Amid widespread concerns about the struggling economy, a deadly and destabilizing war that hasn’t gone according to the White House’s plans and a burgeoning global energy crisis, recent polling has found two-thirds of Americans are convinced their unpopular president simply has the wrong priorities. Donald Trump could take steps to change their minds, but he apparently doesn’t want to.
On the contrary, the Republican appears far more interested in assorted renovation projects than his actual governing responsibilities. The New York Times reported:
Next up on President Trump’s renovation tour of Washington, D.C.: the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, which he called ‘filthy’ and ‘dirty’ and in need of a major upgrade.
Mr. Trump said on Thursday that the project was already underway to renovate the reflecting pool, which is more than 2,000 feet long and has been the site of many historic events, including Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.
At a White House event ostensibly about health care, Trump strayed from the topic to talk about the reflecting pool between the Washington and Lincoln memorials, taking time to argue that he “actually had more people” when he spoke at a July 4 event at the reflecting pool than MLK did when he delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963. (“I have pictures of Martin Luther King’s crowd and my crowd,” the president said.)
Why make such a claim? Because Trump is who he appears to be.
The president went on to describe a situation in which he, relying on his experience as a developer who has built many swimming pools, rejected a contractor’s claim that removing the pool’s granite and replacing it with stone would take three years and cost $300 million.
“I said, ‘No, there’s a better way of doing it,’” Trump said, reflecting on a conversation that may or not have happened in reality. “I said, ‘What we’re going to do is, I’m going to call all three of these people that have worked for me in the past doing swimming pools.’”
He added that he told the contractors to “give me a good price,” and one agreed to do the job quickly for “less than $2 million.”
It’s difficult to know how much of the story is true, but according to the president, work is already underway as part of an apparent no-bid contract that he worked out, with specifications he chose, with an unnamed company he claimed to be familiar with. He didn’t explain where the money came from, whether proper federal contracting procedures had been followed or whether any element of the endeavor has been or will be subject to any kind of oversight.
An Associated Press report added, “Trump brought up the project unprompted and spoke about it for several minutes.”
This latest renovation project is not to be confused with the president’s preoccupation with his ballroom vanity project, his crusade to build a “Triumphal Arch,” his apparent excitement about the construction of a temporary White House arena for an upcoming UFC fight, his desire to turn the White House Executive Office Building into a giant white blob, his stated interest in renovating the White House Treaty Room, his specific marble and paint preferences for the Kennedy Center or the dozen or so other renovation projects Trump has prioritized in and around the White House complex.
Two-thirds of Americans believe their unpopular president simply has the wrong priorities. He keeps proving them right.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.
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