Trump’s algae 'embarrassment' ripped apart as Iran comparison takes on new meaning
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Paint peels from the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after recent renovations, in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 18, 2026. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon
CNN kicked off its morning show discussions talking about the epic failure that President Donald Trump's Reflecting Pool project has become.
There are ongoing questions about whether the algae can be fully removed, and now it appears the $14 million paint job is peeling off in chunks. The U.S. Department of the Interior continues to insist that the water is perfectly clear and everything is fine. Those visiting have filmed something entirely different.
Two companies were responsible for the project that cost nearly $16 million: Greenwater Services, an Ohio company, and Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings, which was responsible for the paint that is now peeling off in chunks.
"First of all, the fact that it was called Greenwater should have been a giveaway. I'm just saying you can't make that up. Sorry," quipped New York Times reporter Lulu Garcia Navarro.
The Dispatch's politics editor, Michael Warren, called the ordeal "thoroughly predictable."
The issue has been a long-standing problem for the reflecting pool.
"These algae blooms happen because there just isn't enough water flow out of it. And I do think that, you know, two weeks ago, a week ago on social media, you had all these kind of supporters of the president, Republicans, saying finally the president is cleaning this up," he added.
The U.S. Department of the Interior compared it to Trump's success in Iran. At the same time that CNN was reporting the reflecting pool failure, it was also revealed that the signing of the Iran deal was on hold again.
"It was just it was obvious that this was going this was very likely to happen," said Warren.
Former federal prosecutor and CNN legal analyst Elliot Williams noted, "Perhaps there ... could have been a benefit to it. Once again, it is Trump, and the folks around him making the case aggressively before it — almost as a moral matter. And that when it goes badly now, sort of it's —"
Host Audie Cornish cut him off, agreeing that it has become a metaphor for the Trump administration as a whole for the "clean-up of Washington." Further, it is indicative of the promises that Trump made during the 2024 campaign and his continued failure to deliver on issues like lower gas prices, lower inflation, affordable living and groceries, cutting $2 trillion from the federal budget and a slew of other things.
ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl compared the pool peeling to the back of Trump's hand.
"Well, now it has cost a lot of money," Cornish said. She played a clip of Trump promising that the project would cost $1.9 million. Trump also promised that his ballroom would only cost $200 million and he would raise the funds for all of it. That has now ballooned to $600 million and Trump was only able to raise half of it.
"You see, that's the point I'm making," Williams agreed. "He went so far out there making the case as to how quickly it was going to happen, how cheaply it would be done and how perfect it would be," Williams continued. "That's what could have been an honest problem of maybe a piece chipped off. People have been in a swimming pool [they] know that that happens from time to time. What could have been a simple problem now becomes an embarrassment."
Cornish said that the Department of the Interior was the one that made the unfortunate mistake of comparing the pool to the Iran war and now it's clear that both have become failures.
"And so now they're able to say, oh, really? A thing no one asked for has gone wrong, costing us way more than we expected. And you're trying to do a cleanup? Sounds familiar. And it was like the messaging," said Cornish.
"The internet is undefeated," Garcia Navarro quipped. " I mean, there is so many jokes about this. There's like the Rothko joke because of the peroxide."