Despite everything else going on in the world right now, one 2,000-ft body of water is currently dominating the political world. This is the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which has become an unlikely center of Trump administration criticism.
In advance of the nation’s 250th celebrations on July 4, Donald Trump ordered that the pool’s bottom be resurfaced, painted “American flag blue” (a color he personally selected), and the work was completed in early June.
However, within days of that, the water turned green with algae blooms. Workers have since been seen pouring chemicals, apparently including hydrogen peroxide (as per the Guardian), in an effort to combat the algae. Shortly afterward, the new blue liner began detaching, with portions floating to the surface of the Pool.
Now an article on TMZ indicates that people who interact with the pool are in danger of being detained. The footage yesterday shows a young woman who crouches and dips her hand into the pool. Shortly after doing that, she’s led away and questioned by officials TMZ identifies as a combination of the National Guard, DC cops, and US Marshals.
As per TMZ, the woman was issued a citation and told she was free to go. It is unclear what she was cited for, and she reportedly did not respond to questions about what they said to her.
Trump says this is all the fault of vandals
Trump has now conceded that the pool will need to be partially or fully drained once again for further repairs, but insists this has nothing to do with the renovation but is instead the result of intentional vandalism. Trump says that vandals are committing “very serious crimes having to do with the destruction of National Monuments” and that those responsible could face “years in jail.”
Without providing any evidence, Trump alleged that person or persons unknown have “poured corrosive and destructive chemicals into the Pool and that they used “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.”
Olympian Daniel Hearn was arrested after touching a piece of the Reflecting Pool’s detached surface on June 20 and is facing a misdemeanor charge of destruction of government property. Hearn insists he did nothing wrong:
“I didn’t destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs. … I didn’t remove anything. I was bending and feeling this two-millimeter-thick, rubbery flap.”
Work on the Pool continues.
Published: Jun 23, 2026 08:52 am