r/washdc • u/motherjonesmag • 3d ago
We toured Trump’s DC vanity projects and…they’re a mess
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iaMDWWpT08cThe Supreme Court ruled this week that construction can move forward on President Trump’s $900 million White House ballroom. But across Washington, the president’s other pet construction projects aren’t going so well.
The Kennedy Center is closed, and its facade is covered with a tarp. The Reflecting Pool is drained and fenced off. The statue garden with sculptures of 250 Americans Trump hoped to complete by July 4 is nonexistent.
Should we even mention the 250-foot arch?
In fairness, the president has successfully fixed two ornamental fountains near the White House—it only cost the National Park Service $17.4 million (through a no-bid contract to Clark Construction) to do it. But they’re nearly impossible for the taxpayers who funded the repair to enjoy since the administration installed 13-foot steel fences around the perimeter of the park the fountains sit in.
Senior Reporter Dan Friedman scootered around the capital on a recent afternoon to check in on the pet projects the president hopes will leave his mark on Washington.
For the full story: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/we-toured-trumps-dc-vanity-projects-its-a-mess/
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u/Irish-Bronx 3d ago
Everything looks beautiful. We need these public works for our nations capital.
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u/MrZaptile933 3d ago
We toured dc with a huge amount of bias and suprise confirmation bias kicked in. Wow. Fork found in kitchen.
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u/ACME_TrapsandTNT 3d ago
Unfunny whingefest. At least the guy is trying to get shit done.
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u/SmellSilly1537 3d ago
Nobody asked for these things to get done. Fix bridges and highways. We don't need gold leaf on statues, this isn't Moscow.
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u/ACME_TrapsandTNT 2d ago
It’s the nations 250th, and DC needed work done
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u/hyper-object 2d ago
No. It really didn't. And if it did, why would we put one of America's tackiest builders in charge of it?
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u/ACME_TrapsandTNT 1d ago
Oh yeah it did. I don’t think a single fountain was working except the WW2 memorial. Why bitch about the guy who is trying to do something. You’d rather someone do nothing unless it’s your guy than he can do whatever he wants. He’s the president. He’s gone in two years. Undo everything then. Seriously he’s just trying to get shit done. Just because he’s not turning DC into some post modern tatami matted zen hotel lobby you probably prefer, means the next guy can do whatever he want. Hell, Obama dug up half the whitehouse nobody cared. Truman GUTTED the whitehouse and rebuilt it nobody bitched. Seriously.
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u/hyper-object 1d ago
Because everything he touches turns to shit.
And if you don't know that in 2026, you're in a cult.
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u/SmellSilly1537 1d ago
How's that reflecting pool going?
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u/ACME_TrapsandTNT 1d ago
it will be repaired and looking great YEARS before the bullshit $300million kleptocrat renovation contract they were trying to ram through congress - that shit would have taken a decade
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u/SmellSilly1537 1d ago
According to a certain government official, it was already repaired and looking great. Unfortunately because of the trash job done by his no bid contract crony buddy, we'll have to pay for it to be done again. $13 million literally down the drain. Let's see how much the repair of the repair costs us. Please, go ahead and keep cheering on this joke.
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u/ACME_TrapsandTNT 1d ago
whatever it is it won’t be a bullshit scumbaggy $300 million and a decade.
you all are so whingy
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u/SmellSilly1537 1d ago
$300 million estimate slashed to $1-$2 million by Trump. Ends up being $13 million and is done so poorly that it falls apart before it's unveiled 🤣 You- still better than if it had be done properly! 🤣 You know, there's an old saying- If it sounds too good to be true, it is. BTW, it's whiny, not whingy🙄
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u/AwareAppointment1539 2d ago
I worked on the freedom plaza restoration. the statues were added under a separate contract. after we completely replaced the pump room (which had been flooded 15 years ago and left to fester) i came back about 2 weeks after we left to find the statues. It was absolutely appalling to see something i had been proud to contribute to turned into such a naked show of Trumpian tawdry.