Much has been written about the Reflecting Pool fiasco. So why write more? Because the sad saga of the Reflecting Pool serves as an allegory for much of Donald Trump’s second term. An allegory is “a story that has a deeper … meaning in addition to its surface meaning.” The Reflecting Pool story goes beneath the surface of the pool itself.
The Reflecting Pool fiasco symbolizes so much of what is wrong with our President’s personality and decision-making. This tawdry tale displays elements of his demented view of personal relationships and power. There’s grandiosity and braggadocio, corrupt insider contracts, smears and attacks on the innocent, one directional loyalty, refusal to admit error and then the lies. Always, the lies.
Trump was a builder so he believes he can fix a swimming pool. He was in construction so he “knows a guy.” And his guy gets the job without any bidding. Which isn’t supposed to happen except in cases of national emergency, national security or similar rare exception (see 41 U.S. Code §3304).
Fixing the pool before July 4 was not a national emergency. But the project wasn’t done right for several reasons. One was dark blue paint, “American Flag Blue” according to Trump. But dark colors absorb heat which fuels the algae they were trying to get rid of. Most fifth graders know that darker colors absorb more heat. This fact apparently escaped Trump.
So with the June heat of Washington, D.C., the problem got worse. The dark blue and the notoriously warm D.C. summer combine to grow more algae. People come to see that algae. Plus, the dark paint starts peeling from the bottom of the Reflecting Pool. Apparently, Trump’s pool contractor didn’t know what he was doing. Although the Pool is only 2.5 feet at its deepest, Trump’s contractor was in over his head.
Some people stuck their hands into the pool to touch the pieces of the torn new paint liner. Before you know it, an Olympic kayaker and several more people are under arrest. Why? Because they supposedly sliced the pool liner for hundreds of feet. The President lied about that and the U.S. Attorney for D.C. lied about that. But why let facts stand in the way of a politically motivated criminal charge?
A reporter questioning the U.S. Attorney for D.C., Jeanine Pirro, apparently knew that the new pool liner was damaged before the Olympic kayaker put his hands in it. Pirro, a former Fox News host, hadn’t been a prosecutor in years. She was hired for her blind admiration of DJT (so much for fair and balanced news). Pirro aggressively pushed back against the reporter saying you’ll see the evidence against the kayaker at the trial.
Turns out that the reporter knew what Pirro didn’t but should have. Pirro later dropped the charges because of just what the reporter was saying when he asked her about the prior liner damage. But the prosecution “shot first and asked questions later.” That’s not how prosecutors are supposed to work.
When Pirro backed off the B.S. legal charges, Trump was furious at her. He wanted her to proceed with invalid charges. Forget about the prosecutors’ ethical duties not to move forward with bogus charges. That doesn’t matter to Trump. You’re either willing to take a bullet for him or not. Pirro doesn’t want to lose her law license because Trump’s having a temper tantrum? Too bad. That’s the way one-way loyalty works. You do what he wants or he spits on your grave.
Pirro presented the facts to Trump. The pool was already going to pieces and there’s no evidence that the Olympic kayaker or others slashed the liner. There’s no crime here. But that’s not enough to satisfy Crybaby Trump. He wants those people prosecuted. Lack of evidence be damned, he’s never wrong. He knows more than the generals, more than the experts, more than anybody on anything.
Once the evidence shows that the pool job was botched, Trump said that he didn’t know the contractor. That’s a blatant lie. In April he said that he had a guy “who was unbelievable at doing swimming pools,” that he would “send MY contractor over” and that after looking at it, the contractor told Trump he could do the job.
To paraphrase the old joke, how do you know Trump is lying? His lips are moving. He doesn’t just lie. He lies on videotape.
That reflects who Trump is.
Corey Belobrow practiced law for 44 years. He lives in Concord.