President Donald Trump said late on Tuesday that he does not know the contractor renovating the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, distancing himself from the company after previously saying he had spoken with a man he knew about the project.
Trump Denies Choosing Contractor
The renovation has drawn criticism over its no-bid contract, rising costs and Trump’s plan to coat the pool in “American flag blue.” The project, first mentioned by Trump last month, was awarded to Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings and is intended to be completed ahead of the nation’s 250th birthday in July.
Trump said on Truth Social that he did not award the contract. “Also, I didn’t give out the contract, ‘Interior’ did, to a contractor I did not know, and have never used before,” he wrote while criticizing a New York Times report on the project’s cost.
But, according to a CBS News clip, Trump said in the Oval Office last month that he had a “guy who’s unbelievable at doing swimming pools.” Discussing the planned renovation, he said, “He looked at it. He called me up. He said, ‘Sir, we can do something on it.’”
Cost Climbs From Initial Estimate
A White House official told The Hill that Trump does not have a personal relationship with the contractor but knew of the company’s previous work as a private citizen and builder. White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said the Interior Department “contracted the company to stop the leaks and restore the Reflecting Pool to its proper glory.”
The work was initially estimated at $1.8 million. The NYT, citing federal records, reported Monday that the expected cost has risen to $13.1 million. The Interior Department reportedly added $6.2 million to the no-bid contract last Friday.
Trump Defends Blue Pool Project
Trump defended the renovation on Tuesday, calling the Reflecting Pool “an embarrassment” and a “total mess for all to see.”
“I worked with our now strong Department of the Interior and explained to them that we should view this as a highly sophisticated swimming pool, not the leaking, dilapidated facade, joints and all, of a building,” he wrote. “Instead of taking 4 years to build, at a cost, granite pavers and all, of 400 Million Dollars, we could construct a far superior Reflecting Pool for 5 or 6 Million Dollars, and could complete the project in 2 weeks rather than 4 years. What a difference in time and money, and for a far superior end result!”
In a separate post later in the day, referring to the pool, Trump asserted that the Obama and Biden administrations wasted more than $100 million over several years on a project that “never worked.” He claims they eventually abandoned it, labeling the persistent leaks and structural issues as “impossible” to repair.
Image via Shutterstock/ Joshua Sukoff
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This article Trump Denies Knowing Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Contractor, Says ‘Interior’ Handled $13.1 Million No-Bid Deal originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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