An old adage that some people, especially in the Leftmedia, need to be reminded of is one that many of us learned as children: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”

There are certainly things over which one can genuinely criticize President Donald Trump — everything from policy disagreements to his penchant for hyperbolic rhetoric. But the hubbub over Trump’s beautification of the nation’s capital city in preparation for America’s 250th anniversary celebration amounts to purely childish pettiness fueled by Trump Derangement Syndrome.

Specifically, the criticism has been over Trump’s decision to renovate the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Trump explained that he was motivated to have the reflecting pool cleaned and repaired after a friend visiting from Germany called it “filthy” and “not representative of the country.” Indeed, Trump’s friend wasn’t wrong: the pool was dirty, full of algae, and had numerous leaks that needed repair.

The repairs began in April and were completed six weeks later. Now, the pool looks great.

Yet some in the media can’t help but complain because Trump is the one who cleaned it up.

For example, The Washington Post posted on X an image of the reflecting pool from 2022 and one since the renovation’s completion, with the following caption: “After Trump’s $10 million renovation, the Reflecting Pool is full again — and looks almost the same.”

The Reflecting Pool on the National Mall has been refilled following President Trump’s renovations.

The project ultimately took six weeks and cost more than $10 million, far more than Trump initially projected. https://t.co/no9QuP1lmu pic.twitter.com/jBPKbqtWIy

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 9, 2026

Talk about sour grapes. After raising concern that Trump’s renovation would dramatically alter the look of the reflecting pool, the Post effectively admits that all the Left’s consternation and handwringing was for naught.

Of course, even more telling, the Post can’t admit the truth, which is that the pool does look better — much better. This produced a number of responses on social media, including from the Trump War Room, which posted, “The water was green. Now it’s not. Hope this helps.” The post included an image of the pool before the renovation:

The water was green. Now it’s not. Hope this helps. 👍 @washingtonpost https://t.co/YCvyQkwOlR pic.twitter.com/6c6G99HhOB

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) June 10, 2026

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also weighed in. “Why put this spin on it when it’s obvious that it looks much better?” he asked rhetorically. “Not exactly helping in the media credibility department.” Indeed.

Interestingly, the reactions from local residents in the notoriously Democrat-heavy city have been mostly positive. One local, Terry Barzanti, who works near the pool, observed, “We walk down here for lunch breaks. People come from all over the world to see our nation’s capital. So we should show it off, we should take care of it.”

This should not be surprising given that most people enjoy beautiful parks and monuments.

Of all the criticism one could raise against Donald Trump, challenging him on his construction-project acumen is laughable. If Trump knows anything, it’s how to build. And everyone, on both sides of the political aisle, should at least agree that the president focusing energy on beautifying our nation’s capital is a good thing. All Americans can enjoy and be proud of the District’s beauty.