Trump claims vandals damaged D.C. Reflecting Pool, and says it will be drained again
By: Willem Marx (NPR)
Shoddy work by shady property developers shouldn't surprise anyone. Remove the restraints of inspection and oversight and this is exactly what government contractors deliver.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
June 21, 2026 -- President Trump has claimed that United States Park Police have made several arrests in connection with what he described as deliberate sabotage of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington D.C., which underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation earlier this year.
"The United States Park Police have arrested multiple individuals for vandalizing our Nations magnificent Reflecting Pool," Trump wrote on Truth Social late Saturday evening. "These are very serious crimes having to do with the destruction of National Monuments. Years in jail! Work will begin immediately on its repair."
In a second post on Saturday , Trump described the alleged damage in greater detail, saying more arrests had followed. He provided no evidence for any of his claims about the nature of the damage, and neither the Park Police nor any other law enforcement agency had publicly confirmed any arrests as of the time of publication.
On Friday, Maryland resident and former Olympian David Hearn was arrested and charged with destroying government property. Hearn says he merely reached into the pool to touch one of the already dislodged blue pieces, and denies the charge.
Trump said that the pool would be drained and repaired quickly, and framed the alleged vandalism as an affront to American history. "We met with contractors today, will probably be forced to release and drain much of the water in order to do the necessary repairs," he wrote. "What these terrible Vandals have done is a true affront to both Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and should be dealt with accordingly".
A peeling section of blue coating is seen in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Saturday, June 20, 2026, in Washington. Mark Schiefelbein/AP
'A 250-foot long gash'
Trump described what he said was physical destruction to the pool's newly renovated lining. "They took some form of knife or blade, and put a 250 foot long gash into the beautiful facade of what took so much work, competence, and money to build and complete," he wrote Saturday. "They also poured corrosive and destructive chemicals into the Pool."
The president connected the alleged vandalism to the recent green color of the pool — again, without evidence. The pool turned green last week after being refilled following its renovation, in which its floor was repainted in a shade Trump calls "American flag blue."
Aquatic ecologists and pool specialists told NPR the discoloration was caused by a natural bloom of algae from the genus Desmodesmus — a process scientists say is common in shallow, sun-exposed bodies of water, and one that may have been accelerated by the renovation disturbing the nutrient balance of the water.
A George Mason University professor who took water samples confirmed the algae was not toxic.
Water from a vacuum line being used by National Park Service employees to clean the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool pours into a nearby drain, Saturday, June 20, 2026, in Washington. Mark Schiefelbein/AP
A renovation that grew in scope and cost
In April, Trump revealed his plans for the pool to be made "American flag blue," in time for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. The president also posted a fake image of himself and several of his administration officials in swimsuits, along with an unidentified woman in a bikini lounging in the water.
Trump defended the recent work in his Saturday post, writing: "The Reflecting Pool was never so beautiful as it was just one week ago, even going back to 1922 when it opened." The pool opened in 1923.
The renovation project expanded significantly beyond the initial public cost estimate of $2 million, to more than $14 million by the time work was completed. A Virginia-based contractor received the no-bid contract. A separate Ohio-based company was paid approximately $1.7 million for nanobubble ozone technology deployed to treat the algae bloom.
The project was also the subject of a lawsuit filed in May by the Cultural Landscape Foundation, a nonprofit that argued the administration had bypassed required historic preservation reviews. A federal judge had not yet ruled on the case by the time the administration notified the court that work had been completed.
The White House has also provided no evidence that vandalism caused the pool's discoloration, or any of the structural damage the president has described.
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The water can be tested for chemical contaminants. And vandalism should be easy to discover unless there aren't cameras monitoring the mall.
Pathetic excuses won't hide how Donald Trump conducts property development. What's very interesting is Trump has avoided threatening to sue the contractor which seems rather out of character. Why is Trump taking a bullet for the hired help?
Minor EPA question; where the fuck is all of that water, contaminated by algae and water and what ever else the no bid, no oversight contractor used in ripping us off,
again.
Obviously the concrete base was not properly cleaned and sealed before being coated to prevent pealing. And the coating wasn't allowed sufficient time to cure. The water to refill the pool should have bee treated to prevent an algae bloom. The new coating, itself, would feed algae until the coating is fully cured.
Whoever ran this property development obviously didn't know much about construction.
It's going into the Potomac River
This thing needs about 4 inches of Gunite applied by pros after they add a real filtration system.
Real time bidding and approval would probably take years with Congress having to approve each step.
But it wouldn't turn green and fall apart in a week because Grandpop Square Pants just couldn't wait to gamble again, and lose again
The water will come up with high concentrations of H2O2
Its pretty obvious that the company he hired didnt know how to do a project like this.
This is more the rule than exception with poorly prepared government procurement.
The well nourished guy owns malls somewhere in fly over country, that's all Donald needed to know.
In spite of zero evidence, Fox is reporting this purported vandalism as fact, and you know the MAGA clan is just swallowing it without question.
And because it is ALL about Trump, leftists, like good followers, call these reports lies.
Will you reverse your post when one or more are found guilty of vandalism, or will you simply post another "nuh uh"
Why should anyone believe anything that a known liar and those who defend the known liar say? Trump is a liar and those defending him are liars, anyone believing them should have their heads examined.
Didn't answer my question, just some goofy liar, liar pants on fire rant.
No. Not just that. Although given Trump’s extensive history with lying, fraud, and shoddy construction, his involvement is certainly a factor. Cheating and taking shortcuts are standard business practice for him. Only a partisan fool would disregard that history.
But there are other factors. First, this job was begun with zero input from Congress or experts. The contractor was hired with zero review of their qualifications and zero competition. And thus there is zero accountability.
Additionally, there is zero evidence of anyone committing vandalism or sabotage of the pool, and it is implausible that sabotage on such a scale could be perpetrated in such a highly public, monitored location.
THAT is why people are saying the accusations of vandalism are lies.
Will you retract yours?
Nuh uh?
I have admitted being wrong here, as rare as it is.
Where's the evidence of vandalism? Fox News could send intrepid reporters to the site to verify the allegations. Now that the pool must be drained again, the evidence should become self-evident. Fox News can afford to find the truth, can't they? Show us the pictures.
The vandals were the installers. There is no other evidence which can explain this shoddy project.
You didn't ask me a question, but if you're referring to whether I would also 'reverse' my position if this guy is found guilty of vandalism, why would I? We all know this guy didn't create the massive mess Trump and his feckless administration created here. Even if this guy took a sharp instrument and cut a piece of liner or whatever out, that doesn't create this fucking algae bloom and the rest of the horrid mess that's costing taxpayers over $16 MILLION for another unnecessary boondoggle from this horrid piece of shit President. But there's no shortage of fools running around brushing their teeth with his feces, smiling and grinning at the world like they love it.
"Trump Paste™ is the best!"
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Driving on it probably didn’t help.
I also suspect that whatever they sprayed on it probably should have been allowed to cure for a lot longer - especially if you’re going to be dumping harsh chemicals on it.
The irony here....
Do you need a napkin?
The non sequitur here.
So... How are they saying this guy vandalized it. Did he just reach in and peel the lining out with his fingernails? Did he have some sort of submersible power tool to cut it out? None of that makes sense to me. I've had several pools over the years and never had to worry about people pulling the plaster off. Having a darker colored lining will raise the temperature of the water and cause the algae to grow faster but if your chemicals are right it shouldn't matter.
Bottom line? I'm gonna call bullshit on the vandalism claim.
They aren’t saying how. That’s the problem. Nut bags have been trying to claim sabotage ever since the pool started to turn green a few days ago. This fantasy has only expanded with the peeling of the liner. Fox News is reporting this as if the sabotage were an established fact, and the administration is embracing it to deflect from their responsibility. Of course no one can explain how this very public and monitored location could possibly fall victim to such clandestine tampering.
A couple of weeks ago trump was praising the sealant ( and the color ) as being indestructible and would last 50 years.
he should have went to the Flex-seal charlatan Phil what's his name first.