Historic DC Fountain Restored by Trump Turns Brown, Video Shows

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Newsweek

Published Jul 08, 2026 at 05:14 AM EDT updated Jul 08, 2026 at 05:16 AM EDT


A historic Washington, D.C., fountain restored at President Donald Trump's direction has turned brown, multiple photos and videos shared to social media show.

In May, the U.S. Department of the Interior released footage showing water running at the Cascading Fountain at Meridian Hill Park, for the first time in seven years. The water had been turned off since 2019, as the National Park Service began work on the lower plaza.

Less than two months later, and the water is running brown. Newsweek has contacted the Interior Department via email for comment outside of standard working hours.

The fountain fix up is one of many highly publicized beautification efforts in the nation's capital by the Trump administration, including a $14 million makeover to the historic Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, where a new dark blue coating was applied to the basin to create what officials described as an "American flag blue" finish. Days after the pool was refilled, however, algal blooms spread across the water, turning it green, and the new lining peeled off.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/meridian-hill-park-cascading-fountain-restrored-by-trump-brown-video-shows-12170081

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Joe Flood
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The Trump admin bragged about fixing the fountain in Meridian Hill Park. It turned brown
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5:22 PM · Jul 7, 2026

The Water in Malcolm X Park's Fountain Is Brown (Jul 7, 2026 · 7:24 p.m. ET)

[barbtries]

1. he shit in it.

ETTD

[mdbl]

20. Beat me to it.

I was less to the point thinking they routed his toilet water there. lol

[LisaL]

2. Even green is better than brown.

What is going to be left in DC after Trump is done "restoring" it?

[Lovie777]

3. Hiring incompetent, unqualified people who he pays lots of............................

taxpayers' money to.

[KS Toronado]

7. and gets kickbacks from........

[johnnyfins]

14. Its ALL about the kickbacks

[UpInArms]

4. The water had been turned off since 2019

Hmmm … who was in office then?

[tanyev]

5. Donny's got The Fecal Touch.

[sinkingfeeling]

6. His 'DC Beautification' project is to turn everything to shit.

[durablend]

8. "Guess I need to demolish it"

[Kid Berwyn]

9. King Tofu Memorial Chocolate Fountain

For him, hurt springs eternal.

[Endlessmike56]

10. Damn vandals!

[Grim Chieftain]

11. He ruins everything he touches

Everything

[barbtries]

30. There are no exceptions to this rule. nt

[no_hypocrisy]

12. The color of a backed-up toilet.

Not Willy Wonka's chocolate river.

[Wonder Why]

13. He thought he was restoring a bidet.

[twodogsbarking]

15. Silly vandals.

[Bengus81]

16. Antifa or David Hearns out on bail strikes again!!!!

[Tanuki]

17. He needs a new contractor.

Acme just isn't working out.

[Bayard]

23. Thank you for the breakfast laffs!

I love Roadrunner.

[Dave Id]

18. OOPS!

Shoulda hired union plumbers to do the repair.

[Dave Id]

19. 15 flushes...

and his toilet plumbing runneth over.

[Resistance1]

21. It's obvious to me that..

He took a bath in it before changing his diaper

[republianmushroom]

22. Just this administration and trumps stain, shit brindle brown.

[Bayard]

24. I've seen flood waters that looked cleaner

What else is left in DC for him to destroy?

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

25. Everything Trump touches turns to shit

[pfitz59]

26. Everything he touches dies or turns to shit

MAGA colors are actually brown, green and black

[Blue Owl]

27. Diarrhea Donny's explosive renovations have caught the eye of Architectural Indigest

[purr-rat beauty]

28. God damn Libs

Always being the scapegoat for trump's misadventures

[LetMyPeopleVote]

29. Unfolding disaster in DC as water turns brown at Trump's 'completely renovated' park

Using no-bid contracts can lead to some really bad results. trump keeps hiring contractors who do NOT know what they are doing.

A park that President Donald Trump bragged that he had "renovated" for million suddenly had its water turn a murky brown this week, the latest in a string of his D.C. beautification "disasters."

— Raw Story (@rawstory.com) 2026-07-08T20:00:21Z

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-meridian-hill-park-disaster

A park that President Donald Trump bragged that he had "renovated" for $16 million suddenly had its water turn a murky brown this week, the latest in a string of his D.C. beautification "disasters."

Meridian Hill Park — also known as Malcolm X Park — saw its iconic cascading fountain go from sparkling blue to a thick, opaque brown by Tuesday, just months after the National Park Service completed a full restoration.

The agency blamed sediment flushed from pipes that had been out of service for years.

It was only six days ago that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held a ceremony at the very same fountain to celebrate Trump's work.

"You ensure that our capital is safe and secure," Hegseth told National Guard members assembled at the park, according to NBC Washington.

"I think it's pretty nasty," one visitor told Newsweek's White House reporter Leonardo Feldman. "I was literally here yesterday, and it looked pretty good."