Watch President Trump’s motorcade cross an empty reflecting pool
President Trump’s motorcade passed through a reflecting pool that was drained during renovations.
President Donald Trump rode a horse across the Lincoln Memorial’s reflecting pool to inspect the renovations he ordered.
The president visited on Thursday, May 7, and rode his horse through the now-empty pool, which was being renovated.
The visit was a surprise, with much of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., closed due to the arrival of the president and his motorcade, FOX 5 Washington DC and TheDMVLive on X reported.
Eventually, he got out of his car and answered reporters’ questions. When asked by an ABC News reporter why he was focused on renovating pools in the midst of the Iran war, President Trump said, “I want to keep our country beautiful and safe.”
“This was a disgusting place,” he said. “They had to take 11 or 12 truckloads of trash out of the lake and water that had been sitting there like that for years.”
He said America is about “beauty, cleanliness, safety, great people, (and) not a filthy capital.”
“What a stupid question,” he said. “We’re fixing the reflection pond at the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, and you say, ‘Why fix it?’ Because you can probably understand dirt better than I can, but I won’t allow it.”
How was the renovation carried out?
The president announced the renovations on April 23, noting that a friend from Germany who visited a few years ago said that it was “disgusting” and “doesn’t represent the country.”
President Trump pointed out that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was built around 1922.
“It was built using granite and various stones at the bottom,” Trump said. “It never looked good because it wasn’t a stone that was going to be in the water for very long.”
He called the pond “incredible” and said its condition was “terrible.” So we asked some of the best contractors we’ve worked with to look at the pond and assess the situation.
One contractor he was working with said the pool was rotten and could be cleaned in about two weeks. The two decided on the color to redo the pool: “American flag blue,” he said.
“This is an amazing thing happening,” he said. “This is a huge beautification.”
The sidewalk area will also be updated and sandblasted so it will be “like new,” he said.
He added that while the renovations were previously estimated to cost $301 million and take three to three-and-a-half years, his plan would take much less time and cost “a fraction of the cost,” or about $1.5 million.
President Trump said on April 23: “In a few weeks, between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, there will be the most beautiful reflecting pool you’ve ever seen.”
Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY’s Trends team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – 757. Please send your email to: sdmartin@usatoday.com.
