Interior Secretary Doug Burgum joined ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos on Sunday, where the two sparred over the renovation of the Reflecting Pool in DC.
Stephanopoulos repeatedly attempted to claim that the renovation was a failure, denying that the Trump administration had fixed anything and insisting that something “went wrong” with the renovations, while ignoring the vandalism and destruction of the pool’s lining.
He first attempted to attack Trump over the roughly $15 million cost of the job to fix and properly seal the pool with crack and leak-proof materials and expansion joints, which will withstand the years and changing temperatures that come with the seasons. The pool was previously sinking and leaking millions of gallons of water per year into the swamp beneath.
Stephanopoulos implied that because the pool is now closed due to vandalism and because of the cost, it was a failed renovation. “What went wrong? How are you going to fix it? How much is it going to cost?” he asked Burgum.
“Let’s put this all in context: Under President Trump’s leadership, Washington, DC, we fixed 48 monuments, 22 fountains that hadn’t had water going for years. We eliminated over 1000 graffiti sites. All of these things have been going on across the city, and you know, everybody that lives in Washington, DC says the place has never looked better. And, of course, you look at the crime stats, the city has never been safer,” Burgum fired back.
“Of the 340 million people in this country that are celebrating 250, we did have a few vandals, but all that’s going to be repairable, and that’ll all be fixed in the coming weeks as we go forward.”
Hellbound and Down 