Mary Trump Needles Uncle With Reflecting Pool Jab After Settlement

Mary Trump returned to familiar territory this week-taking aim at President Donald Trump-just days after settling his lawsuit against her, using controversy over the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to press her case against her uncle.

In a video posted Wednesday on X, she seized on controversy over pool to challenge claims downplaying its condition after a recent renovation.

"It appears that the governing principle of the Trump regime is don't believe your own lying eyes, you idiots," she said, contrasting official assurances about the pool with images of green water and ongoing cleanup efforts.

She criticized the cost of the project, which involved a roughly $14 million renovation awarded through a no-bid contract.

"No other president would… spend $14 million of taxpayer dollars to fix something that wasn't broken just to enrich one of his cronies," she said.

Her comments come at a moment when a long-running legal dispute between the two has ended-but the underlying personal and political feud has not.

Newsweek reached out to the White House on Thursday morning for comment.

Settlement Context

The criticism follows a settlement in a lawsuit the president filed against his niece in 2021, accusing her of violating a confidentiality agreement tied to a family estate by sharing tax-related materials with journalists.

The case, which sought $100 million in damages, stemmed from her role in providing information used in a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation into Trump's finances. Both sides confirmed this week they had reached an agreement and would move to dismiss the case, but the terms have not been made public. It remains unclear whether any financial payment was part of the deal.

Legal observers had noted before the settlement that damages in the case might have been limited even if it went to trial. An appeals court suggested that only nominal damages might ultimately be awarded, raising questions about the scale of the original claim.

The agreement closes a yearslong court battle that stood out for its personal nature, but it does little to change the public dynamic between the two.

Long-Running Feud

Mary Trump has been a consistent critic of her uncle for years, emerging as one of the few members of the Trump family willing to publicly challenge him on both personal and political grounds.

Her 2020 memoir, Too Much and Never Enough, offered a sharply critical account of the Trump family and the president, while she also confirmed that she had been a source in the investigative reporting that formed the basis of the lawsuit. Since then, she has remained active on social media and in interviews, frequently criticizing his policies, messaging and leadership style.

Trump and his allies have repeatedly pushed back. In court filings, his legal team accused her of participating in what they described as an "insidious plot" to obtain and disclose confidential information, asserting that she acted with personal and financial motives. Her attorneys rejected those claims, framing the lawsuit as an attempt to chill speech on matters of public concern.

Public exchanges have mirrored the legal dispute, with the president and his supporters dismissing her credibility and portraying her attacks as politically motivated. The result has been a feud that operates simultaneously as a family conflict and a recurring feature of the political landscape.

Reflecting Pool Controversy

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool became the latest flashpoint in the Trumps’ feud after turning green just days after a high-profile renovation.

The project involved draining the nearly century-old pool, resurfacing it with an "American flag blue" coating, then refilling it ahead of the nation's 250th anniversary celebrations.

After the pool reopened, President Trump promoted the overhaul with side-by-side images of its before-and-after appearance. The work was awarded through a no-bid contract using an urgency exemption, a decision that has drawn scrutiny and prompted legal challenges. Within days, however, algae spread across the surface, turning the water green.

Experts say the development is not entirely unexpected. The reflecting pool has long struggled with algae because of its design. As a shallow, slow-moving body of water exposed to direct sunlight, it provides ideal conditions for algae growth, particularly during warmer months.

Scientists describe algae blooms as driven by a relatively simple combination of factors: sunlight, warmth, nutrients and water. When those conditions align-as they often do in shallow outdoor basins-growth can accelerate rapidly. In such environments, algae can multiply from microscopic levels into visible blooms in a matter of days.

The renovation itself may have contributed to the speed of the bloom. The pool was drained, repaired and refilled on a compressed timeline, leaving limited opportunity for systems to stabilize. Experts note that restarting water systems after a shutdown can release residual algae from pipes and supply lines, effectively seeding new growth as soon as the pool is refilled.

Temperature is another key factor. Some specialists have suggested that the darker coating applied during the renovation could increase heat absorption, raising water temperature and encouraging algae to grow more quickly. Even small changes in temperature can significantly affect reproduction rates, making conditions more favorable for a bloom.

Together, those elements-residual biological material, warm weather, abundant sunlight and shallow water-can create conditions in which algae spreads quickly, even after extensive maintenance work.

Cleanup Efforts Underway

The administration has emphasized that algae management is an ongoing challenge for large outdoor water features and has highlighted steps being taken to address the issue.

National Park Service crews have been deployed to remove the algae, using equipment to vacuum buildup from the bottom of the pool and clear the surface. At the same time, officials have introduced chemical treatments and filtration systems aimed at reducing and preventing further growth.

One of the most visible measures has been the use of hydrogen peroxide, which crews have added to the water. Experts describe hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizing agent that breaks down algae and organic contaminants. It is commonly used in natural or open-water environments because it is considered a milder alternative to chlorine and less harmful to surrounding wildlife.

In addition to chemical treatment, the administration has pointed to the use of advanced filtration systems, including ozone-based "nanobubbler" technology. This approach introduces tiny ozone-rich bubbles into the water, helping to neutralize contaminants and suppress algae growth over time.

Officials have also suggested that the current bloom may be part of a normal startup phase after construction, describing the algae as "residual" material flushed from systems that had been inactive during the renovation.

The combination of manual cleaning, chemical treatment and filtration is intended to address both the immediate discoloration and longer-term water quality.

Political Flashpoint

Despite those efforts, the reflecting pool has quickly become a broader political issue, with sharply differing interpretations of what the green water represents.

President Trump has defended the renovation, describing the project as a necessary improvement to a historic landmark and criticizing what he sees as inadequate efforts by previous administrations. He has argued that the pool was in poor condition before the overhaul and said the project would ultimately leave it in better shape.

Critics have taken a different view, arguing that the renovation focused on appearance rather than underlying environmental challenges. They point to the rapid return of algae as evidence that deeper structural issues-such as water flow, filtration and nutrient control-were not fully addressed.

Mary Trump's video echoes those criticisms. She framed the algae bloom as a direct consequence of the renovation, questioning both the cost and the choices made during the project. She also mocked the ongoing cleanup efforts, suggesting that the need for chemical treatment and continuous maintenance reinforced her critique.

The issue has also spread beyond political figures, attracting attention from commentators and entertainment programs who have used the unusual color changes as a source of satire, further amplifying the story.

“Trump said if he can't turn the water blue, he's going to turn the American flag green," quipped Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Feud Continues

The settlement may have ended one legal battle, but it has not altered the broader relationship between Mary Trump and the president. Her latest video shows the dispute continuing to play out in public, as it has for years.

The result is a familiar dynamic: a family feud that continues to unfold alongside national politics, now playing out against the backdrop of one of Washington's most recognizable landmarks.

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This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 11:08 AM.