U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks with reporters before boarding the new Air Force One, a plane gifted by the Qatari government, on July 1, 2026.
Trump's motorcade passed through the empty pool on May 7, 2026, after it was painted and sealed and before it was refilled with water as part of a renovation project.
In June 2026, a claim spread online that President Donald Trump's motorcade had driven through the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after it was painted and sealed as part of a more than $14 million renovation project.
The rumor circulated as the U.S. National Park Service struggled to maintain the appearance of the Washington, D.C., landmark after Trump ordered it to be repainted to "American flag blue" for the country's 250th anniversary.
Examples of the claim spread on X and Instagram, while the self-described progressive Facebook page Occupy Democrats posted it on Facebook. That post featured an image of five black SUVs driving through the empty pool, and overlaid text suggesting the motorcade may have damaged the paint and sealant before it had fully set, thus later causing the paint to peel off.
(Occupy Democrats)
Several Snopes readers also emailed us and searched our website to verify the veracity of the story.
In short, the claim is true and the images are authentic. In early May 2026, after the pool was repainted dark blue and before the NPS began to refill it with water, a White House official posted a video showing Trump's motorcade driving though the landmark.
Snopes contacted the White House to ask about the purpose of the drive across the pool. We will update this article if we receive a response.
Claims that the official cars had driven though the pool surfaced as early as May 7, 2026 (archived):
Various X posts credited the above video to White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, who posted it earlier that day (archived):
"They see me rolling," Cheung's post reads, referencing rapper Chamillionaire's 2005 song "Ridin'." Cheung added, "President Trump rides in the Reflecting Pool at the Lincoln Memorial!"
That day and the next, multiple news outlets reported on the motorcade crossing the hallowed site, including CNN, The New York Post, NBC, Washington, D.C., CBS affiliate WUSA9, ABC7 News and Forbes.
CNN said Trump "was there to tour the site and see the new color."
NBC showed footage of the cars crossing a seemingly wet patch of paint, leaving tire marks behind. Forbes showed the same clip.
It is unclear whether the motorcade may have contributed to the paint peeling off a month later.
For further reading, Snopes debunked a rumor that the Trump Organization was selling pieces of peeling paint from the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Sources
ChamillionaireVEVO. "Chamillionaire Ft. Krayzie Bone - Ridin' (Official Video)." YouTube, 17 June 2009, www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtwJvgPJ9xw. Accessed 23 June 2026.
Forbes Breaking News. "President Trump Visits the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as Construction Continues." YouTube, 8 May 2026, www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-1FEZ76m7Y. Accessed 23 June 2026.
NBC4 Washington. "Trump Drives across Reflecting Pool to Inspect Blue Coating He Ordered | NBC4 Washington." YouTube, 8 May 2026, www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZDtYhwhD18. Accessed 23 June 2026.
New York Post. "WATCH: Trump's Motorcade Drives over the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool." YouTube, 7 May 2026, www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVa-a2ZFEGE. Accessed 23 June 2026.
"President Trump Goes for Ride across Emptied Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool." ABC7 DC, May 2026, www.youtube.com/shorts/NPW-MS23mt8. Accessed 23 June 2026.
WUSA9. "Trump Drives across Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to Inspect New Blue Coating He's Putting on It." YouTube, 7 May 2026, www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuAmvvMxqeg. Accessed 23 June 2026.
Anna Rascouët-Paz is based in Brooklyn, fluent in numerous languages and specializes in science and economic topics. Got tips? Reach out to her on Signal at rascouetsnopes.41 or via email at anna@snopes.com.
In May and June 2026, a claim circulated online that the number 250, which the Trump administration wants to use on a proposed $250 bill with the president's face on it, is slang for "idiot" in Chinese.
IN CHINA, "250" OR "ÈR BǍI WǓ" IS A COMMON
INSULT MEANING "FOOL," "IDIOT," OR "DIMWIT." THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY LOSING
THEIR SH*T OVER THERE ABOUT THE NEW TRUMP $250 BILL!
Snopes consulted Dr. Jie Zhang,
an Associate Professor at the Department of Modern Languages,
Literatures, and Linguistics at the University of Oklahoma, and two
other Mandarin speakers, who all said the word for 250, "二百五,"
pronounced "èr bǎi wǔ," was commonly known and used in China to call someone an idiot, as the posts suggested.
According to Mandarin languageschools and a report
about the Trump administration's planned $250 bill by the Hong
Kong-based South China Morning Post, the Mandarin word for 250 could
also be used to call someone silly, innocent, careless, foolish,
stubborn, reckless, stupid or to suggest they were not, as an English
idiom goes, the sharpest tool in the shed.
Given the above, we rate this claim true.
According to BaiduWiki, a Chinese equivalent of Wikipedia, the origin of the use of 250 as an insult is unclear.
One possible origin story came from the Warring States period (475 – 221 BC). According to the international Chinese language school eChineseLearning and the South China Morning Post's report,
when an assassin killed state strategist Su Qin, the king devised a
plan to get the murderer to turn themselves in. He reportedly offered
the assassin 1,000 taels, the silver currency used at the time, if they admitted to the killing.
As a result, four men reportedly turned themselves in for
the murder, hoping to split the reward and receive 250 taels each. The
king, seeing through their scheme, killed them instead, possibly
resulting in the use of 250 to describe a fool blinded by wealth.
Alternatively, the Chinese Language Institute, a
Mandarin language school in Guilin, China, founded by a pair of American
brothers, wrote
on its website that the use of 250 as an insult might stem from an old
coin-counting system in China, where people called 1,000 coins grouped
on a string a "diàozi." Under this system, people used the word for 500
coins ("bàndiàozi," or half of a "diàozi") to demonstrate "humility in
regards to knowledge." However, people used 250, or a quarter "diàozi,"
as an insult.
Similarly, the Chinese Language Institute also wrote
that, in the past, people in China might group money in envelopes of
500s. The word for half of such an envelope, meaning one that contained
250, was "半封" ("bànfēng"), a homophone, meaning a word that sounds
similar to the word "半疯" (also pronounced "bànfēng") which means
"half-insane."
The Institute wrote that, regardless of the saying's
origin, the Mandarin word for 250, "essentially translates to the
English equivalent of 'stupid,' or 'not playing with a full deck.'"
Other origins have been reported elsewhere.
Given the above, it is reasonable to assume that
Mandarin speakers might find the idea of a bill with the number 250 next
to Trump's face amusing. The South China Morning Post reported
that news of the proposed bill had "racked up more than 14 million
views on mainland social media, with most users finding it hilarious."
It is unclear as of this writing whether the U.S. Treasury would be able to produce the Trump-branded bill in question due to federal legislation that says only portraits of deceased people may feature on U.S. currency, as Snopes has previously reported.
At the time of publication, Republican U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina had proposed a bill
to amend federal legislation to allow Trump's face to feature on the
prospective $250 bill, but his proposed legislation had not yet become
law.
Meanwhile, the official name of an initiative
to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States
in 1776 is "America250," which Mandarin speakers might also find
humorous.
Snopes has previously reported on other claims related to events planned around America's 250th anniversary, such as a UFC fight on the White House lawn and an athletics competition between high schoolers from all the U.S. states and territories.
Sources
31 USC 5114: Engraving and Printing Currency and Security
Documents.
https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title31-section5114&num=0&edition=prelim#:~:text=Only%20the%20portrait%20of%20a%20deceased%20individual%20may%20appear%20on%20United%20States%20currency%20and%20securities.
Accessed 9 June 2026.
"Actions - H.R.1761 - 119th Congress
(2025-2026): Donald J. Trump $250 Bill Act." Congress.gov, Library of
Congress, 27 February 2025,
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1761/all-actions.
America250. 5 June 2026, https://america250.org/.
Britannica Editors. "tael". Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Feb. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/topic/tael. Accessed 9 June 2026.
Britannica
Editors. "Warring States". Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Sep. 2025,
https://www.britannica.com/event/Warring-States. Accessed 9 June 2026.
Chinese
Word: Top 5 'Bad Words' in Chinese. 17 Apr. 2025,
https://www.echineselearning.com/blog/must-know-five-bad-words-in-chinese.
Jie Zhang. http://www.ou.edu/cas/modlang/people/jie-zhang.html. Accessed 9 June 2026.
'Plan
to Put Trump on US$250 Bill Tickles China, Number Means "Idiot" in
Slang'. South China Morning Post, 1 Mar. 2025,
https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3300586/us-plan-put-trump-250-bill-tickles-china-number-means-stubborn-idiot-slang.
Yeromiyan,
Tania. 'An Introduction to Chinese Numerology'. CLI, 10 Aug. 2020,
https://studycli.org/chinese-culture/chinese-numerology/.
Image courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP, accessed via Getty Images
Claim:
Donald Trump Jr. said driving through Arlington National Cemetery reminded him of "all the sacrifices we'd have to make — giving up a huge chunk of our business and all international deals."
A rumor that the oldest child of U.S. President Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., once referenced a visit to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia as inspiration for him to reflect on his family's financial sacrifices circulated online in May 2026.
Users on social media have spread the rumor for years, but it resurfaced in late May 2026 as Americans observed Memorial Day.
Arlington National Cemetery's website describes the landmark as honoring "those who have served our nation. … This impressive landscape serves as a tribute to the service and sacrifice of every individual laid to rest within these hallowed grounds."
According to the online rumor, Trump Jr. allegedly said, "As we drove past the rows of white grave markers … I also thought of … all the sacrifices we'd have to make — giving up a huge chunk of our business and all international deals."
This quote is correctly attributed to Donald Trump Jr. He wrote those words in his 2019 book, "Triggered: How the Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence Us."
The full passage from the book read:
Meanwhile, it also took two months for me to realize the enormity of what my father had accomplished, and the weight of the job that he'd won. It was the day before the inauguration, and we were driving into Arlington National Cemetery, where he was to lay a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I rarely get emotional, if ever. I guess you'd call me hyper-rational, stoic. Yet, as we drove past the rows of white grave markers, in the gravity of the moment, I had a deep sense of the importance of the presidency and a love of our country. I was never prouder of my father than when I watched as he stood before the tomb, his hand over his heart, while the Army bugler played "Taps."
In that moment, I also thought of all the attacks we'd already suffered as a family, and about all the sacrifices we'd have to make to help my father succeed — voluntarily giving up a huge chunk of our business and all international deals to avoid the appearance that we were "profiting off the office."
We're not talking about business with any foreign government agencies. This was based on the idea that we might be taken advantage of by a private business that would then have leverage on us. First of all, I don't think Trump Org has ever gotten duped by anyone and, second, the chances of something like that even being attempted are pretty remote. Frankly, it was a big sacrifice, costing us millions and millions of dollars annually, a huge book of business that I had personally built.
But it was a sacrifice we were more than happy and willing to make. Of course, we didn't get any credit whatsoever from the mainstream media, which now does not surprise me at all.
("Triggered: How the Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence Us")
Political commentators and veterans criticized Trump's comments at the time of the book's publication.
Vanity Fair ran an opinion piece with the headline "Donald Trump Jr. Thinks Not Doing Foreign Deals is the Same as Dying in Battle." The BBC reported: "Arizona Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego, who fought in Iraq, responded on Twitter: 'Eight men I served with are buried in Section 60 of Arlington' … 'I visit them monthly. Even if Donald Jr lived a 1,000 years, he will never even get close to being as good and honourable as they were.'"
Salon's managing editor wrote that the book "finds the son of the most powerful man in the world complaining that his family is the victim of unfair attacks. In one passage, Don Jr. refutes critics who have called his father 'racist' by pointing out that Trump allowed him and Eric to play with Michael Jackson as children and let him go on vacation with former NFL star Herschel Walker."
Washington, D.C. Office of the President of the United States, the best POTUS The Greatest, Possibly Ever
PERSONAL. VERY PERSONAL. DO NOT THROW AWAY.
Dearest Kim,
Hi. It’s me. Donald. You know who this is.
I’m writing because June 14th is coming up and I’m turning 80, which is a very big number but honestly I look 60, everyone says it, even people who don’t have to say it. Doctors. Strangers. Very beautiful women. The point is I’m having a party and it’s going to be the greatest party in the history of parties, possibly in the history of civilization, and I need you to be there.
I have UFC fighters. The best ones. Real warriors, tremendous people, but Kim — between you and me — they’re not you. Nobody hits like you hit. Nobody. And I mean that in the emotional sense.
Do you remember Singapore? I think about Singapore. I’m not supposed to say that but it’s true. We had something, you and I. Two strong men who started out calling each other names — which honestly was also fun, I’m not going to lie — and then we figured it out. We figured each other out. You wrote me those letters and I kept them, Kim. I kept ALL of them. They found some at Mar-a-Lago and made a whole thing about it but that’s not the point, the point is I kept them because they meant something to me. They meant a lot to me.
You didn’t answer my last letter. That’s okay. I understand you’re busy. You have a country to run, you have parades, you have that daughter of yours who’s very impressive by the way, very strong genes, takes after her father clearly. I’m not mad about the letter. I’m not even a little mad. I just want you to know that I’m not mad.
The party is on the White House lawn. South Lawn. The good lawn. We’re putting the Octagon right there and the whole country is coming and there will be fireworks and I already told everybody it’s going to be the greatest show on earth, which means you have to come because otherwise it’s not actually the greatest show on earth. You see the position this puts me in.
I was going to have Rocket Man play but Elton said no. Different story.
Kim, look. I’m going to be honest with you in a way that I’m not always honest with people, which is that this second term is very busy and very winning but sometimes I’m in the residence and I’m reading briefings about the South China Sea or whatever and I think — I wish Kim and I could just talk. Like we used to. Remember Hanoi? I know Hanoi didn’t go perfectly but I think about the energy of it. The tension. Two guys who could destroy the world sitting across a table eating terrible food. There was something there.
You can bring whoever you want. Bring the translator. Bring the daughter. We’ll get them good seats, right by the Octagon, full security, I’ll tell the Secret Service you’re Very Important, which you are, obviously, you run a whole country, nuclear weapons, the whole thing, very impressive. We can get you whatever food you want. Whatever. Name it.
I’m also enclosing, again, the letter from before that you didn’t accept. I know your guys at the UN said they didn’t want it but I think maybe there was a miscommunication because I can’t imagine you told them to actually say no. That doesn’t sound like you. You’re better than that. We’re both better than that.
Just think about it. June 14th. White House. Come watch some guys punch each other. Bring a jacket, evenings can be cool. And maybe after, we find a quiet room somewhere, no translators if you want, no cameras, just two world leaders who used to be close and maybe could be again.
You know my number. You’ve always known my number.
Forever yours (and I mean that),
DONALD J. TRUMP President of the United States 80 Years Young Still The Best
P.S. — I told them to put a good chair out for you. Not one of the folding ones. A real chair. It’s there. It’s waiting.
P.P.S. — I still look incredible, by the way. Just so you know.
Closer to the Edge is a reader-powered independent journalism.
A NASA software engineer for 23 years (retired), Silicon Valley software engineer for 36+years, Egyptology hobbyist and ARCE-NC board of directors member for more than 25 years, reporter and copy editor for the Kansas City Star and Louisville Courier-Journal for 6 years. Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Kappa Tau Alpha, Heritage Registry of Who's Who. I favor open source development, Linux, net neutrality, medical care as a right and not a privilege, the ACLU, freedom of religion, separation of church and state, freedom of speech.
Image courtesy of Alex Brandon, via Getty Images
Image courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP, accessed via Getty Images
