What in the World, a free weekly newsletter from our foreign correspondents, is sent every Thursday. Below is an excerpt. Sign up to get the whole newsletter delivered to your inbox.
Washington: Recently, Pete Hegseth paid a visit to my local park. The US defence secretary was there to praise the National Guard for helping make Washington safe. He had to speak loudly into the microphone to overcome noise from nearby protesters.
“It’s the sound of ingrates, of ingratitude,” Hegseth said. “People who are so blinded by ideology, they can’t see law and order and common sense in front of them.”
They gathered at Meridian Hill Park, just two blocks from my apartment, because it has become something of a symbol of President Donald Trump’s drive to beautify the nation’s capital.
The park features the longest cascading water fountain in North America, with 13 basins running down the hill. Each one is wider than the step before, making it look longer from the bottom.
For people who live in this dense, concrete-laden area of Washington, this patch of green – also known as Malcolm X Park – is a beloved respite, especially in the unrelenting heat of summer.
The fountain began flowing in 1932. But for the past seven – yes, seven – years, it has run dry, a victim of underlying plumbing failures and maintenance backlogs across the National Park Service.
That was until Trump demanded the restoration and beautification of DC’s parks in an executive order about making the capital safe and beautiful.
Lately, all the attention has been on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which Trump wanted to turn a brighter shade of “American-flag blue”.
He contracted a company that worked on a pool at one of his golf clubs. Things didn’t go quite as planned: first there was a massive algae outbreak, then the new liner started to peel off.
Last week, the pool was drained – again – so workers can repair the damage. Fencing on all four sides blocks public access while the work is under way.
Trump blamed vandals for the damage, without providing evidence, and dismissed suggestions it might have been the fault of his no-bid contractors.
Nor would he cop that driving his large, heavy presidential motorcade on the pool the last time it was drained could have done some harm. To be fair, there’s no evidence for that, either.
On Thursday, The Washington Post published a detailed analysis based on photos, satellite imagery and expert testimony that concluded the damage most likely came from errors in the application of the lining. The White House denied this and stuck to its vandalism story.
The saga has become emblematic of Trump’s presidency, which is often marked by good intentions that come undone through ego, overreach and the inability to admit fault – or even doubt.
For instance, his determination to tackle the scourge of fentanyl is commendable and important. It doesn’t justify punitive tariffs on Canada or blowing up boats in the Caribbean Sea.
Deporting dangerous criminals who are illegally in the United States is the right thing to do, but it shouldn’t involve ICE becoming a law unto itself, even killing its own citizens.
And fixing up Washington is a righteous cause. But that project has also been sullied by Trump’s narcissism (for example, the so-called Arc de Trump and his ill-fated Kennedy Centre takeover).
As a businessman and builder, a major part of Trump’s appeal and success is that he’s not a career politician nor the product of the Washington blob. He has thrown out the usual political processes that, while serving a purpose, often frustrate and delay change.
At last week’s Australian American Leadership Dialogue in Washington, there was much discussion about needing more agility in government in Australia – especially on artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. We are notoriously slow and risk-averse.
When you move fast, sometimes you break things. The reflecting pool is a case in point. But when the alternative is waiting seven years to fix a water feature, then you have to give Trump points for trying.
After all, not everything he does is bad. Just ask my neighbours in Meridian Hill.
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.
Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political reporter in Canberra.Connect via X or email.
