Trump’s Latest Desperate Move at Reflecting Pool Exposed
The hunt is on for the president’s mystery gashes.
President Trump appears to have assigned FBI officers to investigate the rampant vandalism he claimed has sabotaged his slimy Reflecting Pool.
Trump, 80, spent more than $16 million to transform the iconic water feature to his liking, personally selecting “American flag blue” for the pool lining.
However, algal blooms soon turned the water slimy green, while ducks were found dead near the area after chemicals were dumped in to treat the algae. The entire pool, which was due to be finished by July Fourth, has been fenced off and closed to the public for weeks.
Surveyors work at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on July 15, 2026.
ALEX WROBLEWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
The president blamed “SICK, DERANGED PEOPLE” who, he said, had slashed the pool with blades. Trump had originally boasted that the pool’s lining was knife-proof.
Trump has also continually increased the size of the claimed gashes, from 250 feet to 350 feet, and, most recently, “300 yards long,” or 900 feet. However, nobody has so far been able to locate any sign of this alleged vandalism, even since the water was drained on Monday.
The New York Times witnessed an FBI evidence-gathering team at the freshly emptied pool on Wednesday afternoon. The FBI appeared to be using laser-scanning and measuring equipment to document the scene.
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A spokesperson for the FBI to the Daily Beast, “The FBI Washington Field Office Evidence Response Team is assisting the U.S. Park Police in its investigation of damage to the Reflecting Pool.”
Debris on the freshly drained Reflecting Pool.
Al Drago/Reuters
The Daily Beast has contacted the Interior Department and the White House for comment.
The pool was officially drained on Monday of its 6.5 million gallons of water, which is enough to fill around 10 Olympic-size swimming pools.
Some photos of the drained pool suggest that the “American flag blue” base is actually closer to gray.
The president’s least-favorite cable network also cast doubt on Trump’s claims of slashes that led to the pool’s closure weeks ago, now that the water has been removed.
“CNN could not readily see evidence of that large gash President Trump claims vandals cut into the pool, causing its liner to peel,” host John King said on Tuesday.
Referencing the president’s latest figures, King noted that 300 yards is significantly longer than the 250-foot cut Trump claimed had been made last month.
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on June 20.
Reporter Tom Foreman, who was at the empty pool, could also not spot any damage.
“There’s no sign of anything like that, there’s just nothing like that. Not only is that true, but the president himself made such wildly conflicting statements about this new liner that it calls into question any complaint of damage or vandalism now,” Foreman told King.
Nothing to see here: tourists photograph the empty pool on July 15.
Al Drago/Reuters
Trump posted on Truth Social on Monday, “We drained the beautiful ‘Reflecting Pool’ today in order to fix the scars and damage that was done by the Vandals two weeks ago.”
“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 added, explaining that this meant the National Park Service had to drain the pool in order to fix the water-tight basin.
“It will be refilled and put back into service soon,” the president claimed.
The Reflecting Pool is now a dry dock for dry ducks.
Al Drago/Reuters
However, an official contract summary shows that the company hired to provide the fencing around the pool has been engaged until early next year, as first reported by The Independent.
National Construct Rentals Inc. was awarded $37,263 to provide fencing from July 8 through Jan. 8, 2027.
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