{"id":3323,"date":"2026-06-12T20:24:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T20:24:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/?p=3323"},"modified":"2026-06-12T20:24:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T20:24:38","slug":"before-and-after-satellite-photos-show-trumps-changes-to-the-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool-in-washington-dc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/?p=3323","title":{"rendered":"Before-and-after satellite photos show Trump&#8217;s changes to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, DC"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul class=\"mb-4\">\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<div>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The Trump administration renovated the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<div>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The $14.2 million project included sealing and painting the bottom &#8220;American flag blue.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<div>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Trump&#8217;s changes to the reflecting pool are visible from space.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">President Donald Trump has made many\u00a0changes to Washington, DC, since returning for a second, non-consecutive term. One such change is visible from space.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In April, Trump announced that he had chosen Atlantic Industrial Coatings \u2014\u00a0a contractor he initially said worked on his Virginia golf club before later\u00a0walking back\u00a0that claim \u2014 to renovate the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool ahead of\u00a0America&#8217;s 250th anniversary, telling reporters its &#8220;filthy&#8221; water was &#8220;not representative of the country.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/lo\/mysterio\/api\/13e87afc8fb2fa2bed41b5777fd21b761f0b64f63190b14fc98effba8aabc16b\/lightyear_networkapi\/resizefill_w960;quality_80;format_webp\/https:%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Fbusiness_insider_consolidated_articles_886%2F914bb3df0079d51bf184d5bd89edec37\" alt=\"Donald Trump with a rendering of his renovations to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" data-nimg=\"1\" \/><button class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" aria-label=\"View larger image\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\" data-rapid_p=\"9\" data-y-link-id=\"0s8l9dj04acko70u48hq\" data-v9y=\"1\"><\/button><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<div>President Donald Trump with a rendering of his renovations to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.<span class=\"copyright\">Kevin Dietsch\/Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The $14.2 million project, which Trump initially estimated would cost between $1.5 and $2 million, included sealing and painting the bottom of the 2,030-foot-long pool an &#8220;American flag blue&#8221; to better reflect the Washington Monument.<\/p>\n<div class=\"max-md:faux-bleed mb-4 bg-accent\/2 pb-5 md:invisible md:mb-0 md:h-0 md:overflow-hidden md:pb-0\">\n<div class=\"py-2 text-center text-xs uppercase\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In a satellite image of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool taken on March 10, 2026, before the renovation began, the water appeared green due to widespread algae growth.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/lo\/mysterio\/api\/e402245da4b555ec99c7fa8b8cd82b18064662fc81ce139a5d384b4cc887ff3f\/lightyear_networkapi\/resizefill_w960;quality_80;format_webp\/https:%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Fbusiness_insider_consolidated_articles_886%2F3d52aef3104bf952a6a2f26df7c99cca\" alt=\"A satellite image of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, DC.\" width=\"960\" height=\"585\" data-nimg=\"1\" \/><button class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" aria-label=\"View larger image\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\" data-rapid_p=\"10\" data-y-link-id=\"0edd9rt1nbfzlu16ulih\" data-v9y=\"1\"><\/button><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<div>A satellite image of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on March 10.<span class=\"copyright\">Vantor\/Handout via REUTERS<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">A satellite photo taken on June 7, a day after Trump said the project was completed, showed the pool&#8217;s darker surface.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/lo\/mysterio\/api\/c5a4c84bc0c6e4d6bc6515185a70c9daaa51d4b96b37e5560ff1a4a8d4e54f38\/lightyear_networkapi\/resizefill_w960;quality_80;format_webp\/https:%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Fbusiness_insider_consolidated_articles_886%2Fda0b3484e775b990ec3676bf058bbfab\" alt=\"A satellite image of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool being refilled with dark blue water.\" width=\"960\" height=\"557\" data-nimg=\"1\" \/><button class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" aria-label=\"View larger image\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\" data-rapid_p=\"11\" data-y-link-id=\"0bk7nex0m4i4311bi8b9\" data-v9y=\"1\"><\/button><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<div>A satellite image of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on June 7.<span class=\"copyright\">Vantor\/Handout via REUTERS<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Indeed, the reflection of the Washington Monument could once again be seen on the water in a photo taken at the site on June 9.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/lo\/mysterio\/api\/23fb40cd4743ff25e3e28f2eb58ea6fb9425973ff6d8491b2e59cb9b05b90d0c\/lightyear_networkapi\/resizefill_w960;quality_80;format_webp\/https:%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Fbusiness_insider_consolidated_articles_886%2F3f8ee25a25402f124e4d2252d308f4da\" alt=\"The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" data-nimg=\"1\" \/><button class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" aria-label=\"View larger image\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\" data-rapid_p=\"12\" data-y-link-id=\"0tep5ko0bu4e0n192b31\" data-v9y=\"1\"><\/button><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<div>The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on June 9.<span class=\"copyright\">Anna Rose Layden\/Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In a\u00a0Truth Social\u00a0post on June 6, Trump celebrated the refreshed reflecting pool and touted his other planned\u00a0White House renovations\u00a0and additions to DC&#8217;s landscape.<\/p>\n<div class=\"mb-4\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;It was originally opened in 1922, but never functioned properly \u2014 now it does!&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;Thank you President Trump, thank you Department of the Interior \u2014 AND THE BEST IS YET TO COME with The Trump Promenade at The Lincoln Memorial, and The Triumphal Arch, which will be, along with the\u00a0White House Ballroom, when completed, the Greatest Structure in Washington.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">If you enjoyed this story, be sure to follow\u00a0Business Insider\u00a0on Yahoo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Trump administration renovated the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, DC. The $14.2 million project included sealing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":3324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,4,48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics","category-us"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3323"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3323\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3325,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3323\/revisions\/3325"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}