r/news • u/OK_Commodor64 • 21h ago
Reflecting Pool Contractor Blames Its Own Repairs, Not Vandals, for Damage (Gift Article)
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/11/climate/reflecting-pool-contractor-trump.html?unlocked_article_code=1.AVE.4IvL.sNcUOE8W1Elj&smid=nytcore-ios-share1.9k
u/MegaWeinerFarts 21h ago
I'm going to predict that the blame-game will come full circle and 6 months from now it will be Jeanine Piro on trial for this whole thing.
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u/Aromatic_Balls 21h ago
If she hears "Reflecting Pool" one more time I think she's going to implode into a black hole that will swallow up our solar system
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u/JerryDipotosBurner 21h ago
I’d be okay with that at this point.
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u/Hummingbird3471 20h ago
If you say "reflecting pool" three times in the mirror, she actually shows up in the room with you.
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u/214ObstructedReverie 19h ago
I think you actually have to speak it three times at your reflection in a glass of wine.
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u/Hummingbird3471 19h ago
If you do that then Pete Hegseth and Kash Patel will show up too. Actually Kash Patel was already there, hoping he'd be invited.
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u/keskeskes1066 19h ago
Good. My liquor cabinet needs restocking - I'm sure she won't arrive empty-handed.
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u/SonoranLiving 16h ago
Do you sleep Jeanine Piro do you sleep?
Do you weep Jeanine piro do you weep?
Do you sleep like a willow on your goose down pillow?
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u/Captain_Waffle 20h ago
Reflecting pool
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u/elon_musks_cat 20h ago
Reflecting pool
Reflecting Pool
REFLECTING POOL
REFLECTING POOL
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u/keeper_of_the_donkey 20h ago
Someone quick, do the math on how much wine mass there has to be to create a black hole
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u/PassiveMenis88M 19h ago
A single drop of wine is enough, you just need to crush it to its Schwarzschild radius.
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u/keeper_of_the_donkey 19h ago
No way a single drop attains the Pirro saturation point
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u/PassiveMenis88M 19h ago
There is no known minimum amount of mass required to form a black hole, only that the mass is sufficiently crushed. Now, if you want one that lasts, then somewhere around 2 to 3 solar masses.
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u/Chillow_Ufgreat 21h ago
Pretty sure I saw her out there with a box cutter cutting a 300' gash!
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u/Chastain86 18h ago
The only three hundred foot gash is sitting in the Oval Office, ordering another Diet Coke to be brought to him under a silver cloche
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u/Child_of_the_Hamster 20h ago
Full circle? 6 months??? My dude this will not be fixed by the time Trump leaves office.
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u/TheTeenageOldman 20h ago
Yeah, it's now another money pit that Trump Inc can syphon money from.
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u/keskeskes1066 19h ago
I think he may just raze the National Mall, get rid of the woke museums and statues, memorials, etc., and build a shiny new DONALD J. TRUMP Mega-data center. Ultimate money pit.
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u/castironglider 20h ago
Better get started on his golden ballroom and Arc de Self or the next guy's going to have to clean up the mess, with like bland normal stuff
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u/Cool-Signature-dude 21h ago
I hope that guys sues and wins a ton of money for that false arrest.
Putting this contractor up as a witness will be glorious.
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u/VaughnSC 21h ago
Yeah ‘cept the wrongful arrest suit gets settled with taxpayer money. Not so glorious.
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u/Heronymous-Anonymous 20h ago
At this point, when Trump is illegally spending billions a day on a war no one but his fringe lunatics wanted, and everyone fucking told him was a bad idea, what’s a few more million? At least then the government would be handing money to someone who isn’t a grifter piece of shit.
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u/hyperforms9988 18h ago
Dude's going to be just one person in a long line of people with grievances to say the least that either require a courtroom or a settlement. The federal government might be what's basically a money-filled pinata for a while.
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u/Voyager5555 19h ago edited 16h ago
I'd rather give my money to this dude than $2b to the president.
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u/roundabout25 19h ago
honestly, 10000% better for tax dollars to go to normal people suffering from government injustice than into the corrupt af system we currently have, even if neither being a concern would be ideal. Well, I guess I can't speak for everyone on that, but I'm much happier for my taxes to go toward something like that.
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u/beatenmeat 18h ago
Also hasn't stopped MAGA from continuously claiming that there surely were vandals otherwise Trump would never have made that claim. In many cases they even kept throwing shade at him despite the case being dismissed. Literally every time the reflecting pool and dropped charges were brought up they still continued to search for a scape goat and now that the contractor finally admits it was their own fault I guarantee they will never acknowledge it. Anything but admit dear leader took them for fools...
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u/rylosprime 15h ago
Taxpayers need to pay for their mistakes.
Trump won the popular vote.
America needs to fucking learn.
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u/blackmobius 15h ago
And itll be settled after Trumps term ends so theyll blame the next president instead
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u/Sweatytubesock 19h ago
Trump and his shit grifting family are stealing literally millions of taxpayer money every day, what’s a few million more?
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u/Gonzo2095 18h ago
I'm sorry you lack the vision, Howard Lutnick has the answer...
Just like how the $5K for the re pube lickers winning in November will not use taxpayer money.
Its a fact, check it out!
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u/Aldo_says 19h ago
I bet real money the "vandals did it I know best because I a, big a-brain stable genius, say so!!1! Thank you for your attention to this matter, your Favorite President, ME!"
Dipshit Donnie reads the crap in his dirty diaper like he's some kind of soothsayer reading tea leaves or something.
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u/Wandering_butnotlost 21h ago
Were the incompatible chemicals at least, woke?
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u/MegaWeinerFarts 21h ago
The problem is that the paint they used was Diluent Epoxy Incompatible, which refers to a breakdown in chemistry, mixing ratios, or long-term structural integrity
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u/Khaldara 21h ago
Oh god help us all if they used a Transparent finish
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u/MegaWeinerFarts 21h ago
It was a very specific kind of paint, obtained out of Delaware by Rudy Juliani.
Hunter’s Ultra Natural Terra-Cotta Enamel Reserve Brilliant Iridescent Deep-Earth Neutral Satin Luminous Architectural Pigment Treatment Opalescent Primer
I'll see myself out now.
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u/TristanwithaT 20h ago
Here I am trying to figure out what "Hunter Biden Slaptop" is referring to
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u/Doctor__Proctor 18h ago
Hunter Biden [Slaps Top] - "This baby can fit so many right wing conspiracies."
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u/Anitapoop 20h ago
Damn spent a minute making a bad joke eh, we've all been there.
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u/Heronymous-Anonymous 20h ago
Honestly I was hoping it would spell out Hunter Biden’s dick, but it’s good enough I guess.
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u/keskeskes1066 19h ago
Here you go.
Hunter’s Ultra Natural Terra-Cotta Enamel Reserve Brilliant Iridescent Deep-Earth Neutral Satin Draino(R) Infused Colloidal Ketchup
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u/Prudent_Rice7840 21h ago
breakdown in chemistry, mixing ratios, or long-term structural integrity
You joke but that is 100% accurate. They incompetently used materials whose chemical compositions under even totally standard operating conditions and without any outside pressures are well known to transition, and then attempt to play women's sports.
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u/Warcraft_Fan 20h ago
Wouldn't the ELI5 be "trying to repaint your house with oil-based paint on top of existing latex-based paint"
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u/TarzanTheRed 20h ago
Just like the previous owners of my home did. Painters tape took off the trim paint in full strips no matter how gentle you were.
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u/Torino1O 21h ago
So, Trump gonna hire a new no bid contractor, got it.
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u/Elberik 21h ago
Nah just hire the same guy
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u/Torino1O 21h ago
This one just called Trump a liar.
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u/yoitsthatoneguy 17h ago
The Interior Department and Trump are still saying publicly that it was vandals.
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u/RecipeFunny2154 17h ago
I was half expecting to read that the contractor was going to get paid again to fix this, but it's under warranty.
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u/freedfg 21h ago
Jeanine Pirro should not only be disbarred but should be taken for every dime for defamation.
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u/Heronymous-Anonymous 20h ago
They’ll be sorely disappointed when the judgment comes in and all they get out of her is a bunch of empty wine boxes and an IOU.
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u/DlucinatedHlucinatic 21h ago
Tell that to Doug Burgum
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u/OK_Commodor64 21h ago
He lied multiple times to the media. This is serious.
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u/gargolito 21h ago
Lying about damage to a public park is almost cute compared to the disaster the GOP has caused.
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u/ermghoti 21h ago
Soooo... slam dunk lawsuit for false prosecution then?
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u/DirtDevil1337 21h ago
Trump still wants Todd Blanche to try and prosecute him
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u/BillyTheHousecat 19h ago
Donald Trump wants to pull a "Donald Trump", like he did with the Central Park Five.
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u/Kundrew1 21h ago
Notice how long it took. They had to go to court and charge a bunch of innocent people with crimes that were dismissed before they would take responsibility. They are only taking responsibility now because there is no other option and Trump will never blame himself. They are being forced to do it now.
There was footage from the beginning of them fucking up and dumping loads of chemicals in pool.
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u/StuTheSheep 20h ago
Don't forget the motorcade driving over the new liner!
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u/JWAdvocate83 18h ago
That's their way of saying "Well, uh--" because they don't wanna upset Donnie but they know the reason the liner failed was because of that stupidity.
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u/JWAdvocate83 18h ago
They shotgun charges because there's zero consequences beyond "reputational" damage--something that can result in shorter leashes for contempt, but we're only seeing it materialize now--rarely.
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u/steve_ample 21h ago
"We will, therefore, return the money we were paid, honoring our 100% satisfaction guarantee on all no-bid jobs"
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u/wonkey_monkey 19h ago
Someone unlocked this story for you.
Oh that's nice.
Log in to read for free.
Hahahaha. No.
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u/Randomwhitelady2 21h ago
Trump owes all the people who were arrested an apology and restitution. They should sue him for defamation.
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u/OK_Commodor64 21h ago
When will Trump be called out on the multi month level lying publicly that someone cut this with a box knife? What else is he lying about?
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u/breakfasteveryday 21h ago edited 21h ago
I mean, lots. There are literally websites dedicated to it.
https://politifact.com/factchecks/list/?speaker=donald-trump&ruling=false
There's huge lists of lies compiled by major news outlets that was written 8 or 9 years ago and is way behind the lie train
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/06/23/opinion/trumps-lies.html?smid=nytcore-android-share
Wikipedia has a massive article on it
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_or_misleading_statements_by_Donald_Trump
Trump lies so much that most of the people who aren't under his thrall choose to focus on other more dire and/or actionable things rather than get pissed off that he gaslit people about the root cause of his latest public real estate failure.
Personally, I'm most concerned about the lies he is telling about the unreleased Epstein files and his culpability in them.
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u/Pablo_is_on_Reddit 20h ago
The people who need to hear him called out will never actually listen to or absorb this new information. As soon as Trump blamed vandals, that was the end of the story no matter what else happens down the road. Unfortunately, that's true for most issues. I think most people develop their opinions based on first impressions and never change them, regardless of what new information comes out.
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u/Discard_Laundry1527 19h ago
most people develop their opinions based on first impressions and never change them, regardless of what new information comes out
Caveat: most stupid people. Open-mindedness is a sign of intelligence.
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u/RecipeFunny2154 17h ago
So the admin knew, the documents were available, NYT had to acquire the documents, and in the meantime everyone in Trump's orbit lied. They do this with even the most obvious things and triple down.
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u/ForsakenRacism 21h ago
They should have just got some 17 year old from the ford dealership to do the rhino liner
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u/BloodFartz69 20h ago
Amazing that Republicans can't fix a fucking pool with all the levers of the federal governement.
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u/Unusual-Layer-8965 19h ago
But we can start a war with another country at the drop of a hat (metaphorically speaking).
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u/gooblefrump 17h ago
But the bigger problem, the company said, was that the repair plan laid out in the contract called for the layers of liner to include two chemicals that turned out to be incompatible.
The chemical on top reached a temperature hotter than what the compound underneath could withstand, and the heat caused the bottom layer to blister and come loose, the documents show. The contractor said it had not expected that outcome because it was very uncommon to mix the two products in that way.
So... Why do it in the first place?
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u/aldehyde 17h ago
you're going to put people in jail for 10-20 years just to look tough cause your fucking buddies are incompetent. wow so tough donald, so scary. fucking disgusting.
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u/Joethecoew 15h ago
And him driving his freaking motercade through the freaking pool while it was still curing.. why oh why dose the media not bring this up when he starts talking about vandalism.
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u/chiropteran_expert 13h ago
Just remember they were perfectly willing to ruin someone’s life in order to avoid this. Democracy still has a sliver of life. Preserve it. VOTE in November!!
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u/MrdnBrd19 20h ago
Imagine giving a no bid contract to only be thrown under the bus... It would be pathetic if it wasn't so delicious.
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u/LangyMD 17h ago
"We didn't really know what the fuck we were doing, but for some reason the President gave us a no-bid contract anyways."
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u/Nate_Jessup 16h ago
"American Flag Blue" much more impressive than plain polished limestone or marble, amazing best.
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u/clashrendar 15h ago
Also, some fucking moron drove on it with a fleet of heavy ass armored vehicles...
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u/Wintergreene 21h ago
Nothing like destroying your company's reputation by taking the highest profile job ever, and being tossed under the bus by Dear Leader to own the libs.
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u/RedstoneRay 21h ago
Will they take down the cheap laminated sign they have on the fence around the pool blaming past administrations?
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u/Gooser3000 20h ago
So he should cover it under warranty and not profit twice off the working tax payer right?
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u/Marcadorian 20h ago
Under normal circumstances, yes. With this administration I'm sure they'll use the excuse of vandalism to double pay the contractor.
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u/Fuzzy_Translator4639 18h ago
So they will reimburse the government and repair it properly this time? Nah, just kidding, this is the set up for a new grift contract
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u/Unfair_Web_8275 17h ago edited 16h ago
Who could have predicted that the truth would come out and get less coverage a few months after Trump’s wild lies?
This must be a first.
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u/LordSlickRick 20h ago
lol I read it as grift article. I’ve seen that word so much lately, I’m glad in this case they are owning up.
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u/OK_Commodor64 20h ago
Ha ha no I wanted to give out a free gift article from my subscription so that others can read without a paywall
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u/Pacoboyd 19h ago
While I appreciate it, It's kinda worthless because they still make you sign up for an account to read it. Not sure if you were aware of that or not.
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u/kaiiizen 20h ago
Anyone with some semblance of a functioning brain should already know to believe the opposite of anything said, stated, or declared by this adminstration.
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u/tiny_chaotic_evil 18h ago
will Trump appologize for calling people domestic terrorists and putting their lives at risk and causing them financial harm?
of course not, he's shit.
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u/Medford_Lanes 20h ago
Ah, the no-bid contractor confirms the federal government lied straight to the public’s face. Add it to the list.
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u/juanjing 20h ago
So Trump did it with his motorcade, and he's gotten these guys to play patsy for him. Another day in DC.
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u/ImOnlyHereForTheCoC 18h ago
>Mr. Wischer, a former executive at a metal processing company, originally joined the Trump administration last year to work on critical minerals policy. But he has since shifted his focus to the Reflecting Pool renovation and the president’s other pet projects in Washington.
God, how fucking embarrassing. Dude probably has some kind of specialized degree yet he’s still on pool guy duty. Not that I feel sorry for any stooge serving this administration, mind
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u/Adventurous_Light_85 17h ago
See Trump, lies dont stand the test of time. You. Are. Worthless. Liar.
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u/Seagoon_Memoirs 16h ago
they are taking the blame
so that people won't blame trump for the motorcade on the wet paint
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u/blackmobius 15h ago
We all already knew. Weird how trumps doj started putting up wanted posters and 10 ft fences and constant guards. To catch some imaginary vandal.
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u/Old_Goat_Cyclist 12h ago
Sounds like a company without a lot of immunity from civil liability just limited its exposure
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u/FractionofaFraction 21h ago
Sure, but how does that fit into the narrative that Trump wants to spin?
Tch. It's almost as if they don't understand lying to further your own agenda at all.
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u/FidelCastroll 21h ago
I would every SOB from the executive to judicial branch if I was charged with anything in the mess
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u/Lavinia-Whateley 21h ago
I'm having a whole lot of problems believing this story. Someone in trumps circle is admitting blame? For anything? Yeah, I just do not believe it.
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u/Fit-Let8175 20h ago
That would explain it, but doesn't this go completely against this administration's policy to blame someone else?
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u/raistan77 20h ago
counting the minutes till trump argue that they are wrong and dont know what they are talking about
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u/Big-Routine222 20h ago
The fact that the contractor even said anything is practically a miracle. Part of me hopes it’s to do the right thing, but partly I assume it’s to try and get ahead of some lawsuits.
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u/lew_rong 19h ago
Honesty from the contractor? donnie's gonna be more upset about that than the NYFD blacklisting him from their calendars.
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u/FormerNeighborhood80 18h ago
I think we all knew that. It’s his pattern to blame others when anything goes wrong.
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u/leftcoastg 16h ago
This company has no idea what it’s doing.
Also, love the photos of the employees spraying harsh chemicals without any PPE.
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u/Hell-Yea-Brother 20h ago
It doesn't matter as the whole thing did it's job. It was another distraction to get people to rush to social media and make news panels about it.
We all know he lies, cheats, scams, deflects, grifts, and anything else you can find.
The more time spent focusing on things like this the less time people spend talking about the Epstein files, or the govt selling off national park land, or reducing EPA rules, or bulldozing through protected lands, or gray wolf protections being rolled back, or any of the dozen other much more important things that should be headlines.
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u/Y0___0Y 21h ago
Why would they do that? Their client is saying they are not at fault and it was vandals. Why would they not just roll with that?
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u/nopulsehere 19h ago
I would like to blame myself for the mistake. I will also be triple charging the taxpayers for my mistake! Thank you for your service.
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u/djankylosaur 19h ago
How long until Trump comes out with a statement about how it was the terrorists on 9/11 and he saw it personally happen and was trying to stop it?
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u/RefrigeratorNo1160 18h ago
Oh so it was a load of bullshit the whole time just like everyone knew it was. Well good thing nobody got their lives ruined over it
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u/Massive-Challenge273 11h ago
When they have to spin and lie and grift over a fucking reflecting pool you know you're in good hands with the rest of the important issues!
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u/AGrandNewAdventure 9h ago
I may not understand how repairs work, but aren't they supposed to do the opposite of damage?
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u/Caffinated_butthole 8h ago
That means the contractor will refund all the money, right? right?? Right?!!
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u/__SockPuppet__ 5h ago
Where's Doug POS Burgum? He was the most vociferous at blaming vandals throughout this saga. At least Pirro, eventually, acknowledged that there was no criminal damage perpetrated on the pool.
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u/BananasPineapple05 21h ago
Yeah, no shit.
The Reflecting Pool had been having plumbing issues for years now, but somehow getting the funds to do a proper repair job was never a priority.
Then DJT's pool guys came in and did a quick patch up job, not going anywhere near the plumbing and, what do you know, people who didn't have the skills to address the real issues and therefore didn't improve the real issues, only made it worse.