Donald Trump has been mocked using his own prophetic words after he claimed his algae-riddled Reflecting Pool had been vandalized with a knife.
The president, 80, told reporters on Monday there was a “290, maybe 300-foot slit” through the lining at the bottom of the pool, within minutes super-sizing it to a “350-foot” slit.
Trump said he believed a “box cutter or a knife of some kind” was used to make the incision, then said, “Who would think that somebody would go into a pool and take a knife and start cutting it?”
“They cut it, they cut it very violently,” he continued.
However, just 48 days ago, on May 4, during a small business summit at the White House, Trump bragged about how resilient the pool lining he had selected was. He also raised the idea of it being slashed, but insisted it could not be cut.
“You’ll never have a leak, it’s very strong,” Trump said. “You couldn’t, if you had a knife—I don’t want to give anybody ideas—if you had a knife, you can’t even cut it. So strong, so powerful. It’s like powerful rubber. It is beautiful. Sealed. Like a piece of glass."
Democrats were quick to remind the public about Trump’s May comments on Monday. The Republicans Against Trump X account also shared the Bulwark’s reporting on Trump’s conflicting words.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
During the press conference, Trump was also cornered on the slit in the lining, claiming that five people had been arrested for alleged tampering so far. Speaking on Fox News on Monday night, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed six arrests. “The vandalism is very real,” she said, calling them “deranged individuals” and claiming they were “longtime donors” to the Democrats.
Leavitt also claimed that Trump “is not going to stop with this effort. They’re not only holding those people accountable, but they’re going to fix the pool and continue to make it beautiful after this despicable vandalism.”
The Daily Beast’s Farrah Tomazin walked past the pool on Monday, and reported that no massive gash was visible.
“When you have a 350-foot slit...from one end to another, you think that’s proof?” Trump said Monday.
“All you have to do is see the Parks Department; they’ll show it to you. See, ugh, the Secretary.
Trump’s mangled attempt at renovating the Reflecting Pool has been a disaster, with the no-bid contract awarded to a Virginia-based company who previously worked on a pool at one of the president’s golf clubs.
The president wanted the pool to have an “American Flag Blue”-tinted coating. However algae turned the water Kermit-green, and the coating began to peel and float.
Workers were seen tipping chemicals into the pool, and the project now has a waterfowl bodycount, with a dead duckling spotted floating in the putrid green water on Sunday.
Two other dead ducks, one adult and one juvenile, were also found on Sunday at a pond on the Constitution Gardens on the National Mall, around 250 feet from Trump’s pool.
Animal rescue group City Wildlife told the Washington Post that ducks frequently go between the water in the Reflecting Pool and the Constitution Gardens, and also warned that chemicals in the paint could harm wildlife.
“They could have had exposure to the Reflecting Pool,” the group’s president April Linton said. “It could be something related to peeling paint or algae.”
Trump initially budgeted the renovation at under $2 million, with costs now upwards of $16 million. The area is now being patrolled by the National Guard.
Speaking on Monday, Trump shifted the blame to former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, claiming they “together spent $147 million” trying to fix the pool, before down-sizing his own costs.
“I spent about six, seven weeks, and I spent... probably about $10 million. Around $10 million. They say 16, but a lot of those workers work for the same thing,“ Trump said.
“I spent two months, maybe? Less? And I have a better product. Now I can’t help if somebody goes in with a knife and starts hacking it up.”
However, on Truth Social hours later, Trump changed his figure.
“I spent approximately 16 Million Dollars, and it came out great, except for the Vandalism, which we are now fixing. It was also a much bigger job than originally envisioned, including the outer areas and sidewalks.”
