As President Donald Trump drove through the Reflecting Pool at the Lincoln Memorial to see the progress of the paint job he had ordered — changing it from the gray stone color, which he said was “never good,” to a color he calls “American flag blue” — a sniper from the Secret Service could be seen on a roof guarding the president.

After Trump was driven across the new coat of paint, he emerged from his vehicle to address reporters who had gathered to await his arrival.

Trump said the cost of the project added up to nearly $2 million. “It never had the color people wanted, but now it’s going to have the great color,” he declared.

Trump apparently doesn’t like the color gray. He submitted a request for the gray exterior of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House to be covered with white paint, a proposal that two federal agencies are currently reviewing.

Trump also said that “we have a beautiful plan” to improve the actual memorial to President Abraham Lincoln but did not disclose any details.

The president also took the time to talk to workers at the site, shaking their hands and thanking them in person for their work.