Trump says vandals used chemicals to damage newly renovated reflecting pool near Lincoln Memorial
President Donald Trump on Friday said vandals damaged the recently renovated reflecting pool near the Lincoln Memorial, adding that authorities are investigating the incident.
Trump’s comments come as the recently renovated reflecting pool faces scrutiny over peeling paint and algae growth just weeks after a $14.8 million restoration project was completed.
“Things are really looking good in our Nation’s Capital, and add to that the fact that when I became President, Crime was rampant, and now, Washington, D.C., is one of the Safest Cities anywhere in the United States,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“However, we’ve had some real problems with Vandalism at the beautiful Reflecting Pool, which sits between The Washington Monument and The Lincoln Memorial,” he continued.
“Just like three days ago, they destroyed the grass outside of the Pool, they’ve also done everything possible to hurt the inside surface that was just installed.”
Trump accused vandals of damaging the grounds surrounding the reflecting pool and said they used chemicals to damage the pool’s newly installed surface.
“No different than the chemicals that were used on the National Mall, they used something similar in the Reflecting Pool to try to destroy and demean our beautiful work,” he said.
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Trump’s comments come about a week after a large “86 47” message appeared to be etched into the grass near the National Mall between the Washington Monument and the World War II Memorial.
Administration officials previously characterized the message as threatening, arguing that “86” is sometimes used as slang for removing or getting rid of something, while “47” refers to Trump as the nation’s 47th president.
Trump announced on June 6 that the $14.8 million restoration project at the historic reflecting pool had been completed. Days later, however, algae appeared throughout the pool, masking portions of the newly restored “American flag blue” bottom.
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This week, the National Park Service and contractors deployed chemicals and ozone nanobubbles to help mitigate the algae growth.
Workers also used a swimming pool-style vacuum system to remove algae from the bottom of the pool.
“There are no harmful side effects to marine life or to the environment,” the park service said in a statement this week.
Trump said most of the algae had been removed and that the vandalized area would be repaired by next week.
“The algae is 75% gone, and the condition will soon be completely remedied, and the area that was vandalized, fortunately, is just a small area of damage, and will be fixed early next week,” Trump said.
He also said law enforcement is actively investigating the alleged vandalism. Images posted on social media Friday showed National Guard personnel and U.S. Park Police officers patrolling the area.
Videos posted on social media also appeared to show people gathered near the Reflecting Pool criticizing the renovation project and celebrating the algae growth.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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