It's possibly a sign of our asymmetric times that a single-cell organism has outwitted the most powerful person in the world. Soon after Donald Trump spent millions of American taxpayer dollars to turn Washington’s Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool the shade of “American flag blue” ahead of the country’s 250th birthday, an algae bloom turned the water green. The President saw red. Among the people his administration lashed out against was former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, who on Thursday pleaded not-guilty to the charge of vandalising the shallow pool, which he claims he had reached into to inspect the blue coating that was peeling off. Perhaps the lesson for all democracies is to avoid spending big sums on superficial changes worth just a few days’ gloss.