WASHINGTON - As the ceasefire with Iran teeters and his Republican Party faces dire risks over the war’s costs, US President Donald Trump made sure the press assembled on Wednesday in the Oval Office knew what was on his mind: renovating the historic Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
During his first public appearance in days, the 79-year-old leader kicked off an executive order signing ceremony with discussion of the Reflecting Pool refurbishment, which has shut down one of the US capital’s most popular tourist attractions.
“It was opened in 1922 and it always leaked,” complained the former real estate developer.
Rarely more animated than while discussing construction or renovations, Trump praised the “very special material” used to renovate the pool, due to reopen before the July 4 holiday, which will also mark the 250th anniversary of US independence.
The reflecting pool project has faced scrutiny over its cost and the process by which the contract was awarded.
Using a chart titled “Our Pool is Bigger than Skyscrapers,” Trump compared the scale of the pool with the height of three famous buildings, including New York’s Empire State Building.
Crowd size claim … again
Trump also mentioned the famous 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech by civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr, made to an audience at the National Mall, where the reflecting pool is located.
The former reality TV host could not help but compare himself to the late reverend King.
“That’s where Martin Luther King made his great speech,” Trump said.
“The million people, I had the same amount of people.”
US media said Trump was alluding to his address on the National Mall given on January 6, 2021, after which thousands of his supporters stormed the US Capitol building to contest the result of the 2020 presidential election.
“You put the picture side by side, which we have, and they said I had 25,000 (people), he had a million,” Trump said, adding that his crowd was “tighter.”
The National Constitution Center said King’s “I Have a Dream” speech drew a crowd closer to 250,000, while no official estimates are available for the January 6 rally.
Trump has frequently been criticised for inflating numbers, like when he claimed his 2017 inauguration drew a larger crowd than former president Barack Obama did in 2009.
That claim gave rise to the memorable phrase “alternative facts”, used by his staff to defend a statement clearly disproved by photographic evidence.
After the reflecting pool tangent, Trump signed executive orders on US customs and protections for civil servants.
He eventually answered questions about the Iran war when taking questions from reporters, in which he said negotiations could yield results “over the weekend”.
