What the Reflecting Pool Actually Reflects about Trump

An American icon becomes a metaphor for an incompetent and corrupt presidency.

Jun 29, 2026

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Don Moynihan is the J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professor of Public Policy at the University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy. Subscribe to his Substack, Can We Still Govern?

Different types of government failures grab our imagination: coverups, tragedies, personal moral failings, and corruption all lend themselves to narratives that humans na…

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A guest post by

Don Moynihan

Guggenheim Fellow, Professor of Public Policy, Ford School, University of Michigan. Immigrant. Researches and teaches about state capacity, tech in government, administrative burdens, and politicization.