“BY OUR MATH”
Trump measures the Reflecting Pool in Empire State Buildings
YouTubeAlso on X: Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) ↗
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Donald Trump’s election-eve speech had a guest of honor, and it was a rectangle of water.
“We went through a lot with vandalism,” he said, calling it unprecedented. Then the stats: “This is the largest reflecting pool in the world. It’s almost as tall as two Empire State Buildings laid on its side.” Tall. Laid on its side. Sure.
By our math, it’s not two. The Park Service puts the pool at 2,029 feet long, and the Empire State Building is 1,454 feet to the tip, so that’s about 1.4 buildings, antenna included.
The vandalism? His own U.S. attorney’s office blamed a “flawed installation,” and a judge tossed the case for good, citing the risk Trump would pressure prosecutors to revive it, per CNBC.
Related files
Related clipTrump’s Reflecting Pool story now has acid in itRelated clipTrump calls the Reflecting Pool a swimming pool, then says only Italians know more about stoneSource files
- The White House on YouTube: President Trump Delivers Remarks, Nov. 2, 2026 (Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool)
- Aaron Rupar on X: the Reflecting Pool clip
- Empire State Building: facts and figures
- National Park Service: Lincoln Memorial Event Operations Guide (Reflecting Pool, 2,029 by 167 feet)
- CNBC: Judge drops Reflecting Pool case permanently, cites Trump pressure
- Axios: Trump touts D.C. projects, Reflecting Pool in pre-election speech
