US President Donald Trump loves to regale anyone within range of his decades of experience with real estate and building, his thorough knowledge of steel, concrete, stones, paints, plasters, gold, colours – all the materials that bring buildings, plazas, memorials and parks to purpose and vibrancy.
As president, Trump revels in ensuring he has the power to resuscitate, redeem and renew government property and public real estate – to rebuild and refurbish to perfection.
To that end, he has statues and fountains cleaned and repaired, roads repaved and parks replanted. Those smaller projects are welcome. Many Washington precincts look better, cleaner, fresher.
But much of what Trump has conceived is not applauded. The latest of these is the outrage cause by the US$14 million (A$20.2 million) renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which now has large strips of blue paint peeling away and a significant problem with algae.
The president insists it is the work of vandals. Social media is in meltdown. So how did it come to this?
In his image
In Trump’s second term, he has instituted several major Washington revamps with apparent disregard for public opinion. While there are laws, commissions, boards, and experts who are to be consulted on these things, Trump has ensured that those processes are realigned to comport with his will.
The first shocking destruction was the demolition of the East Wing of the White House. As Hillary Clinton said, “It’s not his house. It’s your house. And he’s destroying it.”
All the artwork, the furnishings, and all the history of the service by First Ladies to the mansion and the country, demolished. The photos make it look like a casualty of a second world war bombing.
All this destruction is to build a ballroom, at a cost of US$400 million (A$576 million), for social occasions. Months earlier, Trump had Jacqueline Kennedy’s rose garden dismantled. In its place, a Mar-a-Lago style patio, with iron furniture and umbrellas placed on stone pavement.
The Oval Office’s white door has gold lettering in script affixed to it, informing those on the grounds that they are indeed at “The Oval Office”. Trump’s White House evokes a hotel.
Trump engineered the takeover of the John Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts, a memorial to JFK with the grandest stages in Washington for culture, theatre, music, film and celebrations. Trump purged the board and installed his loyalists. The motive behind this coup was crystal clear when Trump decreed the building be renamed The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
A judge ruled this was unsupported by existing law and Trump’s name be removed. It was – at 3am one recent morning – with the work concealed by tarp hanging from the roof to the ground. The latest reports show that behind the tarp, Trump’s name has indeed been removed.
Trump has visions of an arc of triumph on the Memorial Bridge over the Potomac, to be a gateway to the haunting solemnity of Arlington National Cemetery, where those who made the ultimate sacrifice in battle to protect the United States and its people rest in eternal peace. Trump was inspired by his Bastille Day 2017 presence with French President Emmanuel Macron. Trump loved the military parade on the Champs Elysee, anchored by the Arc de Triomphe. His Washington must have it.
Peeling paint and algal blooms
Now, the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. It traverses a gorgeous setting between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. It has been world famous since Martin Luther King gave his “I Have A Dream” address on civil rights there in 1963.
But the pool has been troubled for decades with plumbing and drainage issues, algae, trash, and discoloration. Trump wanted it fixed in time for America’s 250th on July 4 this year. No-bid contracts with friendly associates were signed. There was cleaning, waterproofing, sealant and its now-famous “American Flag Blue” colour.
The repairs failed within days. The algae were back, the drainage was clogged, the colour was anything but blue. Trump blames vandals for trashing the pool and shredding the sealant. A former Olympian was arrested for putting his hand in the water to feel the torn strip of the blue paint.
Attempted repairs when Barack Obama was president did not do the job. But why has this debacle under Trump received so much attention?
Trump has been obsessed with showing off his plans for the Reflecting Pool. He has talked about it incessantly in the Oval Office. But every moment spent on the pool is a moment not addressing the economic crisis caused by his war in Iran. Voters understand this all too well.
Moreover, the Reflecting Pool is a place of meditation and peace. It is not behind a barrier fence like the White House. It is not an elitist fine arts institution like the Kennedy Center can often be. It is not an imperial edifice like the proposed arc on the Memorial Bridge.
The Reflecting Pool is for the people to gather, to remember, to reflect, to honour, to celebrate, to breathe. Now, like so much in this second Trump term, it has fallen into scandal and disrepair.
