Donald Trump has left people puzzled after unveiling a chart comparing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to some of the world's tallest buildings. Speaking from the Oval Office, the president outlined renovation plans for the historic pool on the National Mall in Washington, DC.
Struggling to hold up a chart titled 'Our Pool is Bigger than Skyscrapers', Trump said: 'I just had this done.' He appeared to stumble over his words as he added: 'That's your size compared… those are among the tallest buildings in the world, including the Empire State Building, World Trade Center, Sears Tower, Chicago.' Of these, only the World Trade Center ranks in the top 10 tallest buildings globally.
Trump continued: 'So if you lay it on its side you'd take two or three of them to fill it in, because width is very… almost 200ft wide. And actually [the pool is] much more than 2,000[ft], close to, including everything, it's about 2,500ft in length to the end.' He added that the pool would be painted 'American flag blue' instead of its current grey, saying: 'It's going to be really special.'
The pool, constructed in 1922 and 1923, has been a tourist attraction for over a century. However, a historic preservation group filed a lawsuit in May claiming the vibrant colour violates the National Historic Preservation Act. The lawsuit states: 'The dark grey, achromatic basin was not incidental to the design. It was the design.'
Trump marked the 500th day of his second term with news that his approval rating had slumped to -25 points, making him the most unpopular president since YouGov began polling in 2009. Only 35% of Americans approve of his performance, while 60% actively disapprove.
