politics
Trump Shares Before-and-After Images of Restored D.C. Monuments
President Trump posted photographs this week contrasting older images of Columbus Circle and Meridian Hill Park with recent views of cleaned stonework and flowing fountains. The posts form part of the White House effort to highlight projects under the Making D.C. Safe and Beautiful initiative. Newsweek reported the comparisons and provided details on prior maintenance and vandalism at the sites.
Jul 15, 3:26 PM·1m read1 source
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President Trump shared before-and-after images of Columbus Circle and Meridian Hill Park on Truth Social this week. The photographs contrasted older views of graffiti-covered stonework and dry fountains with recent images showing restored monuments and flowing water.
Newsweek reported that one panel labeled Biden displayed graffiti on the Christopher Columbus Memorial at Columbus Circle near Union Station.
The image appears to have been taken after pro-Palestinian demonstrations in July 2024, when protesters vandalized the monument and fountain following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit. A corresponding Trump panel showed the site after restoration that included structural repairs, stone conservation, accessibility improvements, and fountain work.
The Department of the Interior announced in May that the Columbus Circle fountain had not operated since 2007.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said at the reopening ceremony that thanks to President Trump the site is once again ready to welcome the public. The memorial had also been vandalized during protests in April 2021. A second post compared photographs of Meridian Hill Park showing a deteriorated fountain complex with a recent image of the cascading fountain in operation.
Administration officials highlighted the project during a July 2 event at the park. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other officials credited Trump's D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force with the restoration.
