NEW: Trump and Interior Sec Doug Burgum Nuke the Failing New York Times for Lying About Reflecting Pool Restoration at a Fraction of Obama’s $34 MILLION Hack Job
May 30, 2026
President Trump went off on the New York Times in a lengthy Truth Social post on Friday over its attacks on Trump’s renovation of the nearly half-mile-long reflecting pool, which sits between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.
The outlet has written several hit pieces on the project to restore the filthy green water basin, built in the 1920s, which has been marred by issues, including sinking and leaking into the swamp beneath. “Hundreds of Millions of Dollars have been spent throughout the years trying to fix it, and even from its inception, in 1922, it never really worked!” Trump noted.
Still, a recent New York Times piece attacks Trump over his $13.1 million budget and the so-called “lucrative contracts” awarded to “hand-picked vendors.”
But according to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, the Trump Derangement Syndrome-infected Times ignores the scope of the project to properly seal the pool with crack and leak-proof materials for the expansion joints, which will withstand the years and changing temperatures that come with the seasons. “This is something the Obama administration didn’t understand,” Burgum said, adding that Obama “wasted millions upon millions of taxpayer dollars” with a failed project in 2012, which had a massive cost of $34 million, more than twice what Trump is paying. Notably, Obama’s botched repairs took nearly two years to complete, while Trump’s will be completed by July 4 after starting in April.
The “Obama-era errors that failed at the cost of millions for the American taxpayer,” Burgum said, caused the pool to continue leaking a whopping 16 million gallons of water per year.
“Finally, we have professionals doing the right job for a tiny fraction of the money that has been spent, and The Failing New York Times continues to demean the work of these wonderful, talented, and proud construction professionals that are bringing this over 2,000 foot long pool, the largest in the World, BACK TO LIFE!” Trump said. “It is happening before your very eyes, and will soon be completed at a much higher level, and after doing much more work than was originally anticipated.”
Trump previously said they had to remove “eleven or twelve truckloads of filth out of the water” when a reporter asked why he would bother cleaning the monument.
Along with screenshots of an X thread by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, correcting the record, Trump slammed the Times, saying the failed news organization “should spend more of its energy on fixing its broken ‘shop,’ and celebrating America’s Greatness.”
Full statement below:
The Failing New York Times is doing everything possible to criticize the magnificent restoration of the Reflecting Pool, located between two of America’s most important Landmarks, The Lincoln Memorial, and The Washington Monument. Hundreds of Millions of Dollars have been spent throughout the years trying to fix it, and even from its inception, in 1922, it never really worked! Finally, we have professionals doing the right job for a tiny fraction of the money that has been spent, and The Failing New York Times continues to demean the work of these wonderful, talented, and proud construction professionals that are bringing this over 2,000 foot long pool, the largest in the World, BACK TO LIFE! It is happening before your very eyes, and will soon be completed at a much higher level, and after doing much more work than was originally anticipated.
As an example, in addition to doing the interior Pool, we are restoring the walkway surfaces on each side, fixing the water system, drainage, and so much more — The scope of the Project has been greatly enlarged as we became involved because we realized how important it would be to Washington, D.C., and the record number of visitors coming to our now very safe Capital for all of the upcoming events in celebration of our 250th Anniversary. It is one of the most visited and photographed Pools in the World and, when we took it over, it was a disgusting, garbage strewn dump that leaked, smelled, and was an embarrassment to our Country, and two of our Greatest Presidents. 45,000 Gallons a Day of water was pouring out of its broken seams, so that water would have to run continuously just to keep it at the same level. All of that will soon be fixed for a small fraction of the Hundreds of Millions of Dollars that the Obama and Biden Administrations haplessly wasted, only to have a Pool that was in worse shape after they finished the job.
But that doesn’t stop The Times from continuing its quest to hurt the reputation of those involved. The New York Times, which is doing poorly, should spend more of its energy on fixing its broken “shop,” and celebrating America’s Greatness. Attached are statements made by Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, and others, talking about the true FACTS, and how Great and Beautiful a Project this will soon be as it opens prior to our wonderful 250th Fourth of July Celebration! President DONALD J. TRUMP
Doug Burgum wrote,
The @nytimes has TDS and is ignoring the facts. The final materials for the 2.5 miles worth of expansion joints at the Reflecting Pool passed testing flawlessly last week and this week. Installation is currently underway for one full-scale expansion joint, with the installation of the remaining four expansion joints scheduled for tomorrow and Saturday.
The expansion joints installed under Obama, who wasted millions upon millions of taxpayer dollars, have catastrophically failed, leaking 16 MILLION GALLONS of water per YEAR and costing hard-working taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.
@POTUS isn’t just making the Reflecting Pool Beautiful Again, he’s fixing the Memorial’s disastrous, Obama-era errors that failed at the cost of millions for the American taxpayer.
After ripping out industrial-scale dumpsters worth of decaying and failing expansion joints, the Trump administration is now installing industrial-grade, leak-proof materials for the expansion joints. Anyone familiar with large-scale construction projects would understand materials are tested to ensure they perform effectively before being deployed at scale.
The massive slabs that form the bottom of the pool, which is much longer than the Empire State building, expand and contract based on the temperature. Specialized materials are necessary for the expansion joints to handle the expected movement while not breaking, cracking or leaking. This is something the Obama administration didn’t understand.
After consultation with the Army Corps of Engineers Engineering Research and Design Center, a 6-foot test section for the final expansion joint materials was installed last week before the recent rain and cooler weather. The test section passed testing with flying colors and is in perfect condition at this time. Notably, during the testing with the cooler nights last week, the test joint expanded more than 1 inch, but the material in the expansion joint remained perfectly intact, providing a perfect seal to prevent leakage. As we know @POTUS is an expert builder.
The final system for the expansion joints involves filling the 2.5 miles of joint expansion with urethane-impregnated foam, which is then covered by urethane caulk. That caulk is allowed to set overnight and is then coated with a very flexible and stretchy polyurea – the final layer in the expansion joint system. These materials will handle the 1-2″ of movement these joints experience from summer to winter without any issues.
While the @nytimes continue to write falsehoods and refuses to write accurately on what is happening at the pool, the expansion joints will be perfectly sealed to prevent leaking, in marked contrast to the failed, exorbitantly priced Obama-era expansion joints.
Bottom line: President Trump is the Builder in Chief and has made D.C. Safe and Beautiful ahead of our nation’s 250th celebration. This administration is doing this project at a fraction of the cost, at 10 times the speed. Under @POTUS we are fixing the Reflecting Pool for good. This should be a model for all cities across America.
The post NEW: Trump and Interior Sec Doug Burgum Nuke the Failing New York Times for Lying About Reflecting Pool Restoration at a Fraction of Obama’s $34 MILLION Hack Job appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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