President Donald Trump on Wednesday offered a more detailed account of his theory that vandals deliberately sabotaged the newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, doubling down on claims that have drawn skepticism from experts and officials. Speaking alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office, Trump described what he believes was a coordinated act of destruction.
“They went down with probably a box cutter or a very sharp razor of some kind or a knife, and they cut, and then they started ripping it up,” Trump said. “You know why? Because they’re sick people.” The president’s remarks come after weeks of repeated assertions that the pool’s peeling bottom layer, algae growth, and damaged grass on the National Mall were the result of intentional sabotage, not normal wear and tear.
The president has previously blamed “Trump Derangement Syndrome” for the alleged vandalism, a term he uses to describe intense opposition to his presidency. On Wednesday, he again invoked the phrase, saying, “These people should go to jail for a long time.” He added that repairs would involve releasing some water from the pool, possibly before or after the July 4 holiday, though he did not provide a specific timeline.
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a historic landmark on the National Mall, underwent a $34 million renovation completed in 2020. However, the site has since faced multiple issues, including peeling paint and algae blooms. Trump’s vandalism narrative has been met with pushback from park officials and maintenance experts, who point to a lack of evidence supporting deliberate damage. The National Park Service has not publicly confirmed any vandalism, and no arrests have been made.
The controversy has also entangled broader political and administrative issues. The Trump administration previously deployed National Guard troops to address the pool’s algae and paint problems, a move critics called an overreaction. Separately, dead ducks found near the pool added to the series of mishaps, though officials linked those to unrelated causes.
Trump’s latest comments come amid a broader pattern of blaming political opponents for infrastructure issues. Some analysts see this as a strategy to rally his base by framing mundane maintenance failures as acts of political warfare. The president’s focus on the reflecting pool has also coincided with other controversies, including his handling of Iran sanctions and a contentious attorney general nomination.
As the July 4 deadline approaches, the question of who—if anyone—is responsible for the pool’s condition remains unresolved. For now, Trump’s vivid account of box-cutter-wielding vandals is likely to dominate the narrative, even as evidence for such claims remains thin.
