President Trump ordered immediate repairs to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Sunday, claiming the recently renovated landmark had suffered deliberate damage that would require draining much of the structure.
Trump said he personally inspected the site and detailed the alleged vandalism on Truth Social, accusing unknown actors of cutting a 250-foot gash into the pool's facade using a knife or blade and dumping corrosive chemicals into the water. He provided no evidence supporting either claim.
The renovation project had cost an estimated $14 million initially. The pool was refilled and completed by early June after Trump announced in November plans to paint it "American flag blue" ahead of the nation's 250th anniversary on July 4. Within days of reopening, algae turned the water green, a persistent problem at the site.
Trump said on Saturday that multiple people had been arrested in connection with the alleged vandalism. David Hearn, a 67-year-old Olympian, told the Washington Post he was among those arrested but denied vandalizing the pool. Hearn said he simply wanted to touch a section of the new blue liner that had become detached from the bottom.
The National Park Service had treated the algae bloom by pouring hydrogen peroxide into the pool. The chemical, which can function as a paint remover, raised questions about whether the green water resulted from vandalism or the standard treatment of a recurring maintenance issue at the landmark.
A no-bid $1.7 million contract was awarded in the spring to a firm connected to John "JJ" Cafaro, an Ohio businessman and longtime Trump donor, to install a water-purification system at the site. Cafaro was convicted in 2002 for conspiracy to bribe a U.S. congressman and again in 2010 for making a false statement.
U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said on Fox News Sunday that prosecutors would charge anyone found vandalizing the pool. "If there are more serious products that are put into the Reflecting Pool to create more algae or a bigger problem, then we'll consider more serious charges," Pirro told host Peter Doocy.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
Author James Rodriguez: "Trump's personal intervention in a maintenance dispute transforms what could be a routine fix into a political statement, but the facts about what actually happened at the pool remain murky."
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