Trump explodes at 'lowlife' reporter in late-night rant after NYT exposes $13M bombshell
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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing at the White House, January 20, 2026. REUTERS Nathan Howard
President Donald Trump attacked The New York Times in a lengthy overnight post on Truth Social after the newspaper reported that the real cost of his Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation was significantly higher than he initially claimed.
The president posted his response shortly after 1 a.m. on Tuesday morning, responding to reporting that the Interior Department plans to pay a contractor $13.1 million for the project, far above the $1.8 million figure Trump publicly announced when unveiling the plan last month.
Federal records reviewed by The Times show the Interior Department increased the contract by $6.2 million beyond the original estimate, bringing the project total to roughly $8 million before additional costs are included. The records also revealed that the administration awarded the no-bid contract to Atlantic Industrial Coatings, a firm that had previously completed work at Trump's Virginia golf club.
The renovation includes repairing leaks in the Reflecting Pool, located beneath the Lincoln Memorial, and repainting portions of the structure "American flag blue."
In his Truth Social post, Trump blamed former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden for the project's challenges, claiming The Times was "trying to justify Obama and Biden's expensively botched attempt at fixing the long broken, unsightly, and unsanitary" pool.
"They squandered at least 55 Million Dollars haplessly trying, with no chance of success, to get the Reflecting Pool to work," Trump wrote. "Instead, they made it worse, keeping it closed for years, and ending up with a leaking, smelling, ode to both of their failed Administrations. It was and embarrassment to Washington, D.C., and to our Country, itself. Despite the vast sums of money spent, they never got the pool to work, and cosmetically it was a total mess for all to see."
Trump presented himself as the solution to the project's failures: "Now, along comes 'TRUMP,' who is asked by many patriots if I can fix it. The answer is a resounding, YES, and for a 'tiny' fraction of the cost!"
He stated that he instructed the Department of the Interior to approach the work as a "highly sophisticated swimming pool" renovation that could be completed "in 2 weeks rather than 4 years."
Trump also criticized Times journalist David Fahrenthold, calling him a "lowlife" for characterizing the project as a "paint job."
"It is a deeply complicated work of smart and beautiful construction," Trump countered. "It won't leak, it will shine, and be the pride of Washington D.C. for decades to come. I saved more than 390 Million Dollars, and 4 years of no 'mess,' and was, of course, given no credit by the biased New York Times."
Trump concluded his post with a clarification: "Also, I didn't give out the contract, 'Interior' did, to a contractor I did not know, and have never used before."
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