Fuming Trump Melts Down in 400-Word Rant Over Embarrassing Revelation
The president gave the matter his full attention shortly after 1 a.m.
President Donald Trump unleashed a torrent of vitriol in a lengthy post—exceeding 400 words—following the revelation that the controversial renovation project he had ordered for the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool would cost considerably more than he had previously announced.
Late last month, Mr. Trump decided to put his personal stamp on this historic site—where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963—as part of a broader campaign to “beautify” the nation’s capital. At the time, he stated that the cost of the work—intended to repair leaking joints and paint the pool an “American flag blue”—would amount to $1.8 million. However, The New York Times has now revealed that the Department of the Interior intends to pay $13.1 million to the company tasked with the project, Atlantic Industrial Coatings.
In his post, published online at 1:12 a.m., Mr. Trump (79) all but confirmed the accuracy of The New York Times‘ reporting, which was based on official federal documents. Mr. Trump subsequently deleted the original post, only to republish it at 6:46 a.m. after correcting a typo (in which the original text described the pool as an “embarrassment to Washington”) and making several grammatical corrections.
While lambasting this exorbitant cost increase, Mr. Trump alleged that the newspaper was “trying to justify Obama and Biden’s failed and costly attempt to fix” the pool. In this regard, he stated: “They squandered no less than $55 million in messy and desperate attempts—offering absolutely no chance of success—to get the Reflecting Pool working properly.” »
It is worth noting that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool underwent a major renovation under the Obama administration—while Joe Biden served as Vice President—between 2010 and 2012. The actual cost of this project amounted to approximately $30 to $38 million, not $55 million as Mr.
Trump claimed. Against this backdrop, Trump cast himself as a heroic figure arriving to save the day, declaring: “And now, ‘Trump’ enters the scene, as many patriots ask him if he can fix things. The answer comes back, loud and clear: Yes! And for a ‘tiny’ fraction of the cost!” He added:
He continued: “Instead of taking 4 years to build, at a cost, granite pavers and all, of 400 Million Dollars, we could construct a far superior Reflecting Pool for 5 or 6 Million Dollars, and could complete the project in 2 weeks rather than 4 years. What a difference in time and money, and for a far superior end result!” he said.
Once again, his figures were inaccurate. The Department of the Interior added $6.2 million to the initial contract cost—which stood at $1.8 million—bringing the total to $8 million. This figure bears no resemblance to the estimate he cited—”$5 or $6 million”—in his post on the “Truth Social” platform.
Subsequently, Trump launched a scathing attack against the journalist who authored the critical article, asserting that he had, in reality, saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
“This is not just a paint job, like lowlife ‘reporter,’ David Fahrenthold, of the NYT so inaccurately and maliciously stated, it is a deeply complicated work of smart and beautiful construction. It won’t leak, it will shine, and be the pride of Washington D.C. for decades to come. I saved more than 390 Million Dollars, and 4 years of no ‘mess,’ and was, of course, given no credit by the biased New York Times,” he said.
Trump’s attack on what he termed the “failing New York Times” comes at a time when the newspaper gained 1.4 million digital subscribers in 2025 and continues to dominate U.S. news sites in terms of online traffic volume.
Although Trump appeared irked by the characterization of this work as merely a “coat of paint,” the Department of the Interior described it in its statement as something far more complex; specifically, the department termed it a “waterproofing coating project.”
Trump concluded his tirade of criticism with a baffling statement, asserting: “Also, I didn’t give out the contract, ‘Interior’ did, to a contractor I did not know, and have never used before,”
Nevertheless, his administration bypassed rules requiring the consideration of competitive bids, awarding this lucrative contract—which was not put out for public tender—to Atlantic Industrial Coatings, a company that had previously renovated the pools at Trump’s club in Sterling, Virginia.
The President had told reporters in late April: “I have a guy who’s unbelievable at doing swimming pools,”
During a speech delivered on Monday in the White House Rose Garden, the President also alluded to the article published by The Times, stating: “I read in the New York Times that we had merely applied a simple coat of paint; but this isn’t just paint—it is a highly complex, high-tech material.”
It is evident that the President feels deeply aggrieved by the criticism directed at his project; Indeed, no later than last week, Rachel Scott—a prominent political correspondent for ABC News—faced the full force of his wrath for daring to question the “lavish beautification project” he champions.
Echoing the concerns of voters, Scott asked: “Mr. President, you stand here today against the backdrop of an imminent war with Iran; why, then, are you focusing on all these projects at this precise moment? Furthermore, we are still witnessing a sharp rise in fuel prices.”
Trump lashed out violently at Scott, branding her a “disgrace” and a “stain,” and dismissing her question as “stupid.”
