President Donald Trump took to Truth Social Saturday to blast the New York Times over its coverage of Lafayette Park’s renovation after the paper reviewed documents that tell a very different story than the one he has sold.
Trump claimed the park had been “left in disarray after decades of neglect” and that he made “a multimillion contribution” to the fountain repairs, praising the project as coming in “under budget.”
He added: “Not only did we add brand new fountains, but we completely beautified the Park, adding a new irrigation system, sod, trees, park benches, and more. It’s turning out magnificent, under budget, and way ahead of schedule! We want to have it complete by July 4th.”
The Times reported that, unlike Trump’s White House ballroom — which he says is privately funded — the Lafayette Park fountains were paid for entirely by taxpayers.
The Biden administration previously estimated the job would cost $3.3 million, but Trump’s government paid Clark Construction $17.4 million — more than five times the original estimate.
Trump insisted he “was not in charge of handing out the contract” and that the National Parks Service awarded it fairly to Clark, which Trump called the city’s most respected firm. But the Times found the Park Service used a rarely-invoked “urgency” exemption — used in less than 1 percent of its contracts — to hand Clark the job without competitive bidding, citing a self-imposed deadline for America’s 250th birthday celebration.
“No one will die. No one’s quality of life will be diminished. There is nothing urgent about this,” George Washington University contracting law professor Steven Schooner told the Times.
The contract was never posted in public federal spending databases as required by law.
Trump called the project “magnificent.”
“The New York Times should congratulate us, instead of trying to make us look bad,” he complained.
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