Trump Blames “Deranged” Vandals for Lincoln Memorial Pool Disaster Amidst Algae and Paint Crisis

President Donald Trump has unleashed a tirade, blaming “deranged” vandals for the algae blooms and peeling paint plaguing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, claiming they used knives and fertilizer to wreak havoc.

However, newly surfaced government documents expose a different reality: the pool's deterioration was already acknowledged by workers, even as Trump administration officials hailed the multi-million dollar renovation as a triumph.

Documents obtained reveal that algae-control devices installed in the basin were malfunctioning. Workers also noted that cuts along the bottom of the 2,000-foot-long pool had nothing to do with the “American flag blue” paint Trump mandated.

An Interior Department spokesperson sidestepped inquiries about these documents, insisting instead that the water was “clear” and “reflecting beautifully.”

The Reflecting Pool has been a focal point of Trump’s campaign to beautify Washington, D.C. In April, he labeled the 103-year-old landmark as dilapidated and announced plans to resurface it with “American flag blue” paint. Initially projected to cost under $2 million, the expenses skyrocketed to over $16 million, much of it funneled into no-bid contracts.

Just after the $14 million refurbishment wrapped up in early June, visitors were greeted with vivid green water, littered with clumps of algae.

Workers donned neon vests as they waded into the basin to combat the algae, pouring hydrogen peroxide into the water in a desperate attempt to control the outbreak. On Tuesday, Trump attributed the algae problem to sabotage.

“They put, somebody said, fertilizer in the water,” the 80-year-old president claimed in the Oval Office. “If you put fertilizer in the water you get algae, but somebody said they might’ve put fertilizer. They did something to create the algae.”

Yet on June 15, while Trump praised the pool as “beautifully new,” issues with the pool’s nanobubblers—devices meant to combat algae using microscopic gas bubbles—had already been flagged.

Reports indicated that “one or two of the four temporary nanobubblers weren’t working at any given time due to generator issues, and that the water was turning green,” according to documents.

The purification system was installed by Greenwater Services, an Ohio company awarded a $1.7 million no-bid contract earlier this year. This firm is linked to a major Trump donor previously embroiled in a bribery scandal.

Interior officials failed to clarify why the pool was refilled before a permanent purification system was operational.

A spokesperson for the department stated that “temporary nanobubblers have been running 24/7 since completion of the pool which includes filling the pool with water.” They added that both temporary and permanent nanobubblers were operational and that “the pool is reflecting.”

Shortly after algae appeared, visitors reported another alarming issue: chunks of blue paint had peeled away from the bottom and floated to the surface.

The “American flag blue” sealant was applied by Atlantic Industrial Coatings, a Virginia-based firm awarded a no-bid contract worth at least $14.7 million.

When asked about contractor accountability for these issues, Trump deflected blame onto vandalism.

“We have a, I think 290, 300-foot slit right through it, probably a box cutter or a knife of some kind,” he told reporters. “It’s not a lot of damage, but we’ll probably have to let the water out and refix it. They went in there with a knife.”

On that same day, six individuals were arrested at the pool for alleged vandalism. One of them, a U.S. Olympian, dismissed the charges as “a completely unfounded accusation.”

Contrary to Trump’s claims, documents indicate that on June 9, National Park Service workers determined that cuts in the pool were unrelated to the peeling blue coating.

Instead, they identified two slices not in the paint but in the foam layer between the pool’s expansion joints. These were described as “two 171-foot blade cuts,” though their origin remains unspecified.

Workers also reported “holes, cracks and peeling caulking in parts of the pool.”

An Interior Department spokesperson provided a slightly altered narrative: “On June 9th, U.S. Park Police were called to the Reflecting Pool for damage. Upon inspection by Park Police and NPS staff, multiple razor blade slashes were found alongside the edges affecting nearly 350 feet of the pool.”

On Tuesday, Trump announced plans to drain the pool for repairs, potentially after Independence Day.

House Democrats are now probing into no-bid contracts awarded during Trump’s administration for work on the pool, including funds spent on renovations initially estimated at under $2 million.

The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee dispatched letters demanding detailed accounts from Atlantic Industrial Coatings and Green Water Solutions regarding their work scope and communications with federal agencies concerning failures related to paint peeling and algae growth.

“Donald Trump’s disastrous renovation of our national reflecting pool is his latest failed vanity project,” Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia stated.

“The president should be focused on making life more affordable for the American people, not rewarding his loyalists with government contracts and wasting taxpayer money on failing projects,” he added. “We’re demanding answers straight from the contractors about the project’s failures.”

Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings had never previously secured a federal contract before receiving nearly $7 million in April, followed by additional payments totaling $6.2 million and subsequent payments of $1 million and $461,000 shortly thereafter.

The National Park Service bypassed competitive bidding by claiming urgent renovation needs would cause “serious injury” to the government; however, what that injury entailed remains unclear.

The owner of Green Water Solutions has made substantial donations to Trump’s campaign and associated groups, including $250,000 to the Trump Victory fundraising committee in 2020.

“The American people deserve better management of their tax dollars,” Garcia wrote in his letters to these companies. “They also deserve to know how contractors selected for this work were vetted and how they plan to address their shoddy work moving forward.”

He is requesting a response by July 8.