President Donald Trump said he’s looking for “vandal proof” material to replace the floor of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as his $16 million refurb of the Washington, D.C. landmark continues.
Trump blamed “deranged vandals” after he claimed a “350-foot slit from one end to the other” appeared on the bottom of the surface last month. But critics allege the damage could be from a botched repair job.
Since the pool was lined with a protective coating the president described as “American flag blue,” the pool’s bottom surface has faded, with debris visible in the water. Work crews drained the pool this week after problems with the lining, in addition to algae blooms that turned the water green.
The refurbishment was supposed to be completed in time for the Fourth of July celebrations.
“The Reflecting Pool, so badly damaged by Deranged Vandals, has been emptied as the massive slash gets repaired. We got it through the great July Fourth Weekend. What kind of animals would do such a thing?” Trump posted Friday on Truth Social. “We are looking for a Vandal Proof material, but such a thing should not have been necessary.”
“The Scum in Court will hopefully be prosecuted to the MAX,” Trump added.
FBI agents were pictured scouring the drained pool this week as the bureau is assisting the U.S. Park Police in the vandalism investigation, the agency told The Independent.
At a press conference on June 22, Trump claimed the alleged perpetrators used “probably a box cutter or a knife of some kind.”
The National Park Service reported to the U.S. Park Police a June 9 incident in which a sharp knife or razor was said to have cut the pool’s new liner, according to court documents.
Former Olympic canoe racer David Hearn pleaded not guilty last week in D.C. Superior Court to deliberately damaging the pool. Hearn has said he reached inside to examine the peeled sealant and let go of a chunk when told to by a park worker.
At least three other people have been charged in the same court with misdemeanors for allegedly removing pieces of paint from the pool, court records show. All three pleaded not guilty during initial court appearances.
Experts have weighed in and pointed to other possible explanations.
“There are so many things that can go wrong with that process,” swimming pool consultant Steve Goodale told WIRED. “If the material hasn’t bonded to the substrate for any number of reasons, then ultimately, the entire system will fail.”
The pool is one of Trump’s beautification projects around the nation’s capital and the White House. The president’s various vanity projects and capital improvements around the nation’s capital appear to have drained at least $1 billion from the federal coffers, according to analysis by The New York Times.
These include his infamous ballroom project and the associated bunker beneath it — a project that was supposed to be free to taxpayers — plus a quarter-billion spent on “upgrades” to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
