PoliticsDonald Trump Claims He 'Inspected' the 'Seriously Vandalized' Reflecting Pool as Crews Try to Clean Up Algae
The president said the pool will have to be partially drained to fix the issues.
June 22 2026, Published 2:39 p.m. ET
President Donald Trump claimed on Truth Social that he personally inspected the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, blaming "SICK, DERANGED PEOPLE" for what he alleged was widespread intentional vandalism.
“Work will begin immediately on fixing the seriously vandalized Reflecting Pool,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Sunday, June 21, following a mysterious overnight at Camp David. “I just inspected it, and could only say to myself, and those gathered around me, WOW, who would do such a thing? SICK, DERANGED PEOPLE! We will fix it? [sic] President DJT.”
The comments come amid intense public scrutiny over a $14.7 million pool renovation meant to turn the basin "American flag blue" for the nation's 250th anniversary.
Donald Trump blamed the Reflecting Pool mess on 'sick, deranged people.'
Algae Is Growing in the Reflecting Pool
The chemicals that kill algae could have caused the paint to peel and flake off.
Instead of the promised pristine look, the site has been overtaken by severe green algae blooms and massive sheets of peeling blue paint.
The rapid deterioration of the high-profile project has triggered conflicting explanations from the White House, federal workers and environmental experts.
Trump baselessly asserted that saboteurs poured corrosive and destructive chemicals into the water to ruin the surface.
The president had the pool's bottom painted 'American flag blue' for the country's 250th anniversary.
He also linked the issue to separate "deranged vandalism" on the National Mall, where the anti-Trump political slang "86 47" was etched into the grass.
Swimming pool experts and internal Department of the Interior documents suggested the surface was improperly prepared for treatment, or that groundwater is seeping beneath the lining.
Furthermore, scientists noted that painting the basin a dark blue raised the water temperature, accelerating the massive algae growth under the D.C. sun.
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Several Arrest Have Been Made
There have recently been several misdemeanor arrests related to the Reflecting Pool.
In an effort to rapidly clean the pool, workers poured large quantities of hydrogen peroxide into the basin to kill the algae. Experts pointed out that this chemical treatment likely degraded the sealant, causing the blue lining to flake and peel off in large sheets.
The U.S. Park Police have made several misdemeanor arrests at the site for destruction of government property. Among those detained was David Hearn, a 67-year-old three-time Olympic canoeist, who was arrested after stopping during a bike ride to touch the peeling lining.
Hearn denied any wrongdoing, explaining he was merely a "curious citizen" feeling the rubbery texture of a piece that was already floating loose.
The renovation cost over $14 million.
“I reached in there, and I was able to grab the end of that flapping piece, the already peeling piece,” Hearn told The Washington Post. “It was still attached to the bottom. I didn’t remove anything.”
Trump announced that the situation will require crews to at least partially drain the Reflecting Pool again to undergo extensive, immediate repairs.
The petulant POTUS also threatened “years in jail” for anyone caught vandalizing government property, as U.S. Attorney and former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro vowed to prosecute reflecting pool vandals "to the fullest extent.”
This latest administration fixation was the catalyst to a viral social media meme in which people stated, "They've made more arrests over people touching peeling paint at the Reflecting Pool than they ever did over Epstein."
