Fox News guests on “The Ingraham Angle” turned the renovated Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool into a punchline, suggesting critics were suffering from “Algae Derangement Syndrome.” The segment sparked heavy backlash online after clips spread on X, while report
Fox News didn’t just talk about the renovated Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool—its segment on “The Ingraham Angle” made it a joke, and the internet pounced.
On Friday. the show aired a segment labeled “Algae Derangement Syndrome. ” tying the pool’s ongoing pond scum problem to what it called critics’ supposed obsession. Guest host Lisa Boothe questioned why people were “so obsessed with this. ” framing the attention as something staged rather than warranted.
Her guest responded by suggesting the coverage reflected politics, not pollution. “It must’ve been a slow news day in Washington. D.C. ” he said. adding that reporters were headed to the reflecting pool and insisting. “I think that they are obsessed with it because they want to embarrass President Trump.”.
The segment then shifted into comparisons of past attempts to fix the pool. The guest pointed out that “presidents dating back years” had tried to repair it. mentioning Barack Obama—saying Obama spent about $34 million. $20 million more than Donald Trump did—and arguing that coverage didn’t focus on that history.
Boothe then blamed what she called Trump Derangement Syndrome for the reaction, a phrase she used despite the fact that it is “not a medically recognized psychological condition.”
A clip of the exchange spread quickly on X on Friday evening, with many users treating the comment as part of a larger argument about who is “actually” at fault for the pool’s condition.
One X user wrote, “The bottom line is the whole damn pool is polluted with algae and blue paint. It will cost another $20 million to fix up Trump’s $14 million f–k up.” Another said. “Trump doesn’t need our help embarrassing himself.” A third added. “We are obsessed with it?. MAGA spent two months doing nothing but posting pictures of one algae bloom from 2012. MAGA is a joke.”.
Others focused on what they saw as hypocrisy in how the issue was covered. “Fox had no problem with people talking about the reflecting pool everyday when the work was been done,” one critic wrote. “Now that it has turned out to be a complete failure they want everyone to stop talking about it.”
Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Still, the fascination with the algae-riddled reflecting pool appears to be growing beyond TV. Jimmy Kimmel roasted it earlier this week. And on Friday, CNN correspondent Tom Foreman reported witnessing tourists tearing off pieces of the pool to take as souvenirs. On air. he said. “There have been tourists coming along. tearing off pieces to take as souvenirs … Now. did they cause this problem?. I don’t know, maybe. Did they exacerbate it?. Maybe. And we don’t have proof, exactly that that is the sealant we’re talking about. But it sure looks like it.”.
The debate now isn’t just about who should be mocked—it’s about a public landmark that remains visibly plagued by pond scum, and how quickly the conversation turned from repair to spectacle.
Fox News The Ingraham Angle Lisa Boothe Algae Derangement Syndrome Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool pond scum Trump Derangement Syndrome X backlash Jimmy Kimmel Tom Foreman tourists souvenirs