Much ink has been spilled over the Reflecting Pool disaster, so excuse me for adding to the torrent. My partner discovered this picture on Facebook, and it does have its appeal (even if it never gets built) principally because it gives the finger to Trump.
The mess in the Reflecting Pool is a perfect metaphor for all that Trump has damaged, destroyed, or imperiled. It will stay in the minds of voters long after they’ve forgotten about the ludicrous arch and his other attempts to deface DC. This is because it’s a visible, visitable symbol. Symbol of what? Here’s a pretty good description:
The reflecting pool is just another pointless infrastructure project in a long line of pointless infrastructure projects that have come to define the blockbuster sequel to Trump 1.0. The White House ballroom, the Kennedy Center, the comically large arch designed to give Europe serious concrete envy. The politics pages of the news are starting to look more like Architectural Digest, which, quite frankly, is more fun to read usually. Except: every single one of these projects seems doomed to failure. The projects barely limp along as more than the governmental equivalent of a grandpa’s bucket list. Trump’s name is off the Kennedy Center. The ballroom is mired in litigation and political wrangling. The reflecting pool is a mess. It’s a parade of no-bid contracts, outlandish promises and unchecked vanity. Naturally, all these problems have to be someone else’s fault.
When I lived in DC I would occasionally walk its perimeter. Such a body of water can be a calming thing. Now it looks like it’s filled with vomit. Imagine the Great Narcissus looking into a pool of vomit.
You remember when Trump’s entourage drove across it in their ponderous black vehicles when it was drained for painting? Imagine what that did. You can be sure the cleanup will cost millions more, and you’re going to pay for it.
Repainting the pool was as unnecessary and frivolous as his other tacky attempts to beautify the city. But this one will stick in the craw of the multitudes because of its prominence and symbolism and utter pointlessness.
And, of course, the thoughtful, deliberative governmental agencies whose job it is to make sure projects get built right are dismissed. They are regarded as part of the deep state and the reason why everything takes so long and costs so much. Thank god we now have one supreme, all-knowing leader who has all the answers.