Trump’s blue swimming pool in Washington revives American fractures

“The city will long bear the scars left by this madman” : on the immense esplanade of the National Mall, in the heart of Washington, Sammy does not mince his words against Donald Trump’s plan to repaint the basin of this emblematic place of the American capital. The American President “sticks his nose everywhere he can”exclaims this young woman from the neighboring state of Virginia, who refused to give her last name. “He’s so narcissistic. »

For the 250^e anniversary, July 4, of the signing of the Declaration of Independence of the United States, the Republican ordered a repaint in “blue of the American flag” this pool built in the early 1920s between the obelisk of the Washington Monument and the famous statue of Lincoln. The project, which has already begun, has transformed this symbol of national unity into a new subject of division in Trump’s America.

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While the president’s detractors denounce corruption and megalomania, his supporters hail a leader who “put things back in order” in America. The 79-year-old former real estate developer seems obsessed with this new project, which joins a series of controversial renovations in the American capital. Since his return to power a year ago, he has bulldozed an entire wing of the White House to build a ballroom. The White House also unveiled a monumental project to“Arc de Triomphe of the United States”which is expected to rise to more than 76 m, higher than the Arc de Triomphe in Paris (50 m high).

A builder’s experience

The president, who personally visited the site last week, says it was high time to renovate the pool. “It was dirty, disgusting, and it had been leaking everywhere for years”he said in a White House video. His supporters say they trust his experience as a builder, an image carefully maintained to promote his desire to reshape public buildings as well as the American economy and political life.

“He knows what he is doing with all the buildings he has built”assures Elizabeth Miller, from Pennsylvania, while visiting the Lincoln Memorial. “He’s making America proud by putting everything back together.”she adds. Trump claimed to have rejected a three-year, $300 million project, preferring to call on a pool contractor he knew, at a cost of $1.8 million. “If it’s cheaper, faster and just as effective, why waste taxpayer money? »asks Russ, a tourist from Arizona, who only gave his first name.

“A dictatorial approach”

But, according to the New York Times, the bill has already reached $13 million. The daily also reports that the government awarded the contract without a call for tenders, contrary to the usual procedure, citing the urgency of completing the work before July 4, the 250th anniversary of the United States. Reacting to this information, Trump claimed not to know the contractor, thus appearing to contradict his previous statements.

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Something to worry about Margaret Herro, who came from Wisconsin. “I thought there was a procedure for restoring our national monuments, and I don’t feel like he followed it”she said. “It seems a bit like a dictatorial approach.” A cultural landscape organization filed a lawsuit to halt the project, which it called “desecration”.

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But that didn’t stop the work. Beyond the political and symbolic controversies, doubts also emerge as to the capacity of the project to restore the basin. “This is not the right solution”estimates Obe, an engineer from Maryland, who only gave his first name. “The drainage needed to be repaired, not just painted blue to make it look brighter. » Among the tourists gathered Wednesday at the Lincoln Memorial, Gregory Scott, from Atlanta, summarizes a question asked by everyone: “What is he going to do next?” “.