Story perspectives

Trump Orders $1.5 M Blue Reflecting Pool at Lincoln, Critics Decry

4/24/2026

Summary

Story summary

President Donald Trump ordered a new “American flag blue” surface for the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Contractors began installing the industrial-grade surface on Thursday, planning to finish in one week for $1.5 million.
Trump said his real-estate experience guided the design, with a contractor recommending the blue hue over turquoise.
Preservation groups and congressional Democrats condemned the change as a unilateral alteration of a historic landmark.

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Story summary

President Donald Trump ordered a new “American flag blue” surface for the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Contractors began installing the industrial-grade surface on Thursday, planning to finish in one week for $1.5 million.
Trump said his real-estate experience guided the design, with a contractor recommending the blue hue over turquoise.
Preservation groups and congressional Democrats condemned the change as a unilateral alteration of a historic landmark.