Never has so much faux angst been expended over something so unworthy of the expenditure.
In the pantheon of Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS)- fueled exercises in spite-fueled revenge futility, nothing seems quite as trivial or as illustratively desperate as this determined drive to retain a leaking, derelict, broken-down, green pond-scum-filled centerpiece for our National Mall if it means foiling a successful and quite possibly beautifully enhanced Trump makeover.
It was only two weeks ago that I did a (ahem) deep dive into the brouhaha over the renovations at the National Mall’s glorious Reflecting Pool and contrasted it with the lack of any press scrutiny at all of Obama’s earlier, immediately subpar refurbishment that had cost twice as much.
In the aftermath of that $34M redo, the pool actually encouraged algae growth, as they channeled water in from a nearby tidal pool and couldn’t use chemicals to control algae growth due to backflow worries about harming wildlife.
And the thing still leaked like a sieve.
Along comes President Trump on the cusp of what’s normally considered a pretty momentous anniversary – 250 years of continued existence in the same format is nothing to sniff at – which would normally presage some sort of national capital sprucing up in anticipation of a celebratory blowout.
If it were anyone but Trump with the Swiffer Duster and touch-up can of paint in his hand, I guess that would be true.
Demented progressives and spite-filled Democrats are why we cannot have nice, clean, and pret-tee things that we already have. No one has to build anything new. That’s the part that is so irksome. What we have only needs to be maintained and cherished, and that is the bridge too far for the shrieking eels of the resistance.
None of the more ludicrous aspects of this fight against improving the pool has dawned on these earnest opponents or their dedicated lapdogs in the national media, who still, despite their dwindling numbers and decimated index of public trust, are doggedly on the case to pull the plug on the pool. Even if it takes right to the very moment the Interior Department turns a garden hose on to fill the completed basin.
Nothing illustrates this better than a hard-hitting investigative piece in the late and unlamented Washington Post, going at the pool from an aesthetic angle.
‘A-HA!’ Thought the clever authoress. ‘Sure. Trump is painting the pool ‘bah-loo’.’
You can almost hear the wheels turning in her AWFL little brain.
‘But what if…IT’S THE WRONG BLUE?!?!‘
Oh, by God – she’d have him then, wouldn’t she?
What a story. And off she goes to the source – this is journalisming after all. Hafta have a source, especially when there’s a federal judge involved, and there is.
The WaPo reporter finds what’s known in the wilds outside of D.C. as a ‘pool guy.’ No stone unturned in the pursuit of the truth, especially if it can help sink Trump.
And she immediately associates blue with bruises and cold masculinity, because of course she did.
Did Trump pick the right blue for the Reflecting Pool? We asked a pool guy.
Old Glory Blue? American Flag Blue? Let’s reflect on all the shades, while a federal judge mulls “aesthetic injury” in the president’s latest decorating flourish.
Lawyers for the Cultural Landscape Foundation, an education and advocacy organization seeking to halt work on the Reflecting Pool, argued that their client had suffered an “aesthetic injury” from the paint job, and that the government did not undertake required federal reviews. Lawyers for the government argued that if the blue pool remained as reflective as it had been with its previous gray-brown surface, there is no injury.
But blue is a color we associate with injury: Think of the mottled black and blue of a bruise. It is the color of authority and stereotypical masculinity; of depression, but also tranquility; of cleanliness; of cold; of winning first prize.
Simply writing about TRUMP seems to have bruised her soul and probably her oversensitive lady bits.
So much so that, as my X friend Steve Guest points out, it takes this female over 1200 apparently cathartic, emotive, twisted scribblings to get to what the verdict rendered by the pool guy she consulted was.
POOL GUY SAYS?
[CUE: drumroll] It’s cool.
The Washington Post Style section asks the question:
“Did Trump pick the right blue for the Reflecting Pool? We asked a pool guy.”
After reading through 1,221 words of TDS infused remarks, the Post finally gets to the point:
Per Swimming Pool Steve, the blue color President… pic.twitter.com/VqMmeYDGJT
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) May 27, 2026
…Per Swimming Pool Steve, the blue color President Trump picked is “going to very likely be a more sharp and accurate reflection versus the original gray color… What you’re going to see is a higher contrast to the light of the sky and clouds.”
In short, the Reflecting Pool color is the correct blue.
If you want the nitty-gritty details, according to Steve, it takes 1317 painful words to get to the revelation that, yes – the American Flag Blue Trump has chosen will reflect better in the *checks notes* Reflecting Pool.
Contrary to all the reporter’s hopes and dreams, this is the point of a ‘reflecting pool’ – reflection.
Not encouraging pond scum and amphibian hatchery.
Making changes to the National Mall is supposed to be arduous, Janay Kingsberry reports—and by painting the Reflecting Pool and making other changes, Trump is evading a process meant to preserve the landscape’s symbolism. https://t.co/xILYlL0kOr
— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) May 27, 2026
Slimy green pond scum and froglings are perfect symbolism for Democrats and progressives. Not so much for the rest of us.
Steve the Pool Guy’s expertise aside, there’s still a liberal federal judge’s unerring sense of style to consider, which is also happening at the same time.
As liberal judges feel they are experts in all fields, there is no reason to doubt they are also simultaneously world-renowned analysts of the reflective property theory of every shade of blue pool paint known to man, coupled with an unquestioned sense of ‘what is tasteful’ when applied to a national treasure.
A D.C. district court judge spent an afternoon trying to parse just how blue “American Flag Blue” — the color that President Trump selected for the fresh paint job in the Reflecting Pool — could be.
Here’s what we found: https://t.co/LpDfByq2rD pic.twitter.com/76WDuyMLLK
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 28, 2026
As the judge and the WaPo agonize over paint swatches in front of courthouse windows, trying to catch the hues in different light, crews are doing what they should be doing – trying to make up for lost time due to inclement weather, and getting the job done.
DC just had 9 straight days of rain which Trump said delayed pool repairs. https://t.co/ahYVqo2pVJ
— emily miller (@emilymiller) May 28, 2026
The country has a party to go to, and most rational Americans appreciate the effort when things look nice again.
I have a duck interpreter here and he saying Donald Trump is the GOAT. Thank you for making our Capitol beautiful again.
— Terry Beaulieu (@beaulieu_terry) May 28, 2026
If Trump gets the hustle on and manages to finish it before the judge and WAAH crowd can blow the whole deal, it’s gonna look so spectacular.
And the resistance is gonna be so blue…
…it’ll be epic.
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