Trump Announces Renovation of Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool with ‘American Flag Blue’ Coating

President Donald Trump announced on Thursday, April 23, 2026, that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is undergoing renovation, including the application of a new swimming pool-style surface colored “American flag blue.” The president made the announcement during an Oval Office event on healthcare affordability, stating that function had already begun on the project.

According to Trump, the renovation was prompted after a friend visiting from Germany expressed dismay at the pool’s condition, describing the water as “filthy” and “disgusting.” Trump said he inspected the site with members of the U.S. Secret Service and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, concluding it was a “dirty, disgusting place” littered with garbage and “leaking like a sieve.”

The president said contractors he knows—described as “unbelievable at doing swimming pools”—have begun scrubbing the granite clean and are laying down the new industrial-grade surface. He estimated the renovation would cost between $1.5 million and $2 million and take about a week to complete, contrasting it with previous Biden administration proposals that reportedly quoted $300 million and three years of work.

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, built in the 1920s and renovated in 2012 with $34 million in Obama-era stimulus funding, is a historic site where Martin Luther King Jr. Delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech during the 1963 March on Washington. The National Park Service has conducted periodic maintenance since then, including draining the pool to remove algae, garbage, and goose droppings.

Trump shared photos of the construction process on social media, showing work crews resurfacing the bottom of the pool. He said the new coating would result in a “beautiful, beautiful reflecting pool, the way it’s supposed to be,” adding that it would be “much better than it ever was, actually.”

The project is part of a series of renovations Trump has initiated in Washington, D.C., including the demolition of the White House’s East Wing to make room for a new ballroom. The reflecting pool remains one of the most iconic sites in the nation’s capital, lined with elm trees between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.