Howard Lutnick on Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Controversy: ‘It’s Just a Pool’

EXCERPT:

LUTNICK: “I think the Reflecting Pool is a 2,000 ft pool. And when they tried to replace the granite for $300 million or $400 million and close it for two and a half years, right? It’s just a pool. So, the president understood that and said, why don’t we make it like an incredibly strong, right, durable pool, right? Remember, it’s only two feet deep. And when he drained it, it had 11 truckloads of garbage in it. Let’s make it beautiful. And I thought it was brilliant. So, what’s the cost now? Like, between $10 and $15 million instead of $300 million or $400 million. Instead of it taking two or three years to build, he does it in weeks. I think the president’s objectives with the Reflecting Pool are actually brilliant if you thought about it at all. And anybody who criticizes him, you just can hear what they said.”