Trump Revises Claims on Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Contractor Amid Cost Overruns President Donald Trump altered his account of the contractor responsible for renovating the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Tuesday, stating he did not know the firm involved in the project after previously claiming he had communicated with a man he described as an expert in pool construction. The project, which has drawn scrutiny over its no-bid contract and cost overruns, was awarded to Atlantic Industrial Coatings, a Virginia-based company. The work is scheduled to coincide with the nation’s 250th birthday in July. In a post on Truth Social, Trump asserted that the Interior Department, not himself, selected the contractor, which he claimed he had never worked with before. “I didn’t give out the contract, ‘Interior’ did, to a contractor I did not know, and have never used before,” he wrote, criticizing a New York Times article that highlighted the project’s rising costs. Earlier this month, during a White House meeting, Trump had claimed to have consulted with a contractor he described as “unbelievable at doing swimming pools,” stating the individual had assured him the project could be completed efficiently. A White House official confirmed to The Hill that the contractor has been involved in several notable projects in Washington, D.C., though the president does not have a personal relationship with the firm. The official noted that as a private citizen, Trump was familiar with the company’s previous work.#donald_trump #truth_social #atlantic_industrial_coatings #interior_department #lincoln_memorial_reflecting_pool
