Trump tries to blame Reflecting Pool woes on vandalism, without offering substantiation

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The paint is peeling from Washington's Reflecting Pool after the renovation ordered by President Donald Trump, and he is now alleging that someone damaged it intentionally.

“We’ve had some real problems with Vandalism at the beautiful Reflecting Pool," he posted on his social media site Friday night. "Just like three days ago, they destroyed the grass outside of the Pool, they’ve also done everything possible to hurt the inside surface that was just installed.” He offered no details to substantiate his claim.

Agencies responsible for law enforcement and upkeep on the National Mall — the U.S. Park Police, National Park Service and Interior Department — did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Washington Post reported that Park Police officers arrested someone on Friday who they said was peeling paint from the pool, an act that does not explain the clouds of algae in green water and swaths of loose blue paint detached from the bottom.

Trump insisted something nefarious was going on. “No different than the chemicals that were used on the National Mall, they used something similar in the Reflecting Pool to try to destroy and demean our beautiful work,” he posted on Truth Social.

That was a reference to the discovery of large numbers etched in discolored grass on the National Mall the week before: “86 47.” Authorities said the numbers could have been meant as a threat to Trump, the 47th president. The number 86 can be slang for “getting rid of.” They are investigating.

Trumps claims came after days of negative attention to the state of the pool, which he made a point of rehabbing to the tune of more than $14 million for the coming America 250 celebrations. The pool was swiftly beset by an algae bloom that returned its waters to the greenish color that Trump had tried to replace by having the bottom painted “American flag blue.”

Federal workers treated the pool with chemicals to kill the algae. Now chunks of the blue paint are gone, exposing its rocky bottom.