President Donald Trump has found someone new to blame for his Reflecting Pool disaster.
In a Truth Social post on Saturday, the president claimed multiple alleged vandals had been arrested after damage was discovered at the newly refurbished Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
“The United States Park Police have arrested multiple individuals for vandalizing our Nations [sic] magnificent Reflecting Pool,” Trump wrote.
“Who would do such a thing?”
Hours later, Trump claimed that “many additional people” had been arrested and alleged that vandals used a knife or blade to carve a 250-foot gash into the pool’s new surface.
He also accused unidentified individuals of pouring “corrosive and destructive chemicals” into the water.
Trump also acknowledged that the problems at the Reflecting Pool have become so severe that much of the water may need to be drained again for repairs.
“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.
The admission marks another setback for a renovation that was originally expected to take a week but stretched into nearly two months before being overtaken by algae days after reopening.
“The Reflecting Pool was never so beautiful as it was just one week ago,” Trump wrote.
“We are very proud of what we have done with this magnificent structure.”
Trump’s vandalism claims quickly became fodder for critics online.
“They’ve arrested more people for touching the peeling paint at the Reflecting Pool than they’ve arrested from the Epstein files,” one person wrote.
“Keeping his promise to drain the swamp,” another wrote.
While others accused Trump of looking for a scapegoat rather than accepting responsibility for the troubled project.
“Why admit it when you can blame your own citizens?” one person commented.
One of the people caught up in the crackdown insists he was doing little more than satisfying his curiosity.
David Hearn, a 67-year-old former Olympic canoe racer from Bethesda, Maryland, told the Associated Press he was detained Friday after reaching down and touching part of the new coating.
“I’m a curious citizen,” Hearn said. “I reached down to see what it felt like. It was very rubbery.”
According to Hearn, he immediately stopped after a worker instructed him to leave it alone, but was nevertheless detained by National Guard troops and Park Police officers for roughly five hours.
The Washington Post reported that Hearn has been ordered to appear in court next month and is seeking legal assistance.
The arrests come as the Reflecting Pool makeover threatens to overshadow Trump’s broader campaign to spruce up Washington, D.C.
Trump had earlier on Saturday been celebrating what he described as his administration’s efforts to make Washington “SAFE & BEAUTIFUL.”
In a graphic posted to Truth Social, the president boasted that workers had fixed 1,695 lights, rehabilitated or installed 1,143 benches, cleaned 500 instances of graffiti, removed 152 homeless encampments, repaired 22 fountains, and cleaned dozens of monuments and statues.
The Reflecting Pool makeover was prominently featured among the administration’s accomplishments. Minutes later, Trump was blaming alleged vandals for damaging the project.
“These are very serious crimes having to do with the destruction of National Monuments,” Trump wrote.
“Years in jail! Work will begin immediately on its repair.”
The Daily Beast reached out to the White House and National Park Service for comment.
The project’s troubles are particularly awkward for the White House as Trump personally championed a plan to repaint the basin in what he called “American flag blue.”
Originally expected to cost about $1.8 million and take a week to complete, the renovation stretched for nearly two months and ultimately cost taxpayers an estimated $14 million.
The problems began almost immediately after the pool reopened earlier this month.
Within days, a major algae bloom turned much of the water green, undermining Trump’s promise of a more picturesque landmark.
Workers have spent days trying to rescue the troubled renovation, including removing algae from the water and pouring hydrogen peroxide into the pool to control the bloom.
Trump claimed Friday that the algae was already “75% gone” and would soon be completely eliminated. Yet pictures of the Reflecting Pool continue to show a landmark struggling to shake its green tint.
