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A worker removed algae on Thursday.<\/span>Gent Shkullaku\/Zuma<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n President Donald Trump is<\/span> blaming \u201cVandalism\u201d by \u201cRadical Left Lunatics\u201d for some of the struggles of his beloved Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool remodeling project.<\/p>\n \u201cJust like three days ago, they destroyed the grass<\/a> outside of the Pool, they\u2019ve also done everything possible to hurt the inside surface that was just installed,\u201d Trump posted to Truth Social<\/a> on Friday night. \u201cLaw Enforcement is actively investigating this situation.\u201d<\/p>\n Just six minutes later, he posted an image<\/a> of what appears to be a green-haired protester wearing a shirt with the words \u201cTEAM ALGAE<\/a>,\u201d presumably as evidence of said vandalism.<\/p>\n Although Trump announced the renovation in April\u2014which he initially said<\/a> would take one week and cost just $2 million\u2014the Reflecting Pool is still not \u201cAmerican flag blue,\u201d as fighting the algae has proved to be a larger task than the administration can handle.<\/p>\n As the Washington Post <\/em>noted that month<\/a>, major projects on the National Mall not only typically require congressional authorization, but are subjected to federal reviews. That doesn\u2019t appear to have happened with Trump\u2019s pool makeover. <\/p>\n Indeed, the sequence of events here follows a pattern characteristic of many of the presidents\u2019 projects and policies. While the steps may occur in different orders, they end in the roughly the same place: failure, with regular people paying the price. Let\u2019s take a look at Trump\u2019s destruction playbook:<\/p>\n After vowing to clean \u201cBiden filth and incompetence<\/a>\u201d from the Reflecting Pool last November, he posted on Truth Social<\/a> in April that although he was warned it could take years to make it \u201cmuch more beautiful,\u201d it would in fact only \u201ctake a fraction of that time, at a fraction of the cost.\u201d<\/p>\n According to a Thursday report by the New York Times<\/i><\/a>, a company with connections to a longtime Trump supporter was handed a no-bid contract worth $1.7 million<\/a> to install a new water purification system. A larger $14.7 million-contract to put blue waterproofing material on the Reflecting Pool\u2019s floor also had no other bidders.<\/p>\n The Trump administration said it finished the renovation on June 4<\/a> and it would fill the pool with water within days. According to a summary of the Department of Interior\u2019s contract<\/a> with Atlantic Industrial Coatings reviewed by CNN<\/a>, the price ballooned up to $14.7 million, despite promises it would cost a seventh that figure.<\/p>\n CNN reported<\/a> on Thursday that blue material on the bottom is starting to peel off. Also, the algae is back<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ludicrous claims of sabotage? With Trump\u2019s Friday night post, it looks like we\u2019re at this step right now.<\/p>\n Trump has publicly downplayed previous failed projects, dating back to his US-Mexico border wall<\/a> through, most recently, his Kennedy Center takeover.<\/p>\n Last month, after a federal judge ruled his name be removed from the performing arts institution, Trump said he had \u201cno interest<\/a>\u201d in continuing his remodeling project there. \u201cUnless I am free to do what I do better than anyone else,\u201d he posted, \u201cwe are going to be working with Congress to transfer this failing Institution back to them.\u201d<\/p>\n As nature clearly outpaces efforts to clean the pool, keep your eyes peeled for this one.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n