The reflecting pool is inconsequential

[edhopper]

in the larger scope of all the horrible things Trump is doing to our country.
BUT, it is such a good, illustrative example of how badly he handles everything. It is a visible symbol of incompetence, greed, hubris and lawlessness.

[Srkdqltr]

1. True.

[radical noodle]

2. John Heilman made a list

of all the ways the reflecting pool illustrates the whole trump second term:
1. trump's obsession with a trivial thing while more important things are being ignored
2. trump's self-aggrandizing belief that if he does something big it will make him be remembered as the one who did it
3. trump's unearned self certainty that he knows everything better than anyone else
4. trump's lack of regard for and even hostility toward expertise and his environmental ignorance
5. trump's self-dealing grift (I've got a pool guy!)
6. trump's amateur hour incompetence
7. trump's lashing out when it goes wrong
8. trump's scapegoating and blaming others for his failures
9. trump's then adding conspiracy theories to once again avoid blame (vandals damaging the pool)
10. trump's use of the legal and police system to shore up his claims
11. trump's demonization of the press for reporting his failures

The dead duck in the reflecting pool is the cherry on top of trump's shit sundae

[gab13by13]

4. John Heilmann did that on Deadline Whitehouse yesterday.

[radical noodle]

7. Oh shoot... did I get the name wrong?

Thanks! I'll edit. sheesh!

[MadameButterfly]

3. Seriously. For the money he could have hired top experts

stayed out of it himself, and gotten credit for a job well done. But he has to get grift on everything. It seems to be a compulsion. Has anyone told him he can't spend it all, and he can't take it with him?

Also, it's all he's really interested in. Remodelling the White House and the Capitol. Maybe dropping some bombs here and there. He never was really interested in running a country.

He doesn't believe in expertise because he has never had any, and he thinks all you have to do is sell the facade. I'm guessing he thinks that's what everyone else is doing too. Like finding out last week that there's a b in dumb.

[mopinko]

10. if he had gone through the proper channels,

generals services wd have found the right ppl at the rt price to do the job rt the 1st time.
that’s what they do, and u they r there.

[PatSeg]

14. He is one of those people

who will pick the grift over a legitimate means every time. Somehow, he feels the need to be getting away with something, a feeling he can't get from following established rules, even if it would benefit him more.

Basically, he is just a criminal at heart and likes it that way.

[MadameButterfly]

19. Perfectly described. Except

I wonder if he understands the legitimate means would benefit him more. I think he thinks he always knows better and believes the established rules are based on no expertise or reason, or are corrupt, or just don't measure up to his genius. The mind of a narcissist.

[PatSeg]

21. I agree

Whatever the conventional means, he is quite sure he knows a better way.

[RB77]

5. It is also a symbol of -

The “Free Market” lack or regulation, oversight, science denial, and “the war on expertise. A large part of the Republican mantra.

[greatauntoftriplets]

6. It's an easy-to-understand metaphor for the entire shitshow.

[MadameButterfly]

20. Narcissus met his demise by looking into a reflecting pool

[LisaL]

8. I disagree.

We have here a "no bid contract" awarded for millions. Waisted funds. Now everything has to be redone.
They are also arresting people for the supposed pool vandalism.
Imagine if Biden did any of that.

[Wounded Bear]

13. I suspect you read the thread title and not the body of the post...

[themaguffin]

9. It's worse when you look at how blatantly corrupt it is

[malaise]

11. and the ever present

Coverup

[crud]

12. Sometimes it amazes me

what catches fire with the American public. The debate about whether the reflecting pool is worthy of attention with all the other major failures of tRump is irrelevant. When people make it a big deal, it's a big deal. The public knows corruption and incompetence, and this story illustrates it perfectly.

[MineralMan]

15. Yes. It's an easily understood example, as well.

That's important.

[kentuck]

16. And attempted cover up...

I might add.

[justaprogressive]

17. It's just another thing

WE HAVE TO FIX!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

18. How the Reflecting Pool Turned Green: Missing 'Bubblers' and a Rush Job (New York Times Gift Article)

Bulky “nanobubbler” machines were carted off ahead of a promotional event for President Trump’s Ultimate Fighting Championship birthday party.

Link to tweet

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/26/us/politics/reflecting-pool-trump-algae.html?unlocked_article_code=1.tVA.2QwI.US81yGvYDJ99&smid=nytcore-android-share

Dotted around the perimeter of the memorial’s Reflecting Pool were the nanobubblers, the temporary water-purification machines meant to keep the pool clear of algae. Encased in black fencing and powered by large generators, the machines were something of an eyesore.

Before the event, the National Park Service asked Greenwater Services, which won a $1.7 million no-bid contract to install the nanobubblers, to remove them, according to two people briefed on the decision. The people asked for anonymity because they feared retaliation from the administration. The Park Service did not provide a reason for the removal, but it coincided exactly with the promotional event, which drew crowds to the Reflecting Pool.

Photos from that evening showed the pool without the hoses or enormous machines working to keep the water clean. The water looked dark blue.

But by the time the purification systems were reinstalled 36 hours later, enormous algae blooms were starting to spread unchecked, turning the water green.,,,,,

The decision to remove the water-treatment systems, which has not previously been reported, was one of several missteps that have plagued Mr. Trump’s $16.4 million renovation of the Reflecting Pool. There have been no-bid contracts, peeling strips of waterproof coating in Mr. Trump’s handpicked shade of “American flag blue,” and even a dead duck floating in the water (though it is not clear if the renovation had anything to do with the duck’s demise).