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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.<\/p>\n
Trump Denies Choosing Contractor<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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Trump said on Truth Social that he did not award the contract. “Also, I didn’t give out the contract, \u2018Interior’ 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.<\/p>\n
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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, \u2018Sir, we can do something on it.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Trending: Avoid the #1 Investing Mistake: How Your \u2018Safe’ Holdings Could Be Costing You Big Time<\/a><\/p>\n Cost Climbs From Initial Estimate<\/p>\n 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.”<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Trump Defends Blue Pool Project<\/p>\n Trump defended the renovation on Tuesday, calling the Reflecting Pool “an embarrassment” and a “total mess for all to see.”<\/p>\n See Also: Skip the Regrets: The Essential Retirement Tips Experts Wish Everyone Knew Earlier.<\/a><\/p>\n “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!”<\/p>\n 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 \u201cnever worked.\u201d He claims they eventually abandoned it, labeling the persistent leaks and structural issues as \u201cimpossible\u201d to repair.<\/p>\n Image via Shutterstock\/ Joshua Sukoff<\/p>\n Read Next: Think you’re saving enough for your kids? You might be dangerously off \u2014 see why<\/a><\/p>\n Building Wealth Across More Than Just the Market<\/p>\n Building a resilient portfolio means thinking beyond a single asset or market trend. Economic cycles shift, sectors rise and fall, and no one investment performs well in every environment. That’s why many investors look to diversify with platforms that provide access to real estate, fixed-income opportunities, professional financial guidance, precious metals, and even self-directed retirement accounts. By spreading exposure across multiple asset classes, it becomes easier to manage risk, capture steady returns, and create long-term wealth that isn’t tied to the fortunes of just one company or industry.<\/p>\n Rad AI<\/p>\n RAD Intel is an AI-driven marketing platform helping brands improve campaign performance by turning complex data into actionable insights for content, influencer strategy, and ROI optimization.<\/a> Positioned within the multi-hundred-billion-dollar digital marketing industry, the company works with global brands across sectors to improve targeting precision and creative performance using its analytics and AI tools. With strong revenue growth, expanding enterprise contracts, and a Nasdaq ticker reserved under $RADI, RAD Intel is opening access to its Regulation A+ offering, giving investors exposure to the growing intersection of AI, marketing, and creator economy infrastructure.<\/p>\n Immersed<\/p>\n Immersed is a spatial computing company building immersive productivity software that enables users to work across multiple virtual screens inside VR and mixed-reality environments. <\/a>Its platform is used by remote workers and enterprises to create virtual workspaces that reduce reliance on traditional physical hardware while improving focus and collaboration. The company is also developing its own lightweight VR headset and AI productivity tools, positioning itself in the future-of-work and spatial computing space. Through its pre-IPO offering, Immersed is opening access to early-stage investors looking to diversify beyond traditional assets and gain exposure to emerging technologies shaping how people work.<\/p>\n Connect Invest<\/p>\n Connect Invest is a real estate investment platform that allows investors to access short-term, fixed-income opportunities backed by a diversified portfolio of residential and commercial real estate loans. <\/a>Through its Short Notes structure, investors can choose defined terms (6, 12, or 24 months) and earn monthly interest payments while gaining exposure to real estate as an asset class. For investors focused on diversification, Connect Invest may serve as one component within a broader portfolio that also includes traditional equities, fixed income, and other alternative assets\u2014helping balance exposure across different risk and return profiles.<\/p>\n rHealth<\/p>\n rHealth is building a space-tested diagnostics platform designed to bring lab-quality blood testing closer to patients in minutes rather than weeks<\/a>. Originally validated in collaboration with NASA for use aboard the International Space Station, the technology is now being adapted for at-home and point-of-care settings to address widespread delays in diagnostic access.<\/p>\n Backed by institutions including NASA and the NIH, rHealth is targeting the large global diagnostics market with a multi-test platform and a model built around devices, consumables, and software. With FDA registration in progress, the company is positioning itself as a potential shift toward faster, more decentralized healthcare testing.<\/p>\n Arrived<\/p>\n Backed by Jeff Bezos, Arrived Homes makes real estate investing accessible with a low barrier to entry. Investors can buy fractional shares of single-family rentals and vacation homes starting with as little as $100<\/a>. This allows everyday investors to diversify into real estate, collect rental income, and build long-term wealth without needing to manage properties directly.<\/p>\n Masterworks<\/p>\n Masterworks enables investors to diversify into blue-chip art, an alternative asset class with historically low correlation to stocks and bonds<\/a>. Through fractional ownership of museum-quality works by artists like Banksy, Basquiat, and Picasso, investors gain access without the high costs or complexities of owning art outright. With hundreds of offerings and strong historical exits on select works, Masterworks adds a scarce, globally traded asset to portfolios seeking long-term diversification.<\/p>\n Lightstone<\/p>\n Lightstone DIRECT gives accredited investors access to institutional-quality multifamily real estate opportunities backed by a vertically integrated operator with more than $12 billion in assets under management and a 40-year track record.<\/a> With more than 25,000 multifamily units nationwide \u2014 including significant exposure to low-supply Midwest markets where rent growth has remained resilient \u2014 Lightstone is positioning investors to benefit from tightening housing supply, strong occupancy trends, and long-term rental demand. Through Lightstone DIRECT, individuals can co-invest alongside the firm, which commits at least 20% to each deal, offering exposure to professionally managed multifamily assets designed to generate durable income and long-term appreciation beyond the traditional stock market.<\/p>\n AdviserMatch<\/p>\n