Image: watson/keystone/getty
analysis
The algae in the reflecting pool show the incredible incompetence of the US President.
June 22, 2026, 12:48 p.mJune 22, 2026, 12:48 p.m
Objectively speaking, a halfway decent way out of the Iran debacle is the most urgent problem that the American president actually needs to solve. Trump delegated it to his deputy JD Vance. He himself has other priorities; he wants to clear algae from an artificial pond in Washington, the Reflecting Pool.
What are we talking about? The Reflecting Pool is an approximately 600 meter long and 1 meter deep artificial pond between the Lincoln Memorial and the Memorial for the Fallen in World War II. This pond is getting old and pretty rotten. Seen this way, Trump’s intention to restore it to its former glory in view of the upcoming 250th anniversary celebrations is actually understandable.
This is what the reflecting pool should look like.Image: keystone
Any other president would have given the order to renovate the reflecting pool and then left the work to the relevant specialists. The “stable genius,” on the other hand, instead listened to his gut once again – and once again thundered into a wall.
Just as security experts warned him that a war against Iran would inevitably result in the closure of the Strait of Iran, environmental experts warned him that summer is the stupidest time to renovate the artificial pond. Hans Pearl, professor of environmental science at the University of North Carolina, explains the reason for this in “Atlantic” as follows: “Algae, especially green-blue algae, like it warm. This time of year there are optimal growing conditions for them. This is basic biology, not rocket science.”
This is what the reflecting pool looks like today:
Video: Watson/Michael Shepherd
Trump probably took a window seat in biology class. He also ignored the fact that the pond’s irrigation system is very complex and in urgent need of renovation. Instead, he hired a buddy from Florida to repair the reflecting pool illegally, at wildly expensive and shoddily. He decorated the whole thing with the usual sayings. «We will use very sophisticated material that will last 100 years and will be installed by very talented people. The material is thick, strong, flexible and has a natural, magnificent color, the color of the American flag,” he boasted on his Truth Social platform.
Like the Iranians, nature hasn’t behaved quite as Trump imagined. For a few days, the reflecting pool actually shone in a deep blue color. But then nature struck back. The algae did exactly what the experts had predicted: it multiplied like crazy and turned the pond into an ugly, green swamp.
This is what the artificial pond currently looks like.Image: keystone
Maureen Dowd describes the result in the New York Times as follows: “At first glance, it is pleasant that this crazy president can trample on the bureaucracy and simply get things done. But as is usual with Trump, we have to live with the fact that he is ultimately incompetent, corrupt, tasteless and ultimately screws up everything.”
The president doesn’t quite see it that way. For once he doesn’t blame his predecessors Joe Biden or Barack Obama for the mess, but he sees dark forces at work. Vandals had poured chemicals into the pool and vandalized it, he complained on his platform.
To prevent this, he sent the park guards after the alleged vandals. They actually arrested five people. One of them is David Hearn, a former Olympian who happened to be at the reflecting pool. “I didn’t destroy or break anything,” he explains. “I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Nevertheless, he was led away in handcuffs and now faces a five-year prison sentence.
Slimy broth is pumped out.Image: keystone
Meanwhile, Jeanine Pirro, a former Fox News host appointed by Trump as District of Columbia Attorney General, threatens: “Anyone caught vandalizing or attempting to vandalize will face the DC criminal system. Anyone who pours things into the reflecting pool that promote the growth of algae will face even harsher penalties.”
The final act in the Reflecting Pool smear theater has not yet taken place. It is uncertain whether it will be possible to clean the pond before the celebrations begin. The symbolic message of the charade, however, is clear and loud. Matt Viser summarizes them in “Atlantic” as follows:
“So this is where we’ve come: A nation that was brought forth by its founding fathers with big dreams of democracy – a nation that has endured civil war, enemy attacks, and survived depression, recessions and assassinations – is now celebrating a 250th anniversary in which we must watch to see whether or not we can purify the water in a centuries-old pond. Even Abraham Lincoln looks on with a stone-faced astonishment.”