President Donald Trump’s latest questionable renovation project aims to turn the Lincoln Memorial’s Reflecting Pool to a shade the president calls “American flag blue.” Despite essentially zero public clamoring for yet another publicly funded renovation project, the president had previously boasted that the repairs and repainting of the National Mall landmark would cost less than $2 million. However, The New York Times reported this week that the budget had ballooned to more than $13 million.
The reflecting pool project is one of several no-bid contracts the administration has recently pushed to emphasize speed over cost reductions in the rush to complete them before the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding this July.
Trump’s priorities in his second term offer a glimpse into a parallel timeline, one that presents a far calmer, less frenetic reality than what we currently experience. In an alternate universe, he turned to his passion for interior design and decorating, hosting a show where contestants compete to meet his discerning standards of beauty.
In our present reality, where Trump leads the executive branch and has access to nuclear launch codes, there’s no mistaking where his focus lies.
This is a preview of Hayes Brown’s latest column. Read the full column here.
