'Bankrupt a casino, can't run a country': Rep. Jim McGovern slams Trump's Reflecting Pool claims

After blaming reported vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, President Donald Trump shifted his crosshairs toward former President Barack Obama. On Monday, Trump repeatedly blamed Obama's past efforts to repair the pool and claimed that hundreds of millions of dollars were spent by the previous administrations to no avail. As he didn't provide any proof of his claims, Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern mocked his comments by bringing up his past track record of bankruptcies. 

"Barack Hussein Obama. Have you ever heard of him?" Trump told CBS News reporter Ed O'Keefe at the White House when asked about the renovation project's expanded timeline and cost. "He spent two years and over $100 million on trying to fix it. You know what happened to it? Never even opened," Trump falsely claimed. He then inflated the number to $400 million, claiming both Obamas were going to spend heavily on the project, and his claimed $10 million was nothing. "They were going to spend 400 million [dollars]. I spent 10 [million dollars]. They were going to spend four years. I spent two months, maybe less," he claimed. 

Sharing a clip of his comments on X, McGovern wrote: "It’s almost like the guy who bankrupted a casino can’t run a country," possibly referring to Trump's Atlantic City casinos, including the long-failing Trump Marina Hotel Casino, which was sold at a major loss after going bankrupt, according to the New York Times. 

Trump has also threatened to sue broadcaster ABC for its reporting on the cost of repairing damage sustained by the Reflecting Pool, claiming that the network had not reported costs incurred by previous administrations in maintaining the landmark. In his post on Truth Social, he alleged ABC "failed to report that their close 'friends,' Democrats Obama and Biden, spent over 100 Million Dollars on the Reflecting Pool, and it never worked." 

According to the Associated Press, Obama presided over a multimillion-dollar renovation of the pool, but the final cost was about $34 million, far less than Trump's claims. Furthermore, the Biden administration did not conduct any major work, as the estimate for a "full rehabilitation" of the pool came in at over $100 million, Chuck Sams, who was the director of the National Park Service during the Biden administration, told the publication.

On the other hand, Trump initially claimed the renovation of the pool would cost $1.5 million to $2 million and would be done within weeks. However, as per AP, the project overshot the two-week timeline, and according to official records, at least $14.8 million worth of contracts have been awarded for the project so far. Under Trump's supervision, the pool's base was coated with an "American Flag Blue" material and refilled with water. However, within two weeks, the pool suffered a major algae bloom, and reports claimed the coating was peeling off from the bottom. Trump blamed people for vandalizing the Reflecting Pool and claimed a "box cutter or a knife" was used to make a 350-foot slit, and that special chemicals were poured into the water to promote algae growth. Now, the pool is expected to be drained again for repairs ahead of the nation's 250th anniversary celebrations, as per PBS.