{"id":28122,"date":"2026-08-05T04:46:39","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T23:46:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=28122"},"modified":"2026-08-05T04:46:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T23:46:39","slug":"all-the-presidents-construction-projects-the-reflecting-pool-a-helipad-gilded-statues-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=28122","title":{"rendered":"All the president\u2019s construction projects: The Reflecting Pool, a helipad, gilded statues, and more"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\"><em>This story appeared in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/the-logoff-newsletter-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Logoff<\/a>, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/pages\/logoff-newsletter-trump-administration-updates\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Subscribe here<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\"><strong>Welcome to The Logoff:<\/strong> President Donald Trump\u2019s renovation mania is reaching new heights.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\"><strong>What\u2019s happening?<\/strong> Not satisfied with a paved Rose Garden, lavish amounts of gold, and a granite walkway <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/politics\/2026\/06\/national-parks-trump-white-house-renovations\/687700\/\">paid for with national parks money<\/a>, Trump is currently adding a helipad to the White House lawn. Construction, begun in June, has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2026\/07\/06\/trump-speeds-up-white-house-helipad-driveway-changes-xi-visit-looms\/\">running 24\/7<\/a>, with the goal of finishing the project before a visit from Chinese President Xi Jinping in late September.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">But all is not well: As the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2026\/08\/04\/trump-orders-changes-new-helipad-after-weeks-around-the-clock-work\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Washington Post reported on Tuesday<\/a>, contractors are now undoing their work as Trump demands a perfectly level helipad (on a South Lawn that is anything but).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">It\u2019s the latest evidence of something that New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/07\/31\/opinion\/ezra-klein-podcast-maggie-haberman.html\">recently described in a podcast with Ezra Klein<\/a>: By her estimate, around 70 percent of Trump\u2019s \u201cmind share\u201d is tied up not with the Iran war, affordability, or the upcoming midterms, but \u201con his renovations,\u201d which she describes as a \u201clegacy thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\"><strong>What else does Trump have in the works?<\/strong> In addition to the helipad, Trump is currently working on renovating Lafayette Square, across the street from the White House; on Monday, he mused about his \u201cbig decision\u201d on <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/atrupar\/status\/2084348539790856683?s=20\">whether to change the park\u2019s pavers<\/a> from red brick to granite.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">He\u2019s also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/politics\/2026\/08\/trump-gold-statues\/688142\/\">re-gilding four statues<\/a> near the Lincoln Memorial in vivid 23.75-karat gold; repairing the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2026\/07\/31\/prosecutors-drop-reflecting-pool-damage-charge-against-former-olympian\/\">re-drained Reflecting Pool<\/a>, which was the victim of a rush job the first time around; and moving ahead with his plan for a 250-foot arch, which could be approved by early next month and which the National Park Service <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/08\/03\/upshot\/arch-trump-historic-review.html\">recently concluded<\/a> would have \u201cadverse effects\u201d on more than three dozen historic sites in the DC area.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\"><strong>What\u2019s the big picture?<\/strong> Trump\u2019s construction fervor has only accelerated since he returned to office last year, especially as other agenda items have eluded him. A midterms loss will further curtail his options for the final two years of his presidency, so don\u2019t expect it to stop here.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><h2 class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup\">And with that, it\u2019s time to log off\u2026<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Here\u2019s a stat I did not know, courtesy of my colleague Bryan Walsh: Traffic injuries are \u201cthe leading cause of death for everyone between the ages of 5 and 29 \u2014 ahead of malaria, ahead of war and homicide, ahead of every disease we spend more time worrying about.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">That\u2019s pretty grim, and not very Logoff-y. But there\u2019s good news, too: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/future-perfect\/497562\/traffic-deaths-cars-vehicles-vision-zero-pedestrians?view_token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpZCI6InJRTkZlOTZZODgiLCJwIjoiL2Z1dHVyZS1wZXJmZWN0LzQ5NzU2Mi90cmFmZmljLWRlYXRocy1jYXJzLXZlaGljbGVzLXZpc2lvbi16ZXJvLXBlZGVzdHJpYW5zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzg3MDc0NDM4LCJpYXQiOjE3ODU4NjQ4Mzh9.xEmWscDpzToaqyP2qaVlRUuODeSuPz1490Tgmy68BhM&amp;utm_medium=gift-link\">As Bryan reports<\/a>, between 2011 and 2025, global road deaths have fallen by 21 percent, even as more vehicles take to the roads \u2014 thanks in large part to a change in how we think about traffic accidents. You can read Bryan\u2019s full story about what changed \u2014 and what we still have to work on \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/future-perfect\/497562\/traffic-deaths-cars-vehicles-vision-zero-pedestrians?view_token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpZCI6InJRTkZlOTZZODgiLCJwIjoiL2Z1dHVyZS1wZXJmZWN0LzQ5NzU2Mi90cmFmZmljLWRlYXRocy1jYXJzLXZlaGljbGVzLXZpc2lvbi16ZXJvLXBlZGVzdHJpYW5zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzg3MDc0NDM4LCJpYXQiOjE3ODU4NjQ4Mzh9.xEmWscDpzToaqyP2qaVlRUuODeSuPz1490Tgmy68BhM&amp;utm_medium=gift-link\">here<\/a> with a gift link.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Have a great evening, and we\u2019ll see you right back here tomorrow!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here. Welcome to The Logoff: President Donald Trump\u2019s renovation mania is reaching new heights. What\u2019s happening? Not satisfied with a paved Rose Garden, lavish amounts of gold, and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28123,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/gettyimages-2287939138.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C10.729395314517%2C100%2C78.541209370967&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28122\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}