told him the water in the pool was dark, dirty and disgusting.
The project is another way for Trump to leave his mark on the city, after his own Demolishing the East Wing of the White House To build a big dance hall there.
Critics said Trump was spending money Lots of time and attention into his pet projects And it is not enough on the issues voters care about, such as the cost of living, in the run-up to the November election. Others said he wanted the reflecting pool to look more like a real pool.
Trump was criticized when a reporter asked why he was focusing on the “reflecting pool,” in light of US military action in Iran. He said several truckloads of garbage were towed after it was removed from the pool. “Our country is about beauty, cleanliness, safety, and great people. Not a dirty capital,” he said.
Trump continued: “We are repairing the reflecting pool of the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, and you say: Why are you fixing it?” “Because you can probably understand dirt better than me, but I don’t allow it.”