President Donald Trump said Friday that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is continuing to fill with water, declaring that the landmark is “looking really good” and will be protected by anti-vandalism cameras.
The pool has become a recurring point of attention since Trump ordered it resurfaced in “American flag blue” ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations. The project has faced rising costs, algae issues, and damage to its freshly installed lining.
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In a message posted to Truth Social in the early hours of Friday morning, Trump said the Reflecting Pool was 85 percent full, “and looking really good!”
Trump added: “It hasn’t worked properly since 1922, but will now. We have cameras set up to stop any potential Vandalism, including the grassed areas, which were destroyed by chemical poisoning with a large, and very inappropriate, phrase. The grass was completely replaced!”
The president also included in his post an image the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall, with the Lincoln Memorial centered in the distance.
Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment via email on Friday.
Cases Dropped
Trump earlier this week threatened any potential vandals with jail time, reviving a dispute over cause of damage to the pool’s lining. A judge dismissed a case against former Olympian canoeist David Hearn this month, and federal prosecutors previously moved to dismiss the case after records suggested that a flawed installation, rather than vandalism, were to blame for the damage.
Doug Buchanan, director of media and public relations for DC Courts, told Newsweek previously that he believed “there were three or four additional [vandalism] cases filed–but dismissed by the USAO/DC [U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia] before the cases made it to court.”
Trump also alleged this week that grass near the pool had been “scarred by poison” with the numbers “86 47”, and said the turf had since been replaced.
Algae, Peeling and Vandalism Claims
Trump announced renovations in April, ahead of celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of American independence. The project involved resurfacing the bottom of the pool with a blue coating Trump described as “American flag blue.”
NBC News reported that Trump initially estimated the work would cost between $1.5 million and $2 million and take one to two weeks, but that its cost subsequently rose to around $16 million.
Problems emerged shortly after the pool was refilled. Its water turned green amid an algae bloom, while sections of the newly installed coating began to peel. Footage published by Newsweek in June showed the water changing color soon after the refurbishment, despite the pool’s new blue finish. A further contract was later awarded for renovation and maintenance work intended to tackle the algae, Newsweek reported previously.
Trump has repeatedly attributed damage to vandals.
Federal prosecutors said in a motion to dismiss Hearn’s case that records obtained from the Interior Department documented repeated failures of the lining during its installation and extensive peeling across the pool. The filing also pointed to pressure to complete the project before July 4.
The Reflecting Pool has undergone major work before. A two-year reconstruction completed in 2012 addressed longstanding sinking and leakage, adding more than 2,000 supporting pilings and a circulation system drawing water from the nearby Tidal Basin, according to Histories of the National Mall.