Trump has one simple answer for Reflecting Pool debacle: ‘Barack Hussein Obama’

The 80-year-old U.S. president made false claims about President Obama’s renovations to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, as he faces criticisms for a $14 million project that resulted in algae and peeling paint.

When pressed on Monday about the recent controversy surrounding his $14 million renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on the National Mall, President Donald Trump had one simple answer for those criticizing the pool’s current algae infestation and peeling paint.

“Barack Hussein Obama. Have you ever heard of him?” Trump told CBS News reporter Ed O’Keefe when asked about the pool renovation’s expanded timeline and price tag.

Moments earlier, Trump was pressed about the no-bid contractor he hired for the construction work on the Reflecting Pool ahead of Washington, D.C.’s festivities celebrating America’s 250th anniversary on July 4. When asked if the contractor, a Trump donor and neighbor in Florida, the president accused vandals of cutting up the new paint at the bottom of the pool and of putting in fertilizer, which created algae.

The Trump administration arrested at least five people accused of vandalizing the federal property, including a U.S. Olympian, and is investigating others, though no evidence has been presented.

The president also pointed the finger at former President Barack Obama, whom he mentions frequently when pressed on other topics, like his billion-dollar-per-day war in Iran that is driving up the cost of gas and other goods. Last week, the president called Obama a “stupid son of a b—h.”

“He spent two years and over $100 million on trying to fix it. You know what happened to it? Never even opened,” Trump falsely claimed. He later falsely said that between Obama and former President Joe Biden, $147 million was spent on renovations to the Reflecting Pool.

The Obama administration actually spent about $35 million on a two-year renovation to the pool, not $100 millon, according to FactCheck.org. Additionally, there is no record of any major renovations by the Biden administration.

“They were going to spend 400 million [dollars]. I spent 10 [million dollars]. They were going to spend four years. I spent two months, maybe less,” Trump added, falsely.

Democratic strategist Ameshia Cross told theGrio that the real person to blame is Trump, who had an opportunity to open up a bid for the project to ensure the work was done well, rather than handing a no-bid contract to a “friend.” She said a professional team would have told the “anti-science” administration that the summer heat would cause peeling and algae.

“That’s just a fact that was going to happen,” said Cross.

Dr. Marcus Board Jr., a political science professor at Howard University, said Trump’s blaming of Obama is connected to a broader envy of America’s first Black president, who had a 60% approval rating when he left office.

“The Obamas have transcended politics. Because people like the Obamas, that makes them American royalty. Trump and his supporters face the opposite. And this is why Trump’s Pavlovian dog whistle gets his followers salivating,” Board told theGrio. “As is the case in all of Trump’s businesses, his alternative options are all knock-off imitations.”

As some conservative voices defend Trump against criticisms of the pool debacle, some of whom also pointed the finger at Obama, Board continued, “From an academic perspective on public opinion, political behavior, and democracy, what we are seeing is power that stands for nothing and followers who fall for anything. This unfortunate reality continues to put us all in grave danger.”

Cross said bringing up Obama’s name “at every turn” doesn’t change the fact that more money will have to be spent to fix the Reflecting Pool as the affordability crisis and midterm elections “loom large.”

“We’re at the backdrop of an Iran crisis that continues, and the president just is failing at every turn and watching his approval ratings take a nose-dive,” she said.

The Democratic strategist also pointed to Trump’s political and legal attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, arguing that hiring or distributing services based on race or gender is “illegal discrimination” against what he perceives as more qualified white people.

“The anti-DEI argument is that people are getting jobs that they are not deserving of, that they do not have the education for, and that they do not have the skills for,” Cross told theGrio. “Unfortunately, for Donald Trump, the only people who are making it on that rubric are the people who exist within his cabinet and those whom he has hired on his no-bid contracts.”