Is Algae Already Growing Again in the Renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool?

Days after the Trump administration finished its renovations of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, algae have reappeared in the pool, though media outlets and the administration have framed it quite differently.

Key Quotes: An Interior Department spokeswoman told CNN (Lean Left) that the recent algae flare-ups were expected and are a "part of the normal startup process" for the nanobubbler technology that has been installed to destroy the algae. "What you are seeing is residual algae from the supply lines, which have been sitting dormant for eight weeks while construction has been taking place," the spokeswoman said. A spokesperson told The Hill (Center) that the algae are "dead" and "being vacuumed up as we speak." The Guardian (Left) said, "National Park Service employees were seen using skimmers on Monday" to remove algae and turn the pool to the shade of blue President Trump intended.

How The Media Covered It: Many mainstream outlets, particularly from the left and center, have reported that the pool is once again filled with algae, even though a core aim of Trump's project was to prevent algae growth. The only outlets from the right AllSides found to cover the story were Newsmax (Right bias) and The New York Post (Lean Right). Outlets generally framed headlines around the algae being present in the pool but included clarifying comments from the Interior Department. Newsmax framed its headline around the department's comments.

For Context: Trump announced the renovation plans in November, which were overseen by the Interior Department. The renovations cost around $14 million. President Trump has criticized previous administrations, most notably the Obama administration, for renovation efforts that his administration believes were unsuccessful. Last month, media outlets framed the project's progress differently, with Fox News (Right) and The New York Times (Lean Left) offering particularly contrasting headlines.

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