Christina Cotarucci

I'm Christina Cotarucci.

I'm a senior writer at Slate.

That stretch of federal land between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial is maybe, you know, the most iconic American property that we have.

It's between two monuments representing two of our greatest and beloved presidents.

You know, it's the site of MLK's I have a dream speech.

It's the thing that you have to go to whenever you visit D.C., whether that's

on an eighth grade field trip or, you know, I met some people down there who were there for work conferences.

It's sort of the place where tourists gather more than any other.

My friends are up there.

What?

Don't worry, ma'am.

Everything's going to be okay.

Yes, more to the point.

Of all of Trump's, you know, D.C.

renovations, besides maybe the part of the White House that he tore down, it's the most recognizable thing to people who don't live in D.C.

Yes and no.

So when I first heard that Trump was painting the reflecting pool blue, you know, and this is like a bright blue, like I want to say the color of Sonic the Hedgehog.

Although, you know, having been down there, I would say it's a little more turquoise, but that's beside the point.

The fact is, the reflecting pool has been plagued by leaks and algae for decades, you know, maybe even since its construction.

And so Trump is not the first president to try to fix that.