Trump drives across Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to inspect new blue coating he’s putting on it
May 7, 2026, 5:27 PM | Updated: 7:48 pm
President Donald Trump speaks as he visits the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to see the new blue protective coating being applied as part of a renovation project, Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday went on an unannounced trip to the Lincoln Memorial to see the Reflecting Pool after he had it coated in a color he calls “American flag blue.”
But he did more than just see it — he drove across it and answered questions from reporters who were taken there before he arrived.
The Republican president also said he’s working on the memorial itself, but offered no specifics about those plans.
“We have a beautiful plan for that too,” he said of the memorial to President Abraham Lincoln. But work has been underway for the past few years to build an underground visitors’ center.
Trump last month announced the reflecting pool renovation during an unrelated Oval Office appearance. He said he was inspired by the complaints of a friend visiting from Germany who he said told him the water in the pool was dark, filthy and disgusting looking.
The project is another way for Trump to leave his mark on the city, following his demolition of the White House East Wing to build a large ballroom there.
