Donald Trump
Reuters reports this.
On Sunday, Trump said he wants to renovate the existing public golf course in Washington, East Potomac Golf Links, which is about 100 years old, and that work is set to begin as early as September.
The U.S. president made the announcement after visiting the site with the Secretary of the Interior and an architect specializing in golf course infrastructure.
“It has been determined that at this fantastic location, overlooking the water and the capital’s landmarks, we will build one of the best golf courses anywhere in the world,” Trump said, adding that it is currently, he claimed, practically impossible to play there.
“Work on the new course, which will proceed quickly, will begin on September 1,” he said.
Overall, Trump’s idea for this site is not new and has already been the subject of a lawsuit filed by a civic organization and two citizens. Subsequently, the administration and the civic organization reached a compromise agreement.
Ballroom
As a reminder, prior to this, Trump had begun implementing his revolutionary plan to build a luxurious ballroom on the site of the East Wing of the White House. The project’s cost kept rising—from $200 million to Trump’s latest estimate of $400 million. At first, Trump claimed that the project “would not interfere with the existing building,” but then he demolished the entire East Wing.
On April 1, a U.S. court ordered a halt to construction of the ballroom, but a few days later, the Federal Planning Commission approved Trump’s plans, stating that the federal court’s decision to suspend construction did not affect the review process.
Reflecting Pool
The Reflecting Pool is one of Washington’s most recognizable landmarks. It is a narrow rectangular pond measuring 619 by 51 meters, stretching from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial.
The pool was built in the U.S. capital in 1922. Many memorable events in American history have taken place by the pond—for example, it was here in 1963 that Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech against racial segregation to a crowd of demonstrators. The location is frequently featured in Hollywood films, from *Forrest Gump* to Marvel’s *Spider-Man*.
In the fall of 2025, Trump took an interest in the pool. The president shared a video on his social media platform, Truth Social: the footage showed the pool’s dirty water, full of trash and algae. “I’ll fix it,” Trump wrote. “Watch closely—you won’t have much longer to witness this filth and incompetence [of my predecessor] Biden.”
The new renovation began in the spring of 2026—ahead of the United States’ 250th anniversary, which the country will celebrate on July 4. Trump promised that the bottom of the pool would be lined with “the best, most modern lining” and painted dark blue—the color of the field with stars on the American flag. “You’ll have a beautiful, beautiful Reflecting Pool—just as it should be. It will be much better than ever before.”
The work lasted from April through June and cost at least $14 million. No sooner had the work ended than the pond turned green with algae, and the lining began to peel away. Soon after, three dead ducks were found in the pool; it is possible that some of the algae were toxic. Furthermore, it turned out that the installation of the $1.7 million water treatment system had been awarded without any competitive bidding to the firm “Green Water Solutions,” whose owner, John J. Caffaro, had donated money to Trump’s 2020 election campaign.
However, the president had an explanation for the mishap: according to him, vandals had damaged the pool. Trump claimed that the perpetrators cut through the liner with a utility knife and then tore it apart by hand (the pool is very shallow, no more than a meter deep—technically, this is possible). In addition, they allegedly poured chemicals into the pool. Seven people were even arrested on this charge.
Experts, however, say that the pool was most likely damaged not by vandals, but by shoddy restoration work. For example, pool specialist Steve Goodale noted in a comment to PBS that the lining used on the bottom is quite difficult to cut with a knife—but it’s very easy to make a mistake when installing it. Biochemist Greg Boyer suggests that the water in the pool may have heated up more than usual due to the new dark blue color of the pool floor—which likely triggered the algae bloom.
