Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton posted a sharp criticism of President Donald Trump on Monday, June 29, zeroing in on two controversies that have dogged his administration: the algae-covered Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and the lackluster federal events held for the nation’s 250th anniversary.
In her post on X, Clinton included images highlighting both problems and asked, “Why can’t Trump clean a pool, or throw a real 250th party?” She went further, declaring, “It’s not (just) incompetence. It’s also corruption.”
Contracting Questions and Felony Convictions
Clinton’s post attached images addressing both procurement and optics. Public Citizen stated that the Trump administration gave nearly $103 million in federal contracts and grants related to the 250th anniversary celebrations to what it described as “a network of politicized entities under the control of Trump administration officials and political allies.” Another image showed a headline about Greenwater Services, the company hired without competitive bidding to fix the Reflecting Pool’s algae infestation, which is partially owned by someone with two felony convictions and connections to Trump.
One photo depicted the Reflecting Pool still tinted green despite a multimillion-dollar renovation the administration had promoted. Another showed sparse attendance at the Great American State Fair, an event Trump had billed as a major spectacle for the anniversary.
A Persistent Embarrassment at the Lincoln Memorial
The Reflecting Pool near the Lincoln Memorial has turned into a sustained source of ridicule for the Trump presidency. Promoted as a signature project for the America 250 programming, the landmark was supposed to be gleaming for the anniversary. Instead, algae growth has persisted, and the no-bid contract awarded to Greenwater Services has triggered intense scrutiny. The partial ownership of that firm by a twice-convicted felon with a reported friendship with Trump has fueled demands for transparency about procurement practices across the broader 250th anniversary program.
Public Citizen stated that “Trump thinks the public exists to serve him instead of the other way around,” casting the contracting decisions as deliberate self-dealing rather than mere bureaucratic errors.
Political Background and Biden’s “Vanity Projects” Charge
Clinton, who lost the 2016 presidential election to Trump and has remained an outspoken critic, made her comments the day after Trump posted what appeared to be an AI-generated image on Truth Social. That image showed Clinton, former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris wearing hats bearing the words “I Lost to Trump.” While Clinton and Harris did lose presidential races to Trump, Biden won the 2020 contest against Trump, though Trump continues to claim otherwise despite lacking evidence. Biden has called Trump “a loser” and condemned what he views as “vanity projects,” a charge Trump’s critics apply to both the pool renovation and the anniversary spending.
Criticism Intensifies Online
Trump critics online echoed Clinton’s message. One commenter argued Trump is concerned only with serving himself rather than Americans. Public Citizen amplified that view, accusing the administration of using taxpayer money to fund what it called “Trumpy events” intended to bolster the president’s image instead of serving the public good.
The twin controversies — a green, algae-filled pool at one of the nation’s most recognizable landmarks and a nearly $103 million anniversary celebration system directed toward political allies — have collided at an awkward time for an administration that presented both as emblems of national pride. Clinton’s critique may be deliberately reductive, but it captures a widening line of Democratic attack that frames the conduct as far more than simple administrative failures.