President Donald Trump touted plans Thursday to coat the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in an “American flag blue” hue, one of the president’s latest construction efforts to refashion government buildings and monuments in Washington, D.C.

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Trump said he was inspired to oversee renovations after a friend visited from Germany and noted its decay.

“He said, ‘it’s filthy, dirty. The water is disgusting looking. It’s not representative of the country,’” Trump recalled during a White House event Thursday on drug prices.

Trump posted a video speaking about the renovation of the over 2,000-foot-long pool on Truth Social, shortly before his White House event with reporters.

“Right now, it’s got no water in it because it was in terrible shape. It was filthy, dirty, and it leaked like a sieve for many years,” Trump said in the video. “So I actually went over, went with Secret Service and a group of people, and I took, took a look at it.”

The president said there were initial plans to remove the granite in the pool and replace the stone, but that process would have cost $300 million and taken more than three years to complete.

Instead, Trump said he contacted his own private contractors to clean the stone and then coat it in a new color, which he described as “American flag blue.”

“We scrubbed the surface of the existing granite that’s been there since 1922. We then grouted all of the granite, fixed it up,” Trump said in the video. “It took about two weeks, and now we have a nice, clean surface on which we’re putting an industrial grade swimming pool topping.”

Trump said the project is expected to cost between $1.5 and 2 million dollars and will be completed “long before July 4” for the country’s 250th celebration.

“In another couple of weeks, we’re going to have the most beautiful reflective pool between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial that you’ve ever seen,” Trump said at the White House.

Trump has pledged to overhaul the pool in the past. The president said in a post on Truth Social last month that he and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum were “working on fixing the absolutely filthy Reflecting Pool between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.”

The pool, the site of historical events such as Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech, had its last major renovation in 2012 in a $34 million project that lasted almost two years.

Trump’s efforts to revamp the reflecting pool come alongside a number of other construction projects spearheaded by the president across Washington, D.C., including his plans to build a $400 million ballroom and military bunker in the East Wing of the White House and a major renovation of Kennedy Center.

Few moments are more jarring for drivers than returning to an empty parking spot — only to realize their car may have been towed.

In Washington DC, strict parking rules and frequent enforcement mean it’s a situation many drivers know all too well.

Here’s what to know — and what to do next — if the city has towed your car in DC.

How can you find your towed vehicle in Washington DC?

If you believe your vehicle has been towed, you should call DC’s Towing Control Dispatch Center at 202-541-6083. You can also contact them via email at dpw@dc.gov.

“If it has been towed, (Department of Public Works) staff will be able to tell you where your vehicle is located,” officials said.

Impound lots are located at 5001 Shepherd Parkway SW and 2115 Bryant St. NE. Both locations are open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

There is a $100 fee to retrieve your towed vehicle, plus $20 per day if it is not retrieved after 24 hours. Until those fees are paid, owners may only remove essential items such as cash, a checkbook, a driver’s license, perishable goods, medication and tools needed for work.

Car owners should be prepared to bring proof of ownership and a valid driver’s license.

“A vehicle may be towed by DPW or the Metropolitan Police Department if it is parked so as to create a traffic or safety hazard,” the Department of Motor Vehicles said.

Impounded vehicles that are unclaimed after 28 days following notification are sold through a public auction or scrapped.

LAWTON, Okla. (KSWO) – A Lawton veteran returned home after visiting Washington, D.C., as part of the Oklahoma Warriors Honor Flight.

Dr. Don Sullivan, a Cold War and Vietnam veteran, was chosen for the honor flight and said the experience “turned out to be wonderful.”

Sullivan was stationed in the D.C. area years ago and had seen the memorials before, but this visit was different.

“It gives you the opportunity to see things, even if you’ve been there before, gives you the opportunity to see things in a different light,” Sullivan said.

One-day tour of memorials

During the one-day trip to Washington, Sullivan and 66 other veterans visited the major war memorials, key national monuments and attended the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington Cemetery.

“The memorials are wonderful. They’re just awesome and to see all of them in one day, it truly is overwhelming,” Sullivan said.

For this April Oklahoma Warriors Honor Flight, his son accompanied him as his guardian.

“I didn’t particularly need a guardian, but I wanted him to have the experience,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan served with the Military Assistance Command in Vietnam.

“I served in what was called MAC-V, the military assistance command Vietnam. All of my team survived,” Sullivan said.

Emotional visit to the wall

Though he had seen the wall before, the impact was just as vast.

“I never failed to tear up,” Sullivan said. “Though I know not a name on there, you cannot go to the Vietnam memorial and not become emotional or even thinking of it, you know.”

There was one memorial he had not been to: the Military Women’s Memorial.

“If they want to be hugged, they have a hug from me because I know what they went through, and I was pleased to see that memorial, which does depict a nurse tending to a soldier,” Sullivan said.

The trip made him appreciate the support Oklahoma shows for its veterans.

“One thing that I really got out of this is how fortunate we are here as veterans to be living in Lawton, Oklahoma and to be in Oklahoma,” Sullivan said. “In Lawton, you walk through the park you see memorials.”

Welcome home

When he got off the flight after the day-long tour, he received the welcome home he and other Vietnam veterans deserved decades ago.

“Whooping and hollering and clapping and saying thank you thank you thank you. For some of us who came home from Vietnam to San Francisco or whatever, and literally were just ignored and denigrated, that was a terrific homecoming experience,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan said he looks forward to seeing the Gulf War Memorial that is currently under construction in Washington.

The Oklahoma Warriors Honor Flight is every October and April. All veterans are eligible to apply. Selection priority is given to those who have served in previous conflicts and those who are terminally ill.