Donald Trump has never come across as the type to do much self-reflecting, maybe that’s why he’s currently vandalizing the Reflecting Pool to the tune of more than $13 million in taxpayer’s money.
The president has become somewhat infamous for his cheap and tacky aesthetic that dresses itself as elegant and sophisticated (at least that seems to be what he’s going for). But the truth is he isn’t fooling anybody. Trump has made a habit of destroying genuinely beautiful architecture and spaces such as the Rose Garden and replacing them with something only a thick-headed Wall Street clown would find visually appealing.
Such is the case with the Reflection Pool renovations currently going on under the shadow of the Washington Monument. The pool has been drained to allow workers to replace the gray stone with the kind of bright blue you’d expect to see in a swimming pool, (see what I mean, it’s just tacky).
The change has not been welcomed by most. On X the change was blasted by people who thought it looked ridiculous. Rather than being a space for contemplation, serenity, and reflection, the new look gives off a holiday resort in Ibiza vibes.
That looks ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/YqAmIvMSdV
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) May 10, 2026
In short, the renovation is ugly, it completely misses the significance of the Reflecting Pool, and it’s a waste of taxpayers money. He could be using that money on programs to help struggling Americans but according to him that’s stupid. But what do you expect from someone as mentally vacant and morally bankrupt as Donald Trump?
Trump faces a lawsuit over the Reflecting Pool
The unpopular changes have led to historic preservation group, the Cultural Landscape Foundation, filing a lawsuit against the president as they claim that the changes Trump is making violate the National Historic Preservation Act as per The Guardian. The group is seeking an emergency order to put a stop to the works currently being done as they argue “The dark grey, achromatic basin was not incidental to the design,” but that “It was the design.”
It’s hard to imagine the water being as reflective with a bright blue design underneath, it kind of defeats the whole purpose. Of course, Trump has little interest in that as he has excused the renovations by arguing that the water was “filthy, dirty. The water is disgusting-looking. It’s not representative of the country.”
It remains to be seen whether this lawsuit will really have an effect on the president’s desecration of the Reflecting Pool but the pessimist in me says it won’t. Trump hasn’t let the courts stop him before, his usual tactic is to just brute force his desired change because once it’s done who’s going to be able to undo it?
