Jon Stewart took aim at the unsightly infestation of algae in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, questioning Donald Trump‘s inability to get the situation under control.
Before breaking down J.D. Vance’s recent participation in the negotiations with Iran, Stewart focused on the reflecting pool, feigning shock that Trump has yet again tried to fix something that isn’t broken. “The Trump administration continues to try and find a solution to an intractable, problematic waterway in a dangerous part of the world,” Stewart quipped.
After playing a series of news clips explaining that the new coating in the pool is now peeling off. The clip explained how the pool’s high phosphate levels have caused a “significant algae bloom” that turned it into “a sea of green.”
“That is really fucking green,” Stewart responded. “That shit’s neon. Did they replace the water with Mountain Dew? Didn’t they just have a pool company come in and fix it? How did it get so green?”
More news clips revealed that one of the companies enlisted with the task of renovating the pool was the unfortunately named Greenwater Services. The company won the job in no-bid contract and is owned by a trust run by Republican donor John Cafaro. Stewart shared a photo of Cafaro, joking that he looks “an extra in Guys and Dolls.”
“That’s the pool guy? Does Donald Trump do business with anyone normal?” Stewart said. “It’s like Donnie Brasco got stung by a bee. I’m sorry, to be fair, that’s probably an old picture from, like, the ’80s when Gomez Addams was all the rage. Who is this guy?”
Stewart cut to Anderson Cooper explaining that Cafaro is a “Mar-a-Lago neighbor” who, in 2001, “pled guilty to conspiracy to bribe then-congressman James Traficant Jr.”
“The pool guy?” Stewart said. “The pool guy bribed the congressman, and now he gets the pool contract — that tracks.” He mimicked a mob boss voice, adding, “‘What do I do? Let’s just say I’m in the chlorine management business.’”
Stewart noted, “If you’re like me, when you first heard the reflecting pool had algae, you probably thought to yourself, ‘I hope the president of the United States is personally involved with overseeing this.’”
