Trump tries to set record straight on damage to his Reflecting Pool

Stay up to date with notifications from The IndependentNotifications can be managed in browser preferences.AllNewsSportCultureLifestyleThe partially drained Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool seen on Monday, July 13, 2026 (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)President Donald Trump has blasted claims that the Reflecting Pool had to be drained because of peeling paint and called for “country-hating sleazebags” to be brought to justice.“ABC Fake News and its shaky anchor, David Muir, said that the Reflecting Pool was drained to address Peeling Paint (there is no paint, it was slashed with a knife, or box cutter, high grade colored waterproofing liner - it was VANDALISM!) and Algae Blooms (also caused by Vandals, but removed long ago!)” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post late Monday. He continued, “In other words, the story was FAKE NEWS, but heavily slanted away from the real cause of the problem, Vandalism. It will be fixed soon, and better than ever. 60 monuments and fountains have been cleaned and fully renovated in D.C., and crime is at record lows! Washington has never looked better, or been safer!”In a separate post, Trump called for "vandals" and "sleazebags" who damaged the pool to face severe consequences, writing, “We drained the beautiful ‘Reflecting Pool’ today in order to fix the scars and damage that was done by the Vandals two weeks ago. We wanted to wait until after the July 4th Weekend.” “The slashes were 300 yards long, and the floor of the pool was cut and then pulled upward, with great force, by these thugs,” he wrote. “The Parks Department had to empty the water in order to fix the water tight basin. It will be refilled and put back into service soon. These Country hating sleazebags should pay a big price for the damage done.”In fullTrump says the ‘vandals’ and ‘sleazebags’ he claims cut up the Lincoln Reflecting Pool will ‘pay a big price’More bulletinsThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in

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