Historic fountain ‘severely damaged’ as Trump rushes DC makeover: report

Contractors working at the National Mall have “severely damaged” a major fountain that sits between several key monuments, Newsweek reported on Thursday.

The German-American Friendship Fountain now has “large sections of stonework displaced around the circular fountain feature, leaving a substantial hole at its center,” Newsweek reported.

A contractor who drove a truck over the center of the fountain caused the damage, according to the report.

The fountain, located between the White House and the Washington Monument, was dedicated in 1988 to honor 300 years of German immigration to the United States.

It was already renovated in 2019 in a public-private partnership between the National Park Service, the German Embassy, and Volkswagen, Newsweek reported.

President Donald Trump has spent much of his time back in office doing everything he can to update monuments in D.C. in his image and according to his grand design, Newsweek noted.

Such projects include his plans for a massive new White House ballroom, and an arch just across the Potomac River, both of which have faced legal challenges.

One of his most recent boondoggles has been to redo the lining of the Reflecting Pool near the Lincoln Memorial. Within days of the project’s completion, the pool developed huge algal blooms, and had to be drained after authorities baselessly accused vandals of creating an enormous “gash” in the structure.

Photographs taken on Sunday reveal damage in a prominent part of the National Mall. https://t.co/Y4poc3NBJr — Newsweek (@Newsweek) July 23, 2026