President Donald Trump has polled adoring construction workers for their support of the Iran war during a surprise visit to the under-renovation Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool.
As Americans struggle with soaring gas prices brought on by the growing conflict in the Middle East, Trump took his motorcade on a joyride Thursday night to check out the progress on the reflecting pool, which has been emptied to be resurfaced.
Reporters were eager to ask Trump about the state of negotiations with Iran, especially after Tehran exchanged fire with the U.S. Navy in the Strait of Hormuz earlier in the day. But Trump was interested in hearing the opinions of the crew working on the reflecting pool.
The president jokingly asked the workers, “Who didn’t vote for Trump, anybody?” His question was met with friendly laughter, with one worker saying, “We’re from Oklahoma.” Trump won Oklahoma in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 presidential elections, receiving more than 65 percent of the vote each time.
“Does anyone think Iran should have a nuclear weapon?” Trump asked the workers. The workers responded with a resounding “no,” shaking their heads.
The workers agreed when Trump called the U.S. military action in Iran “very important.”
At the direction of Trump, the U.S., alongside Israel, began launching strikes against Iran at the end of February. The president has claimed the U.S. needed to take action because Iran was an imminent threat to Americans with its nuclear ambitions.
“These guys work so hard to make things beautiful. We’re not going to let a nuclear weapon ruin it,” Trump said.
Trump told reporters during his visit that the U.S. is negotiating with Iran. When asked how close Washington was to making a deal with Tehran, Trump said, “It could happen any day, and it might not happen.”
The president warned that if Iran doesn’t sign a peace deal, there will be “a lot of pain” for the country.
He also claimed Iran agreed not to have a nuclear weapon, but added, “When they agree, it doesn’t mean much, because the next day they forget they agreed.” Past peace talks have failed due to gridlock over what to do about the future of Iran’s nuclear program.
The president was joined Thursday night by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who was wearing a black tux; Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who used to represent Oklahoma in the Senate, and Trump’s so-called border czar Tom Homan.
“Tom, how good a president is Trump?” the president asked, turning to one of his top immigration officials. “Greatest president in my lifetime,” Homan responded.
Homan then jokingly asked the construction workers, “Are you all legal?” He was referring to their immigration status.
His crude remark was met with laughter. Trump then said that since they are from Oklahoma, “The answer is probably yes.”
Trump made sure to shake all of the workers’ hands and gift them presidential challenge coins before they left. The reflecting pool makeover is the latest project Trump has taken on to beautify Washington. The pool was last renovated under the Obama administration.
When ABC News’ Rachel Scott asked Trump why he was focusing on cosmetic fixes to the nation’s capital while gas prices surged across the country, the president berated her.
“Our country is about beauty, cleanliness, safety, great people. Not a filthy capital. That’s such a stupid question that you asked,” he said.
Trump also told reporters Thursday night that the U.S.-Iran ceasefire was still in effect after Tehran “trifled with us.”
The president was referring to an Iranian missile and drone attack that Navy destroyers intercepted in the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil waterway, earlier that day.
It’s not the first time this week Trump has openly polled those in his orbit over the war in Iran with the White House press cameras rolling.
On Wednesday, Trump asked a guest at the White House, UFC fighter Justin Gaethje, to weigh in on the war. Gaethje agreed that the U.S. was in “fantastic shape” amid negotiations.
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