President Donald Trump is threatening to sue ABC News over its reporting on his administration’s ongoing failure in renovating the Reflecting Pool at the Lincoln Memorial. He is now pushing the outlet to repeat his lies about renovations to the monument during the Obama and Biden administrations.
In a social media post, Trump claimed that ABC “failed to report that their close ‘friends,’ Dumocrats Obama and Biden, spent over 100 Million Dollars on the Reflecting Pool, and it never worked.” He also claimed that his Democratic predecessors “wanted to spend 300 to 400 Million Dollars, but just let it ROT.”
Trump wrote he is “preparing lawsuits against ABC for false reporting” and that “I like their money.”
Trump’s claims about Obama and Biden’s actions on the pool are false.
Water from a vacuum line being used by National Park Service employees to clean the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool pours into a nearby drain on June 20.AP
Under Obama, $35.3 million was allocated to restore the pool. The work included removing algae, adding wheelchair ramps and lighting, as well as replacing the bottom of the pool and installing filtration systems. Notably, there were no widespread reports of green water or sketchy no-bid contracts under the Obama administration.
Spending on the pool was lower under Biden. Two contracts for proposals relating to the pool were signed for a total of $230,000.
Altogether, roughly $35.5 million was spent on Reflecting Pool renovations under the past two Democratic presidents—not “over 100 Million Dollars,” as Trump falsely claimed.
Trump likes to threaten lawsuits against news outlets for accurately reporting unflattering information about him. Before he returned to the White House in 2025, ABC’s parent company Disney settled a suit with Trump about its reporting, even though legal experts said he was on shaky ground. Many saw the payout as a form of bribery for the then-president-elect.
Trump has since used government power in an attempt to remove ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel from the air because Trump doesn’t like his jokes.
Trump and his administration have been the butt of international mockery for the failed pool repair. The contract was awarded outside of the traditional government billing process, and in the days since the pool was refilled, flecks of epoxy and paint have torn off and the water has been overrun with algae.
Instead of admitting his team failed, Trump has blamed mysterious “vandals” for the debacle.
More recently, there are reports of dead ducks appearing at the pool, though it is unclear if Trump’s botched operation is responsible. However, the timing is suspect, and it would further highlight the chaos and incompetence that has been a hallmark of Trump’s interference with a major national landmark.
We’ll get straight to the point: The financial hardships that Daily Kos is facing this year are tough.
We continue to be paywall-free. We continue to be supported by our readers, not billionaires or corporations. But we need to bring in more revenue. We are leaning on our community more than ever to help make ends meet.
Power matters.