Donald Trump said vandalism repairs at the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool will begin immediately after he described the site as seriously vandalized. He said he had personally inspected the damage and suggested the pool may need to be drained so workers can make the repairs.
Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday evening, “Work will begin immediately on fixing the seriously vandalized Reflecting Pool” and added, “I just inspected it, and could only say to myself, and those gathered around me, WOW, who would do such a thing?” He had earlier said the pool would “probably be forced to release and drain much of the water in order to do the necessary repairs, but will have them done as quickly as possible.”
Truth Social and the Reflecting Pool
The Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool has been plagued by algae blooms and peeling paint after recent renovation efforts that cost 14.2m. Trump said on Friday that 75% of the algae was gone, and he said the bottom had been painted dark blue during the work tied to America’s 250th anniversary celebrations. US National Park Service workers have already tried chemical remedies for the algae bloom, including pouring hydrogen peroxide into the shallow pool.
CBS News reporter Emma Nicholson said an administration official told her five people had been arrested for vandalizing the pool and another five had been issued federal citations. Nicholson also said the total number of police reports filed was 14. Jeanine Pirro said citations for vandalism had been issued and that people caught vandalizing the 2,000-ft-long reflecting pool would be fully prosecuted.
David Hearn and US park police
David Hearn, a three-time Olympian, said he was arrested by US park police on a misdemeanor charge after he touched peeling paint liner at the pool. The Washington Post account quoted him saying he had merely stopped by the pool to touch one of the peeling pieces of paint liner to see how it felt.
Trump called the site seriously vandalized, but Hearn’s account points to a narrower contact with the surface that led to his arrest. Pirro said, “Anyone who is in a position of vandalizing or attempting to vandalize will face the criminal justice system in DC,” setting out the enforcement approach now being used around the pool.
The immediate repair question now sits with the pool itself: if the water has to be released and drained, crews can only work once the basin is emptied enough for the damaged liner and surface to be addressed. Trump’s public order puts the work at the front of the queue, while the arrest and citation numbers show the enforcement side is already moving alongside the repairs.
