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WASHINGTON — <\/span>President Donald Trump<\/a> on Thursday went on an unannounced trip to the Lincoln Memorial to see the Reflecting Pool<\/a> after he had it coated in a color he calls \u201cAmerican flag blue.\u201d <\/p>\n He did more than just see it \u2014 the Republican president was driven across the new coating before he got out of his SUV to make a statement and answer questions from reporters who had been taken there to await his arrival before the sun set. <\/p>\n The new blue coating will hide the pool’s gray stone, a color Trump said was \u201cnever good.\u201d The project cost nearly $2 million, he said. <\/p>\n \u201cIt never had the color people wanted, but now it\u2019s going to have the great color,\u201d he said, standing in the pool surrounded by some of his Cabinet secretaries, including Doug Burgum of Interior and Markwayne Mullin of Homeland Security. <\/p>\n Trump had similar feelings about the gray granite exterior of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House, describing it as a \u201creally bad color\u201d last year. The president wants to cover the building in white paint<\/a> and two federal agencies are reviewing his proposal. <\/p>\n Trump said he is also working on the memorial to President Abraham Lincoln itself, but he offered no specifics, saying only that \u201cwe have a beautiful plan\u201d in mind. <\/p>\n Work has been underway at the memorial for the past few years on an underground visitors\u2019 center scheduled to open in June.<\/p>\n Trump last month announced the reflecting pool renovation during an unrelated Oval Office appearance. He said he was inspired by the complaints of a friend visiting from Germany, who he said told him the water in the pool was dark, filthy, and looked disgusting. <\/p>\n The project is another way for Trump to leave his mark on the city, following his demolition of the White House East Wing<\/a> to build a large ballroom there. <\/p>\n