Former President Joe Biden has launched a fiery attack on President Donald Trump, dubbing his successor a “loser” for his ongoing beautification projects of the nation’s capital, some of which have become mired in controversy.
Biden was met with loud cheering as he listed Trump’s “vanity projects” during a speech at a state Democratic Party convention in Hanover, Maryland, Saturday evening.
“Tearing down the East Wing of the White House, making room for ‘his’ ballroom? Putting his name on the Kennedy Center. Building an arch in his own honor. Even hiring his own pool guy to fix the reflecting pool,” Biden said.
“Whoa, what a loser.”
The Trump administration has embarked on a long list of renovation projects including an effort to resurface and refurbish the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The project has ballooned to more than $16 million in costs amid persistent algae blooms and damage to the pool’s new spray-painted aqua blue coating, which the president and National Parks Service have blamed on vandalism.
Trump was also criticized for awarding a no-bid contract to his “pool guy” to resurface the Reflecting Pool as the costs have soared past his initial estimates of $2 million for the project.
Videos and photos from the past two weeks have shown large chunks of the pool’s coating floating up to the surface in the murky, algae-stained waters. For days, workers were seen onsite dumping hydrogen peroxide and other chemicals into the water in attempts to fight the algae. Last weekend, a dead duckling was found in the pool amid the cleaning efforts.
At the event on Saturday, Biden also hit his onetime opponent over the “corruption” he said exuded from Trump and his family as they position themselves to make billions under Trump’s second term.
“He has no shame, and frankly it’s embarrassing for the country. But Trump? Trump could care less,” Biden said. He also urged Democrats to keep their energy and enthusiasm strong: “To all you who love our country, my message tonight is straightforward and simple: Get up, dammit. Get up now. Continue this fight!”
In June, the Trump administration announced plans to build a walkway down to the Potomac River waterfront extending from the side of the Kennedy Center opposite the Reflecting Pool. The president described his plans for a “promenade” as honoring the supposed original intent of the Memorial’s architects. Cost estimates for that project have not yet been released.
Trump’s White House ballroom has produced perhaps the most jarring images of any of the president’s renovation projects with the flattening of the East Wing.
In March, President Donald Trump said his vast White House ballroom would cost $400 million and be funded entirely by private donations, noting: “We have no taxpayer putting up 10 cents.”
But weeks prior to these public remarks, the project’s contractor had warned the administration that total costs would reach $600 million — with at least half expected to be covered by taxpayers.
At the Kennedy Center, grey tarp and scaffolding now covers the building’s signage as a legal battle over the Center continues. Trump was previously ordered to remove his name from the structure after a judge ruled that only Congress has the authority to rename the building, and explicitly intended it to be a memorial for John F. Kennedy.
The judge overseeing the case ordered the administration last week to explain why the sign remains covered up, and the case remains in limbo for now.
Other beautification projects have been undertaken at parks and monuments around the city of Washington D.C. ahead of plans to celebrate America’s 250th birthday this summer, culminating in events around the July 4 holiday.
Many of those sites, such as D.C. iconic Union Station, now bear large banners touting the Trump administration’s focus on “cleaning up” D.C.
