Before-and-after photos: Trump’s $14.2m makeover delivers … a blue pool

The Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool on the National Mall in Washington DC on 7 June, after it was resurfaced and painted blue. Photograph: Vantor/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen The Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool on the National Mall in Washington DC on 7 June, after it was resurfaced and painted blue. Photograph: Vantor/AFP/Getty Images Before-and-after photos: Trump’s $14.2m makeover delivers … a blue pool President steered no-bid contract for project that he said would cost $1.8m to company that worked on his golf resort The final drops of water have been added, and the nanobubbler switched on. Donald Trump ’s “beautiful” makeover of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, one of Washington DC’s most historically symbolic attractions, is officially complete, and the public is getting its first glimpse of how the project’s $14.2m was spent. Contrary to the president’s predictable assertion that it was receiving “rave reviews”, however, early impressions are decidedly mixed. Some of the first visitors declared themselves underwhelmed by the 2,000ft pool’s somewhat dull color – American flag blue , according to the specifications. A user can drag the image left to right to see a before and after satellite image of the reflecting pool on the National Mall. On the left, it's green, and on the right, it's very dark. A combination of satellite images created of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool on the National Mall in Washington, DC, on 10 June 2023 (left) and on 7 June 2026 (right). Others were bemused to see workers scraping algae from the bottom on Wednesday, just days after it had been filled with about 6.75m gallons of fresh water following the completion of renovation works. “What you are seeing is residual algae from the supply lines, which have been sitting dormant for eight weeks while construction has been taking place,” Katie Martin, a spokesperson for the US Department of the Interior, told CNN , insisting the algae was “part of the normal startup process”. She cited the National Park Service, which is responsible for maintaining the 104-year-old pool, purchasing a “state of the art” nanobubbler filtration system that would keep algae at bay. Barack Obama and Joe Biden were guilty of making “failed and extremely costly” attempts at refurbishments, she said, regurgitating long-debunked allegations . “President Donald J Trump is an expert builder who has fixed the Reflecting Pool for good,” said Martin. Some visitors declared themselves happy. “I’m impressed, to be honest. It reflects beautifully,” Lara Harvey, a New Zealander who lives in Bethesda, told CNN. Workers racing to turn reflecting pool blue for Trump may be at risk, union warns Read more But Kyra Brown, of Washington DC, questioned both the cost of the project, which started out by Trump’s calculation at $1.8m, and quickly soared beyond $14m , as well as the end result. “It doesn’t look that much different, honestly, to me,” she said. Also under scrutiny is the pro