The Guardian · US news · Original story
It’s not easy being green: Trump’s botched reflecting pool becomes 2,028ft metaphor
The symbolic power of a stagnant pond beneath Lincoln’s statue has proven irresistible for the president’s critics
Narcissus was cursed to fall in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. Donald Trump is finding that his effort to overhaul the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool in Washington has turned into a perverse tourist attraction and 2,028ft national metaphor.
On Monday afternoon a massive algae bloom had turned the pool a green reminiscent of a plane passenger clutching a sick bag. It also stank, but that did not deter a steady flow of curious tourists snapping photos and TV crews doing eyewitness interviews about the folly of Donald Trump’s $14.7m renovation.
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David Smith in Washington · Tue, Jun 23, 2026, 3:00 AM
US news | The Guardian
The symbolic power of a stagnant pond beneath Lincoln’s statue has proven irresistible for the president’s critics
Narcissus was cursed to fall in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. Donald Trump is finding that his effort to overhaul the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool in Washington has turned into a perverse tourist attraction and 2,028ft national metaphor.
On Monday afternoon a massive algae bloom had turned the pool a green reminiscent of a plane passenger clutching a sick bag. It also stank, but that did not deter a steady flow of curious tourists snapping photos and TV crews doing eyewitness interviews about the folly of Donald Trump’s $14.7m renovation.
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