{"id":2617454,"date":"2026-06-22T17:31:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T21:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-blames-vandals-for-peeling-paint-in-reflecting-pool\/"},"modified":"2026-06-22T17:31:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T21:31:39","slug":"trump-blames-vandals-for-peeling-paint-in-reflecting-pool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-blames-vandals-for-peeling-paint-in-reflecting-pool\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump blames vandals for peeling paint in Reflecting Pool"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-blames-vandals-for-peeling-paint-in-reflecting-pool%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2617454&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>President Donald Trump maintained that the issues with the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool following its recent renovation are due to vandalism rather than construction flaws. He attributed the peeling of the &#8220;American flag blue&#8221; paint and the formation of a 300-foot gash to malicious damage, asserting that vandals entered with knives or box cutters. Trump stated that five individuals have been arrested or are under investigation for the vandalism and suggested that photos of the damage could be released during court proceedings. He also claimed duty for the algae growth, explaining it resulted from fertilizer in the water, and assured that the algae is being removed and the pool will soon recover. Trump emphasized strict enforcement of laws against vandalism, referencing a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/patrick-mahomes-dad-might-land-in-prison-for-10-years-after-damning-arrest-details-are-revealed\/\" title=\"Patrick Mahomes&#039; father faces potential ... due to alarming arrest revelations\">potential <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/president-trump-please-pardon-jon-woods-a-victim-of-process-crimes-like-michael-flynn\/\" title=\"President ..., Please Pardon Jon Woods, a Victim of Process Crimes Like Michael Flynn\">10-year prison sentence<\/a><\/a> for such acts. Additionally, he accused vandals of damaging other features during the renovation, including carving into the grass, and noted that the only structure vandalized among several restored monuments was the Reflecting Pool. The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >incident led law enforcement<\/a> to respond promptly, and a man charged with touching a piece of detached blue coating is among those detained.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4\">Donald Trump<\/a> remained adamant that problems with the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool post-renovation were due to vandals and not the construction team that was given a no-bid contract for the project.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump and his <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/white-house\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/white-house\/\">White House<\/a> aides have attributed the new coat of \u201cAmerican flag blue\u201d paint peeling to a 300-foot \u201cgash\u201d on the bottom of the pool, saying, despite already spending $14 million on the renovation project, \u201cwe\u2019ll probably have to let the water out\u201d and \u201cfix it.\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4619736\/trump-denies-iran-economic-leverage-depression\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Trump denies that Iran holds economic leverage over US<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4619291\/jd-vance-distrust-iranian-social-media-peace-negotiations\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Vance urges press to distrust Iranian social media posts about negotiations<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4618631\/vance-good-cop-iran-peace-deal\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Vance plays good cop amid Iran talks<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey went in there with a knife,\u201d Trump told reporters on Monday, adding, \u201cprobably a box cutter.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFive people [have been] arrested, and five people are under investigation right now, and it\u2019s a sad thing,\u201d Trump said of the purported vandals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump, who was repeatedly pressed for proof, suggested that photos of the vandalism could be made public as part of court proceedings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou\u2019ve got to go see the Parks Department, they\u2019ll show it to you, or see the secretary,\u201d he said. \u201cI saw it, they cut it, they cut it very violently.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump also apportioned responsibility elsewhere for the algae that emerged since the renovation was unveiled earlier this month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf you put fertilizer in the water, you get algae,\u201d he said. \u201cThey did something to create the algae, but that doesn\u2019t matter because that\u2019s been purified. It\u2019s dead, laying at the bottom. They\u2019re taking it out, they vacuum it out, they vacuum it very carefully out, and it\u2019ll be back to health pretty soon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Earlier Monday, Trump pledged to prosecute vandals who allegedly damaged the Reflecting Pool to the fullest extent of the law.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOf the MANY Statues and Fountains that we rebuilt, renovated, cleaned, and fixed, the only one that was Vandalized was the Reflecting Pool, which is being taken care of, ASAP!\u201d Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday. \u201cIt has been given a 300 foot long gash, chemicals have been illegally placed in the water, and the beautiful new grass field has been destroyed with a gigantic 86 47 chemically carved into it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/4618915\/law-enforcement-officers-reflecting-pool-trump-claims-vandalism\/\">LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS DESCEND ON REFLECTING POOL AFTER TRUMP CLAIMS VANDALISM<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The president underscored a 10-year prison sentence for \u201cthe destruction, or even the attempted destruction,\u201d promising that it \u201cwill be fully enforced.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Three-time U.S. Olympian David Hearn was charged with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ice-uncovers-identity-theft-scheme-used-at-omaha-glenn-valley-foods-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"ICE uncovers identity theft scheme used at Omaha Glenn Valley Foods - Washington Examiner\">damaging government property<\/a> on Friday after he allegedly touched a piece of blue coating that had detached from the bottom of the Reflecting Pool.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump blames vandals, not contractors, for Reflecting Pool issues<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2652,"featured_media":2617455,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26173738401606.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[81558,32603,78950,3634,6774],"class_list":["post-2617454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-peeling-paint","tag-political-news","tag-reflecting-pool","tag-trump","tag-vandals"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26173738401606.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2617454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2652"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2617454"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2617454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2617458,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2617454\/revisions\/2617458"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2617455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2617454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2617454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2617454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}