Trump wanted the Reflecting Pool to be ‘American flag blue.’ Algae is turning it green.

Donald TrumpTrump wanted the Reflecting Pool to be ‘American flag blue.’ Algae is turning it green.Trump had been celebrating the completed paint job just days before D.C. residents noticed that it had turned green.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool appears green due to algae growth on June 15.Graeme Sloan / Bloomberg via Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJune 16, 2026, 2:09 PM EDTBy Megan Lebowitz and Monica AlbaThe Trump administration has spent millions renovating the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall to make it “American flag blue” in time for the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.But even faster than it was repainted, the water has turned to a dark green — thanks to algae growth.The new hue comes despite significant cost and controversy, and is something of a stumble after boasts by President Donald Trump about how he was able to make the famous landmark look so much better than his predecessors did. Last month, he drove over the Reflecting Pool as it was under construction, boasting about the beautiful blue color it would be. “It never had the color people wanted, but now it’s going to have the great color,” he said at the time.But after last weekend’s hot weather, D.C. residents began to notice that the pool had turned green.Ducks at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on June 15.Graeme Sloan / Bloomberg via Getty ImagesReached for comment on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Interior Department continued to use the pool to mock Trump’s predecessors. “Unlike under Obama and Biden, the National Park Service is actually maintaining the beautifully completed Reflecting Pool,” the spokesperson said.The spokesperson said that the National Park Service was using “high-tech nanobubble ozone technology” to kill algae, pathogens and contaminants. “Additionally, hydrogen peroxide, which is a milder treatm...