The work was a rush job because the administration was adamant that it be completed in time for the America 250 celebration in early July — come hell or high, murky, green, water.
The report and its fallout
The 75-page report, dubbed a “failure analysis,” was prepared by Virginia-based construction company Atlantic Coating Inspection. It meticulously documents dozens of problems with the pool liner, including photos of peeling, blistering and cracked surfaces.
Atlantic Coating Inspection was hired by the original contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings (AIC), to complete the report. AIC has been under fire for months because it was awarded a no-bid contract by the Trump administration to complete the original, disastrous $14.7-million pool renovation. The company originally blamed poor “human oversight” for the problems and said workers probably did not spray enough primer.
The administration claimed it was allowed to circumvent the usual competitive bidding for this type of federal work because only a very limited number of businesses have the necessary specialized skills and equipment.
In a statement quoted in the Washington Post, an Interior Department spokesperson claimed AIC is “contractually obligated” to mend the disaster and is “well on its way to doing so.” The person claimed the work would be “perfect” and repair “sections of damage by vandals” who repeatedly “ripped at the coating.”
There’s scant evidence any such vandals exist. In July, four people were charged with felonies in connection with damaging the liner, including former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, the Post reported. All charges have been dismissed. Hearn’s lawyers said he stopped by the pool and touched some of the already extensively damaged pool liner that had come away.
Trump himself ran over the pool liner
On May 7, Trump visited the drained pool to inspect the fresh “American Flag Blue” coating he had ordered. To get there, his motorcade, including the roughly 20,000-pound presidential limousine and armored SUVs, rolled across the pool floor while the new surface was still being applied. The moment was captured by multiple outlets, and White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung posted a video of the motorcade with the caption ”They see me rolling!”
