Trump says Reflecting Pool has been drained and will be ‘put back into service soon’

By Mary Kay Mallonee, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump said the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was drained Monday to make repairs and that it “will be refilled and put back into service soon,” again claiming that vandals gashed the pool’s lining.

CNN observed that much of the water had been drained, revealing dried sediment, algae and some debris on what was supposed to be a freshly renovated landmark painted what Trump previously called “American flag blue.

Since Trump called for the pool’s renovation in April, the more than $14 million project has been plagued by massive algae blooms, green-hued water, a chipping bottom and allegations of vandalism.

The president said Monday night on Truth Social, “We drained the beautiful ‘Reflecting Pool’ today in order to fix the scars and damage that was done by the Vandals two weeks ago.”

“The slashes were 300 yards long, and the floor of the pool was cut and then pulled upward, with great force, by these thugs,” Trump said in the post.

Trump’s latest claim that the gashes in the lining were “300 yards long” — which would be 900 feet, or the length of three football fields — is considerably longer than his past claims, which have increased in length several times.

He first called it a 250-foot cut and later claimed there were “actually numerous slashes over a very long 350 foot length.”

A CNN crew visited the pool late Monday afternoon and did not notice any obvious signs of long gashes in the recently installed lining, but they were not able to access the full length of the pool because of fencing that has been installed around much of the landmark.

CNN has reached out to the Department of the Interior, the National Park Service and US Park Police to ask if they found evidence of gashes in the pool lining now that most of the pool has been drained.

“The Parks Department had to empty the water in order to fix the water tight basin,” the president said Monday night. “It will be refilled and put back into service soon. These Country hating sleazebags should pay a big price for the damage done.”

Trump posted again later Monday night, complaining about news reports on the pool and insisting the lining “was slashed with a knife, or a box cutter” and that even the algae blooms were “caused by vandals.”

In recent weeks, at least three people were charged with destruction of property after allegedly removing pieces of blue paint from the pool — they all recently pleaded not guilty. And a former Olympic canoeist, David Hearn, indicted on the same charge pleaded not guilty last week.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, in a July 5 interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” said the government could “absolutely” prove the damage was caused by vandals, and that there are photographs supporting the claim. But he dodged a question about whether those photographs show anyone damaging the pool.

Bergum said on a podcast last week that crews began draining the pool after the July Fourth fireworks show, noting that some of the fireworks debris was still in the water.

The-CNN-Wire
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