AOC’s two-word retort to Trump over his Reflecting Pool debacle is the ultimate clapback

AOC’s two-word retort to Trump over his Reflecting Pool debacle is the ultimate clapback As fencing goes up around the algae-green waters of the White House’s latest quagmire, Trump’s critics are reveling in his misfortune - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said what everybody’s thinking as the Trump administration hurriedly put up fencing on Tuesday to obstruct tourists from viewing or touching the now lime-green waters of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The Democratic New York congresswoman was asked late Tuesday about the growing debacle around the Reflecting Pool, which has ballooned past initial renovation cost targets and is now expected to cost the Trump administration at least $16 million. She responded quite simply that the “Drain the Swamp” president had finally succeeded in creating a living, breathing “actual swamp” in the middle of Washington, D.C. “They said they had to repaint the pool, and now they’ve turned the place into a swamp. They turned it into an actual swamp,” she told MeidasTouch reporter Pablo Manriquez near the steps of the Capitol building. The Reflecting Pool renovations have become something of a fixation for D.C. residents and critics of the president both. An effort to drain and resurface the Reflecting Pool was announced by the administration in April, originally estimating that the project would cost $2 million or less as teams sought to fix the pool’s leaky base and resurface it with an aqua-blue swimming pool surface. But the project continues now heading into July, with the cost now estimated to be around $16 million. And it’s not just getting ridiculed by Democrats anymore. “Damaging, aligning the reflecting pool is something that Pirro wants to prosecute to the full extent of the law… yet they're releasing people who pled guilty to assaulting a police officers. What freaking parallel universe did I just wake up in?” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) asked on Tuesday, according to NBC News. “I'd like to think a $15 million membrane could withstand a pocket knife.” Just days after the massive structure was refilled in early June, a massive algae bloom developed over the waters, which are now a deep green color and completely obscure the reflection of the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. Worse, large chunks of the formerly attached spray paint surface could be seen floating up to the water’s edge, where some residents and tourists walking along the National Mall attempted to take as souvenirs — in several cases resulting in them being rushed by police officers. Then, on Tuesday, a massive fence was erected around the pool for the second time as workers continued efforts to remove algae, chunks of paint, and even dead animals from the fetid water in time for July 4 celebrations around the District of Columbia, which typically sees a swell of tourists flock to the Mall and elsewhere around the city this time of year. Donald Trump on Monday furiously blamed “vandals” for the damage at an unrelated White House event, claiming that a 350-foot long “slit” caused by a box cutter or a knife had appeared in the pool surface. The president further claimed that evidence for his claims would be provided by the National Parks Service, which did not respond to a request for comment from The Independent. Reporters and others on the scene have seen no evidence of any massive cut in the pool surface, or evidence of specific vandalism at all. On Tuesday morning, he claimed that six people had been arrested for causing what were actually (allegedly) multiple “slashes” across a 350-foot stretch of the pool. “Six people have been arrested, and seven people have been cited, for the damage they did to our Country’s now beautiful Reflecting Pool. The 350 foot gash, made by a very sharp knife or razors, is actually numerous slashes over a very long 350 foot length. It was purposefully and criminally done, and somebody had to work very hard, probably in the dark of night, to create such a condition,” claimed the president. He went on to say the structure would be drained and repainted once again “either immediately before or after the Fourth of July”. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments