Trump reiterates claims of vandalism at Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after repairs begin

It looks like President Donald Trump’s sweeping construction projects have damaged yet another national monument.A fountain in the German-American Friendship Garden on the National Mall is in bad shape after a contractor vehicle drove over it, Newsweek reported Thursday.The center of the fountain has collapsed into the ground, and stones surrounding it were severely cracked, according to recent photographs captured by photojournalist Andrew Leyden. Repairs are reportedly underway.This recent damage to a national monument comes amid Trump’s sweeping renovation efforts around Washington, D.C. This isn’t the first time that federal contractors hired by the Trump administration have damaged a historic landmark.Just a few hundred yards away from the cracked fountain, renovations on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool have been disastrous. Shortly after construction was completed, large sections of the pool’s new blue lining began to peel off. Experts have suggested the peeling was the result of shoddy application—not shadowy vandals, as administration officials have suggested. Trump’s disastrous renovations on the Reflecting Pool have already cost taxpayers more than $16 million. The iconic monument has been left drained, surrounded by chain-link fences, and under strict surveillance. A short walk away, the $69 million worth of renovations on the Lincoln Memorial Undercroft have also had issues. The National Parks Service has struggled to maintain safe conditions to display historical documents, leading them to be removed from the brand-new exhibit last week.  

A new analysis of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation says peeling in the waterproof coating appears consistent with possible installation issues, while the Trump administration continues to maintain vandalism caused the damage.

The Trump administration has repeatedly claimed without evidence that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool’s peeling lining was the work of vandals. An independent analysis has concluded otherwise.After reviewing photographs and satellite imagery, and speaking with experts, The Washington Post found that the extensive gashes in the pool liner were likely the result of improper application. The Thursday report noted that the tears appeared in at least seven places “along seams that were created when the material was applied in large rectangular sections.”Noting that reporters were not able to access the center of the pool during a June 25 visit, the Post chronicled that the peeling occurred in irregularly shaped patches along the edges of the patchwork seams, with sloughing pieces ranging in size from several inches to as much as six feet. Some sections of the lining were so damaged that reporters were able to see the bare concrete underneath.Rhino Linings, a popular truck-bed coating company that received the no-bid contract to do the job, has been named in several lawsuits since 2021 alleging that its liners were inadequate and resulted in hundreds of leaks.Nonetheless, Donald Trump and his entourage have pinned the problem on supposed troublemakers dead set on destroying his $16 million renovation project (a cost that’s a far cry from his promised $1.8 million price tag for the endeavor). The White House has not provided any great evidence for the theory but has raised tensions around the Reflecting Pool, anyway. By late June, at least seven individuals were arrested for allegedly destroying the pool, including former Olympic canoe racer David Hearn.The White House denied that any mistakes had been made during the renovation process. “Unfortunately, deranged individuals made several gashes in the side of the pool and destroyed over 300 feet of the pool’s siding,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told the Post. “Once the necessary repairs to fix the vandalism are complete, the Reflecting Pool will be restored to all its glory.”The company that had handled the memorial’s last renovation in 2010, the New Jersey–based Sika Corporation, was offered the chance to do this renovation before the job was offered to Rhino Linings. Speaking with CNN last month, two employees at Sika said the company had declined the offer due to Trump’s demands. Those included requirements that the pool be painted “American flag blue,” and that the restoration be completed by July 4. Both demands made the project “unfeasible,” according to the employees.

Donald Trump has tasked America’s most elite law enforcement agency with solving the great mystery of why his substandard Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool repair job is already coming undone.The pool was drained last weekend to remedy what Trump initially described as a 250-foot gash in the “American flag blue” pool liner he had installed. Trump later described the damage as a 300-foot gash, and then escalated the length a third time to a 350-foot gash, which he insists was caused by vandals.An FBI evidence-gathering team was spotted at the pool Wednesday afternoon, meticulously documenting the pool’s crime-covered floor with laser-scanning and measuring equipment. An FBI spokesperson confirmed the bureau’s presence at the scene to The New York Times, explaining that the FBI was assisting the U.S. Park Police in investigating damage to the pool liner.Trump originally claimed that renovating the Reflecting Pool would cost $1.8 million, but that hasn’t been the case. Records indicate that the Trump administration spent at least $14.7 million on the first renovation of the Reflecting Pool, and has spent even more in the latest attempt to fix it, bringing the overall tally closer to $16 million.The money was spent in an apparently futile effort to rid the premises of a relentless algal bloom that returned to the pool shortly after the monument’s reopening. The Trump administration referred to the flourishing flora as “residual algae” that had been laying dormant in the pool’s water supply lines during the renovation. Its return, nonetheless, turned the water acid green.Meanwhile, the pool liner installed by Rhino Linings, a popular truck-bed coating company, proved uneven and eventually peeled and floated to the pool’s surface. Both problems, according to Trump, were the fault of vandals.“The slashes were 300 yards long, and the floor of the pool was cut and then pulled upward, with great force, by these thugs,” Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier this week.The White House has not provided any great evidence for the theory but has raised tensions regarding the Reflecting Pool regardless. By late June, at least seven individuals were arrested for allegedly destroying the pool, including former Olympic canoe racer David Hearn.

President Donald Trump’s protracted Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool saga may not be ending anytime soon. Records first reported Wednesday by The Independent offer a clue as to how long the public’s view of the monument may remain obstructed by fencing that currently surrounds the pool’s perimeter.Trump’s renovations to the Reflecting Pool, including installing an “American flag blue” lining, have been dogged by algal blooms and peeling paint that have required repeated drainings and refillings. Further, at least according to the president, progress has been stymied by left-wing vandals.Meanwhile, the project’s price tag has rocketed from an initial estimate of $1.8 million to more than $16 million, and its deadline has been pushed from July 4 to who-knows-when.Purportedly to fend off those alleged saboteurs, fencing now surrounds the pool. Workers have also added opaque mesh screens to the barrier. Chain-link fencing was first installed on June 23—more than three weeks ago as of Wednesday—by the Department of the Interior.Records show that the federal government awarded an in-progress $37,000 contract to a construction company, National Construction Rentals, for “REFLECTING POOL TEMPORARY FENCE” that started last week. According to the contract summary, the contract is not set to end until January 8, 2027.The revelation raises questions: Is the renovation going to take that long? Is the possibly illusory specter of left-wing defacement really expected to persist for almost half a year longer? If the administration’s past handling of the Reflecting Pool renovation is any indication, we’re not likely to get clear or sensible answers any time soon.

The iconic reflecting pool near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, has been drained to fix damage done by vandals, President Donald Trump said Monday. The post VIDEO — Trump: D.C. Reflecting Pool Drained for Repairs After ‘Country-Hating Sleazebags’ Vandalized It appeared first on Breitbart.