National Park Service workers use vacuum pumps to clean algae off the bottom of the newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Saturday. On, Sunday, President Donald Trump said multiple people had been arrested for vandalizing the pool. Photo by Pat Benic/UPI | License Photo
June 21 (UPI) — President Donald Trump said Sunday that work will begin “immediately” to repair the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, blaming vandalism for problems at the newly renovated Washington, D.C. landmark.
Trump repeatedly claimed over the weekend on social media that there had been arrests in connection with vandalism at the Reflecting Pool, which has been plagued by issues since undergoing a $15 million restoration ordered by the president.
From algae blooms to blue coating peeling off its bottom, the Reflecting Pool has been a target of criticism of the Trump administration, which has defended the restoration as necessary while blaming vandals for at least some of the damage.
In a social media statement on Sunday, Trump said he inspected the Reflecting Pool and was in disbelief at what he saw.
“I just inspected it, and could only say to myself, and those gathered around me, WOW, who would do such a thing? SICK, DERANGED PEOPLE!” he said.
It was unclear exactly what damage Trump was attributing to vandalism.
In a Saturday post, Trump referenced the need to drain the pool in order to conduct vandalism-related repairs, which was in addition to alleged vandalism to landscaping.
“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,” he said.
“They also poured corrosive and destructive chemicals into the Pool.”
Trump first commented on the pool Saturday evening, saying in a statement that U.S. Park Police had arrested “multiple individuals for vandalizing our Nations magnificent Reflecting Pool.”
He then said hours later that “many additional people have been arrested having to do with the disgraceful Vandalism of our beautiful Reflecting Pool.”
UPI has asked U.S. Park Police for confirmation of arrests and damage to the pool caused by vandalism.
Trump first announced plans to restore the pool in November. Atlantic Industrial Coatings Limited was awarded $6.89 million in April to paint the bottom of the pool. The broader restoration has since been reported to cost about $15 million.
He announced June 6 that work on the pool was complete ahead of celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the United States to be held alongside Trump’s 80th birthday.
But within days of the completion, the pool began experiencing issues. Videos posted online show the pool’s surface green with algae, while others show individuals reaching into the pool to handle the peeling blue paint.
On Friday, three-time U.S. Olympian David Hearn was arrested for allegedly damaging the pool. He has claimed in interviews with multiple news organizations that he only touched the edge of hardened paint that was peeling off the pool’s floor.
“I didn’t vandalize anything,” he said.
