President Donald Trump is publicly focusing on the damaged reflecting pool at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington after a $14 million renovation went badly wrong. The pool’s new sealant has begun peeling, and the water turned bright green because of an unusual algae bloom, prompting a political and public uproar over the high-profile project.
Trump rejected claims that the work was poorly done and instead accused saboteurs of deliberately damaging the site. In a statement Tuesday, he said, “Six people were arrested, and seven people were summoned, for the damage they did to our now beautiful reflecting pool of the country.” He also said inspectors found deep and extensive cuts in the protective sheets laid across the pool floor, describing a 350-foot-long cut made by a “very sharp knife or razor blades,” which he insisted had to have been done intentionally, likely “in the dark of night.”
Social media users quickly reminded Trump of his own earlier remark that “even if someone comes with a sharp knife, he won’t be able to cut it.” Meanwhile, reports from AP and CBS raised a different explanation, saying the damage may have been caused by Trump’s own heavily armored presidential motorcade. According to those accounts, the vehicles drove directly over the dry pool floor during the renovation, and their weight likely ripped the soft lining.
The controversy deepened after one of the detained people, former Olympic athlete David Hearn, said he was cycling nearby, noticed blue fragments in the green water, and was held and questioned for five hours after touching the peeling coating. Despite the dispute over responsibility, Trump said the work will continue as planned to prepare the site for the 250th anniversary celebrations of U.S. independence. He added that part of the pool floor was cut and lifted, leaving jagged edges, but said the reflecting pool is still “as beautiful as it can be” and that some water will be drained just before or after July 4 for a permanent repair.
