WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that six people have been taken into custody for allegedly damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a site that has become the center of growing controversy surrounding his administration’s costly and troubled renovation project.
In a post on social media, Trump claimed — without providing supporting evidence — that a “350 foot gash” had been made in the pool’s paint. The announcement comes as the administration faces a self-imposed deadline to address the failed renovation before the country’s 250th birthday celebration scheduled for next week.
Trump also said seven additional individuals were cited for causing damage to the pool. “It was purposefully and criminally done, and somebody had to work very hard, probably in the dark of night, to create such a condition,” Trump wrote in his post.
Neither the Park Police nor the Interior Department responded to media requests for comment on Trump’s claims.
The Associated Press independently confirmed only one arrest — a man who touched the already-deteriorating paint while federal crews work to address an algae problem in the water. The liner was installed as part of the more than $14 million project to restore the century-old pool, which included applying a new bottom coating in a color Trump personally chose and has called “American flag blue.”
Trump indicated that “some of the water” would be drained from the pool “either immediately before or after the Fourth of July, to do the permanent repair.” His post did not clarify the extent, timeline, or cost of that permanent fix.
National Guard troops and U.S. Park Police have been stationed around the pool’s perimeter after Trump insisted that vandals were to blame for the liner damage.
Trump originally promoted the renovation as an effort to clean up, beautify, and strengthen an iconic American landmark that he said had been allowed to fall into neglect and disrepair by previous administrations. He promised that the newly applied “American flag blue” coating — which he personally selected — would transform the pool into a sparkling centerpiece along the National Mall.
However, within weeks of Trump declaring the project complete ahead of Independence Day, the pool was overtaken by a bright green algae bloom that obscured the new coating. A section of liner measuring roughly 4 square feet was spotted partially floating in the pool last Friday. The Associated Press then observed additional pieces of liner in the water the following Monday.
