Trump blames vandalism as Reflecting Pool coating peels
The president said Park Police made multiple arrests after the renovated pool turned green and its new blue surface began coming loose.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
3 min read
President Donald Trump said federal officers arrested several people for vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after a costly renovation drew criticism over green water and peeling blue coating. The condition of the landmark has become a visible setback for a project Trump promoted as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary observances.
The Associated Press reported that the rehabilitation cost more than $14 million, citing federal spending records. Trump had said earlier that past administrations allowed the pool to become stained by algae and that he wanted it lined in “American flag blue” to improve its reflection of the Washington Monument.
After the renovated pool was opened, the AP reported, the water soon took on a green color again. Workers then used chemicals to kill algae, and the new blue surface on the bottom of the pool began to peel away.
Trump wrote on his social media platform Friday night that there had been “real problems with Vandalism” at the Reflecting Pool. He said people had damaged grass outside the pool and had tried to harm the newly installed interior surface, but the AP said he did not provide evidence for the claims.
The U.S. Park Police, National Park Service and Interior Department did not respond to AP requests for comment. On Saturday, Trump posted that Park Police had arrested multiple people for vandalizing the Reflecting Pool and described the alleged acts as serious crimes involving national monuments. He wrote that those responsible faced “Years in jail!”
One of the people arrested was David Hearn, 67, of Bethesda, Maryland, according to the AP. Hearn, a former Olympic canoe racer who owned a company that made composite materials used in watercraft, told the AP he stopped at the pool during a 64-mile bicycle ride Friday to see what was happening.
Hearn said he reached into the pool to feel a section of the loose coating and briefly touched a piece still attached to the side. He told the AP he let go when a park worker told him to stop.
Hearn said National Guard troops and Park Police then detained him for five hours before releasing him Friday night. He told the AP he has a court date next month and is seeking legal help. The Washington Post first reported his arrest, according to the AP.
The AP noted that even if someone had pulled strips of coating from the side of the pool, that would not account for the green algae visible in the water or for broad areas of blue coating that had separated from the bottom.
Trump also tied the Reflecting Pool problems to a separate incident on the National Mall. He wrote Friday that something similar to chemicals used on the Mall had been used in the pool to damage the renovation work.
That appeared to refer to large numbers etched into discolored grass on the National Mall the previous week: “86 47.” Authorities said the markings could have been intended as a threat to Trump, the 47th president, because “86” can be slang for getting rid of someone, according to the AP. Investigators are examining that incident.
The pool’s condition has drawn television crews and onlookers in recent days, the AP reported, as the administration faces questions about why the renovation has produced green water and a failing surface so soon after completion.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.