Trump issues statement on reflecting pool
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
Trump said the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is "70% filled with water and looking good" and warned vandals will "GO TO JAIL."
The $14.7 million renovation has been dogged by a peeling liner and a dismissed criminal case.
Background
Donald Trump, the U.S. president, ordered a resurfacing of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool's more than 300,000-square-foot basin in "American Flag Blue" starting in April 2026, aiming to fix its long-running algae problem and finish in time for the nation's 250th anniversary celebration. The $14.7 million job went to Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings under a no-bid contract. The coating began peeling within weeks of the June refill, and a contractor-commissioned inspection later blamed flawed installation. Trump's latest post comes as water returns to the pool after months of setbacks.
How it unfolded
- Apr 2026Trump announced plans to resurface the pool's basin in "American Flag Blue" and said the project could be done within two weeks for $1.5 million to $2 million.
- Jun 4, 2026The pool was refilled with water, though workers were still applying coating the day before despite the material needing 72 hours to cure.
- Jun 2026Within days an algal bloom turned the water green and flakes of blue coating floated to the surface; officials added hydrogen peroxide and at least three dead ducklings were later found.
- Jun 2026In a Truth Social post, Trump claimed arrests over "Vandalism" of the pool, citing a "250 foot long gash" and chemicals poured into the water.
- Jul 2026D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro brought the only criminal case over the damage, accusing 67-year-old former Olympic canoeist David Hearn of ripping out the liner.
- Aug 6, 2026A 75-page failure analysis by Atlantic Coating Inspection, commissioned by the contractor, found the liner failed in at least 85 places.
- Oct 12, 2026Water began flowing back into the pool after months of construction setbacks, with fencing still around parts of the basin.
- Oct 14, 2026The Washington Post reported the inspection blamed flawed renovation, including premature refilling before the liner had dried.
- Oct 19, 2026Trump posted that the pool is "70% filled with water and looking good" and warned anyone who damages it again "will GO TO JAIL."
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Trump says the pool is 70% filled and looking good, that it always leaked since 1922 and "this will be different," and that security cameras are installed to catch vandals.
- Prosecutors
- Federal prosecutors conceded in a court filing that the coating peeled "almost immediately" and the damage was "the result of a botched installation and not vandalism."
- Support
- Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin called Hearn "an everyman" who "became a hero for his poise and equanimity" in fighting the case.
Still unverified
Trump claimed someone poisoned Mall grass to spell out "86 47" in letters "90 feet tall," offering no evidence; the 65-second video attached to his post did not appear to show it. Trump also claimed vandalism damaged the pool liner, which federal prosecutors and the contractor-commissioned inspection report contradict.