Donald Trump shared a confusing Truth Social post boasting of “thousands” of people at his repainted Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, including a photo showing it deserted.
The 79-year-old president reshared an X post from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at 6:20 a.m. ET praising the renovation project that has seen the pool painted blue as part of the America 250 celebrations.
“I stopped by the new Reflecting Pool. It is simply glorious. There were a thousand people everywhere, taking pictures and just enjoying its beauty,” Lutnick posted. “Thank you President Trump for restoring our city’s national treasure.”
However, the photo shared by Lutnick and Trump during his early morning social media blitz did not show anyone enjoying the pool in Washington, D.C.
Work to refill the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool began in April after Trump announced plans to repaint the landmark’s floor in what he calls “American flag blue.”
While Trump said the cost of the pool’s renovation would be around $2 million, federal records suggest that around $14 million in contracts have already been awarded for the project, PBS News reported.
The reflecting pool is one of several renovations that Trump, a former real estate mogul, has announced in D.C. during his second term.
This includes the sprawling $400 million White House ballroom project, plans to build a so-called “Arc De Trump” at the end of the Arlington Memorial Bridge, and a multimillion-dollar proposal to paint the granite exterior of the historic Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) white.
According to the Daily Beast’s Swamp newsletter, Trump has seemingly spent more time obsessing over his reconstruction projects than he has on the war in Iran.
Trump spent at least 133 minutes talking about his vanity projects over the past month, even during unrelated Oval Office events and Cabinet meetings.
In June alone, Trump has already posted or reposted on Truth Social about his Washington vanity projects at least 30 times, compared to just over half a dozen posts about the Middle East conflict.
Elsewhere during his Wednesday morning posting spree, Trump blasted Stephen A. Smith after the ESPN analyst blamed the president for the New York Knicks losing Game 3 of the NBA Finals at New York’s Madison Square Garden by attending the game in person.
“Stephen A. Smith is an arrogant fool, a low IQ individual. In other words, he’s ‘dumb as a rock,’ and totally unqualified to ever think of running for high political office, or even low political office, for that matter,” Trump wrote, referencing Smith’s rumored White House ambitions.
“He’d get annihilated in a debate by the most incompetent of politicians.”
Trump also praised himself for endorsing several Republicans who won their primary races in South Carolina and Nevada on Tuesday.
