Trump Blames Vandalism for Reflecting Pool Disaster, Olympic Canoist Arrested

President Donald Trump unleashed accusations of vandalism against multiple individuals, including an Olympic canoeist, as the Reflecting Pool renovation spirals into chaos. The administration's $14 million project has hit snag after snag, with the pool now facing severe damage.

In a pair of posts on Truth Social, Trump claimed, without providing evidence, that vandals are responsible for the destruction and suggested that their actions could lead to “years in jail.”

“Who would do such a thing? These are very serious crimes having to do with the destruction of National Monuments,” Trump stated, ramping up the rhetoric.

The Reflecting Pool stretches 2,030 feet at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial. It has been plagued by an algae bloom as workers attempted to refill it after applying a new “American flag blue” sealant. That sealant is now peeling off, leaving chunks floating on the surface.

Trump revealed that he met with contractors and indicated that much of the water might need to be drained to fix the pool’s floor.

“What these terrible Vandals have done is a true affront to both Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and should be dealt with accordingly,” he declared.

He described the damage: “They took some form of knife or blade, and put a 250-foot long gash into the beautiful facade of what took so much work, competence, and money to build and complete. They also poured corrosive and destructive chemicals into the Pool.”

This renovation is a personal project for Trump, aligning with a broader initiative to beautify Washington ahead of the country’s 250th anniversary.

Despite attempts to clean the algae, the ongoing bloom and peeling coating continue to attract attention from visitors at the pool and nearby monuments.

Among those visitors was David “Davey” Hearn, a three-time Olympic canoeist. He reported being arrested and detained for five hours after touching a piece of the detached coating.

Hearn, 67, explained he visited the pool after a bike ride out of curiosity regarding the algae and peeling coating he had seen in news reports.

“It was kind of stiff, stiff, but flexible, pretty rubbery. Didn’t feel brittle in any way,” Hearn recounted. “I didn’t remove, tear, rip, break or destroy any of it. The condition of the reflecting pool was the same after I stepped away from the water as it was before I got there.”

He claimed that the National Guard member who arrested him could not specify which federal law he had violated. The National Guard did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

“All of a sudden they were handcuffing me behind my back, and they hadn’t really told me what I was charged with,” Hearn said.

Earlier on Saturday, Trump shared an article about Hearn’s arrest on social media.

The U.S. Park Police did not respond immediately to inquiries regarding any arrests.

As renovations progressed in recent weeks, Trump took jabs at his predecessors over the pool's previous condition. Last month, he drove to the Reflecting Pool during renovations to showcase his efforts.

“It never had the color people wanted, but now it’s going to have the great color,” he proclaimed at that time.

On Friday, workers were seen scrubbing the pool as algae once again turned the water green.