Trump calls New York Times 'one of the worst newspapers' after Reflecting Pool coverage

President Donald Trump lashed out at the New York Times for reporting on his Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation project. The publication, citing official records, reported the project, which Trump promised would cost $1.8 million, had now gone up to $13.1 million, all for the pool to be painted blue. Taking to Truth Social, Trump refuted the claims, calling the reporter "low life" and claiming the project was much more than a paint job. 

"The Failing New York Times, which is one of the worst newspapers anywhere in the World, and is losing subscribers on an hourly basis, is now at it again," Trump wrote, reacting to a Tuesday report from the NYT. The publication citing federal records reported that the Interior Department added $6.2 million to the contract's previous cost, taking the total to $13.1 million to be paid to a Virginia firm called Atlantic Industrial Coatings, for painting the reflecting pool "American Flag blue."  As per the publication, the firm was chosen by Trump because he had worked with them on the swimming pools at his golf club in Sterling. 

In his rant, Trump said the publication was trying to justify the "botched attempt" of the Barack Obama and Joe Biden administrations, who he claimed spent "$55 million" with no chance of success. "Instead, they made it worse, keeping it closed for years, and ending up with a leaking, smelling ode to both of their failed Administrations. It was an embarrassment to Washington, D.C., and to our Country itself," Trump wrote.

The President then focused his attack on the reporter, David A. Fahrenthold, whom he called "lowlife" for reporting "inaccurately and maliciously." He claimed the project wasn't a paint job but a "deeply complicated work of smart and beautiful construction." Trump went on to claim that he will fix the pool for a “tiny” fraction of the cost and it will be completed in "two weeks" rather than "four years." "It won't leak, it will shine, and be the pride of Washington D.C. for decades to come," Trump claimed. The President lastly refuted the claim that he gave out the contract, saying the project was given to a contractor he "did not know."

However, the NYT later reported that the no-bid contract was given after the Trump administration invoked an exemption meant for urgent situations to prevent "serious injury, financial or other, to the government." While administration officials didn't say what the emergency was, they told the publication that Trump wanted it changed for the 250th Anniversary of the U.S. 

Despite Trump's attempt to get it done in two weeks, the project is still at risk of being put on hold, as on Monday, a nonprofit organization, The Cultural Landscape Foundation, sued the National Park Service, the Department of the Interior, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum over the decision to resurface the pool and paint it blue without federal review. The suit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia urged a federal judge to halt the project, saying that the Trump administration ignored critical provisions, including those of the National Historic Preservation Act, according to NBC.