Google Gemini was used to research this piece. This Essay was posted on 6/25/2026.
Donald Trump spent over $16 Million to fix the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool before the July 4th celebration of the 250th birthday of the US. Unfortunately, the pool repairs didn’t fix the algae problems in the pool, and the current algae bloom is worse than previous blooms over the last five years.
Without evidence, Trump blames the pool problems, including the peeling paint job and the algae on vandals, but experts all put the blame on the painters. First, the pool foundation wasn’t prepped properly to keep the paint from peeling. And second, the dark blue paint caused the water temperature to rise enough to create a bigger algae bloom.
To paint or not to paint is the least important issue in this blooming catastrophe. We need to go back to the two contracts involved in fixing the pool. In one no-bid contract, the company owner is a long-time donor to Trump campaigns, including a $250,000 donation in 2020. The other no-bid contract went to a company that has done work for Trump at Mar-A-Lago. The relationships of the contractors to Trump are interesting, especially when the contract awards were made without normal process and review.
Problems with contractors are often avoided when there is competitive bidding with a thorough review of the contractors. Trump argued that we don’t have enough time for the July 4th celebration with competitive bids, but it seems that leaving the reflecting pool alone was a better outcome. But the contracts weren‘t the only problem.
These no-bid contracts look like paybacks for previous favors, and the paybacks are funded with taxpayer dollars. Sadly, these are just two of the many no-bid contracts awarded by Trump.
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