FACT FOCUS: A look at Trump’s false and misleading claims about the Reflecting Pool

In April 2026, President Donald Trump announced that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool would undergo renovation to address cosmetic and structural issues. He initially claimed the project would be completed in a week and cost about $1.5 million, significantly less than previous administrations had spent on similar work. However, as the project has progressed, Trump's claims have become increasingly exaggerated.

According to the facts, work on the pool has been ongoing for 15 weeks, with the pool being drained for a second time in mid-July due to algae blooms and peeling new coating. Trump's estimates of the project's cost have since increased to "less than $20 million," with more than $16 million worth of contracts awarded so far.

Regarding Trump's relationship with contractors, he stated on April 23 in a video that he would call up past contractors he had worked with for swimming pools. This led to multiple no-bid contracts being awarded, with Ohio-based Green Water Solutions receiving a $1.7 million contract for a water-purification system and Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings receiving $14.7 million for painting and waterproofing the pool's concrete floor.

However, Trump later backtracked, claiming in a May 12 post on Truth Social that he did not directly give out the contracts, stating that "Interior" did so to a contractor he had never used before. At an unrelated Oval Office event on August 3, the president further emphasized this point by saying, "And by the way, I didn't know the contractor."