Topline<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump on Monday night mentioned the draining of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool\u2014as photos of the drained pool emerged\u2014as he bashed reporting about the peeling of paint from its surface and doubled down on his administration\u2019s claims that the floor of the pool had been slashed by \u201cvandals.\u201d<\/p>\n
A person stops to look at the partially-drained Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Monday.<\/p>\n
Associated PressKey Facts<\/p>\n
In a post on Truth Social<\/a>, Trump mentioned that the pool was drained on Monday and claimed it had to be done to \u201cfix the scars and damage\u201d caused by alleged \u201cvandals,\u201d although no such evidence has been made public.<\/p>\n The president the wanted the repair work to wait until after the July 4th weekend.<\/p>\n Trump said the pool had to be drained out to fix the \u201cwater tight basin\u201d and it will be \u201crefilled and put back into service soon.\u201d<\/p>\n The president claimed the purported \u201cvandals\u201d made slashes 300 yards long and then pulled the pool floor upward with \u201cgreat force.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump doubled down on calling for people to be punished for the damage to the pool.<\/p>\n What Did Trump Say About ABC\u2019s Reporting Of The Pool?<\/p>\n In a follow-up post<\/a> an hour later, the president lashed out at ABC News and anchor David Muir\u2019s coverage of the pool being drained for repairs. The president insisted that there was no \u201cpeeling paint\u201d but rather \u201chigh-grade colored waterproofing liner\u201d that was slashed by either a \u201cknife, or box cutter.\u201d The president\u2019s post again didn\u2019t include any evidence to back his claims of vandalism. The president also blamed the recurrence of \u201cAlgae Blooms\u201d in the pool on these purported \u201cvandals,\u201d although it’s unclear how people could be responsible for a recurring issue that has plagued the pool for years. Trump has been engaged in a feud with ABC and its news division for several years now and has repeatedly touted his $16 million 2024 settlement in a defamation case he filed against the network.<\/p>\n tangent<\/p>\n The reflecting pool received only a brief mention from Muir on Monday\u2019s broadcast of \u201cABC World News Tonight<\/a>.\u201d He mentioned that the pool was drained again on Monday, and this was the second time this has happened in recent months.\u201dCrews addressing several issues, including peeling paint and algae blooms,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n A fence has been set up in front of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.<\/p>\n dpa\/picture alliance via Getty Images<\/p>\n The partially drained Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is pictured from the Washington Monument.<\/p>\n Associated Press<\/p>\n People stop to take pictures next to the partially drained Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.<\/p>\n Associated Pressfurther reading<\/p>\n