Trump HUMILIATED by stunning admission as pool case collapses
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Can I just quickly say hello to you? For me, being a part of this place has always been about the people, not about the politics. Why are you holding this sign? You ever been to a protest before? Be safe. People that we cover who allow us to enter their lives. How's everybody doing? Everybody doing okay? How long has it been in line? I love human beings. To spend time connecting with them is the biggest blessing that I could ask for.
From the field to the studio, Jacob is finding the heart of the story. Connect with Jacob Soboroff. Weekends at 10 a.m. Eastern on MSNOW. I get to start the show tonight with a sentence I never thought I would really get to utter. The Trump administration just admitted that the president wasn't telling the truth. Earlier tonight, Trump's Justice Department dropped their criminal case against David Hearn, the former Olympian who they charged with vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool here in Washington, D.C., Now, folks, you may remember how Trump made a big deal of claiming that the reflecting pool had been damaged by mysterious vandals who he said cut a 350 foot gash in the pool's new liner.
U.S. attorney and former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro made an absolute spectacle. of bringing criminal charges against a man who she said did nothing other than touch the pool, who he said did nothing other than touch the pool's lining that had already been torn.
There was an effort, a violent effort to rip up the ceiling from the bottom of the pool. He damaged the pool. He damaged this pool.
Well, he apparently did not damage the pool because nobody did. No one. The reason that the reflecting pool's new liner started coming apart at the seams is exactly what we all suspected. Donald Trump's handpicked contractors did a really, really bad, lousy job. In their filing, dropping the case, the Justice Department admitted that documents provided by the Interior Department indicate, quote, the damage to the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool was the result of flawed installation by the contractor. It is a stunning admission of defeat from Donald Trump. Because remember, Trump spent months micromanaging this project, folks. He bragged about how his pool guy had come up with the idea for the pool's new liner, how he had personally chosen the color.
And he went around the normal process for government projects and contracts and handed out a no-bid contract to a company that apparently just screwed the whole thing up. Look, we all know Donald Trump doesn't have a whole lot of interest in the minutia, the details, the importance of public policy. But when it comes to the stuff he really cares about, well, like his pet projects, his businesses, the stuff that he gets, you know, money from that puts money, more money in his pocket.
Why did the Justice Department drop the vandalism case against David Hearn and admit contractor error?
Trump becomes the ultimate micromanager. Now, let me tell you just a little story. Come in a little close. A long time ago, I was in a meeting with Donald Trump. And at one point, Ivanka Trump walked in with options for different paint colors for the bathroom walls of one of his hotels. Guess what happened? Trump stopped the meeting for a full 15 minutes as he looked through the different colors before settling on the one he liked. And folks, you better believe that was the color they used for those bathrooms. Now, I was thinking about that meeting today when I read this story from The Wall Street Journal about the fundraising operations Trump is micromanaging from inside the White House. They report that, quote, almost every night in the White House, President Trump calls his fundraiser, Meredith O'Rourke, for an update.
Trump asks O'Rourke which companies and donors have cut checks and which haven't, and for how much. He often asks her to make much larger financial requests than she was planning. For some donors, the ask is $5 million. For others, it is $50 million. And the president gives her names to call, often including people who have recently met with him, according to people with knowledge of the calls. Now, even a president who's up for reelection should not be that intimately involved in his own fundraising operation.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–3:11
2
Why did the Justice Department drop the vandalism case against David Hearn and admit contractor error?
3:11–10:17
3
How did Trump’s involvement and no‑bid contractor choice affect the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool outcome?
10:17–20:45
4
How are Trump’s White House fundraising practices described and why do they raise corruption concerns?
20:45–32:30
5
What examples do lawmakers use to explain how corporate donations led to policy favors?
32:30–37:41
6
What evidence links the Antwerp diamond ring gift to Trump’s tariff carve‑out for diamonds?
37:41–44:17
Speakers
8 identifiedMore from The Briefing with Jen Psaki
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Trump invents excuses for his 'Trump-a-palooza' dud
GOP talking points against 'crazy' lead to immediate embarrassment
Blame for Trump's Iran disaster, Hegseth's Pentagon chaos spreads to negligent Congress
Vance flounders in public spotlight trying to push Trump's Iran gaslighting