Trump warns reflecting pool may need draining repairs

Trump warns – President Donald Trump said the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool’s rapid deterioration from algae, peeling paint, and alleged vandalism is severe enough that the pool will likely need to be at least partly drained for necessary repairs.

WASHINGTON — Late Saturday, President Donald Trump turned to social media and delivered a blunt warning: the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool’s problems had become so severe that it would likely have to be at least partly drained for “necessary repairs.”

His comments came as the pool’s newly renovated surface had turned into an unusual spectacle for visitors—first clouded by algae blooms that obscured a floor just painted in a shade Trump has called “American flag blue. ” and then marred as the paint began to peel. The situation has unfolded quickly in recent days. and by the president’s posting. the story had already moved from maintenance to accusations.

Trump blamed vandals without offering evidence and said “multiple individuals” had been arrested. In a later post. he claimed without evidence that vandals had “poured corrosive and destructive chemicals into the Pool.” The administration has not released the names of others accused of vandalizing the pool. a crime Trump said Saturday could lead to “years in jail.”.

One person named in connection with the vandalism allegation is David Carter Hearn. 67. a cyclist and a three-time Olympian who competes in canoeing. Hearn says he stopped at the site Friday simply to look. He told investigators and then later denied destroying property. saying he touched a strip of blue paint that was peeling off. mixed with algae.

The U.S. Park Police arrested Hearn shortly after, accusing him of destroying government property, a crime that can carry up to a 10-year prison sentence. Hearn denies the charge.

“I was just a curious, concerned citizen,” Hearn said in an interview. “I guess I was there at the wrong place, wrong time.”

Hearn lives in Bethesda, Maryland. He said he had been on a 50-mile bike ride before stopping at the reflecting pool. where he reached into the water to feel a dislodged paint piece “still attached to the bottom.” He described the material as “2-millimeter-thick. rubbery flap. ” and said he didn’t remove anything.

He also said he was detained for more than four hours Friday at a facility south of the National Mall without being allowed a phone call. Hearn said officers did not explain why he had been arrested in more detail. The White House and Park Police did not respond to requests for comment.

Trump’s Saturday announcement was his starkest acknowledgment so far of what has happened to the renovation project—work that has cost more than $14 million. The pool is part of one of the projects Trump is undertaking around the capital as the United States nears its 250th birthday.

The president said Saturday that he met with contractors earlier in the day to discuss the state of the pool.

The deterioration has been swift, and it has also highlighted the vulnerability of a repair effort being closely watched. The project has faced intense scrutiny. including from engineers and other experts who warned that a hastily undertaken approach was unlikely to undo problems that have plagued the pool for decades.

Within that scrutiny, one detail has drawn particular attention: a construction company tied to Trump was awarded a no-bid contract and painted the bottom of the pool.

Before Trump’s comments. the Interior Department said this week that agency workers had “killed the algae” that had expanded with heat and humidity. But on Friday afternoon. the water was still stained by clumps of algae where National Park Service staff members had scrubbed away bright green blooms along the bottom of the basin. Hearn said the painted surface was already missing large sections. including a gap roughly the size of a park bench. and underneath appeared to be the original concrete basin.

A separate thread in the story is how people have been handling the peeling paint. Late Friday, Trump claimed on social media that the “inside surface that was just installed” had been damaged by vandals.

Hearn pointed to his own explanation for touching the water. saying he was trying to understand what the contractors had used before the paint began peeling. He also compared his actions to those of Jonathan Karl. an ABC News reporter who lifted a detached piece of paint at the pool Thursday in a video the news organization published.

Until his retirement 18 months ago, Hearn ran a company selling special materials for building canoes. After his arrest, he said he had already received offers of pro bono representation.

“I’m getting a lot of support from my community,” he added.

By Saturday night. the question facing the public was no longer just whether the reflecting pool could be restored to what it was meant to be. Trump’s warning that the pool would likely need to be at least partly drained for repairs suggested the damage has become. at least in his view. bigger than a quick cleanup. And with allegations of vandalism now tied to the rapid deterioration—while evidence has not been publicly laid out—officials are left to sort out what happened. who is responsible. and how quickly the pool can be brought back without repeating the same cycle of failure.

Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Donald Trump algae bloom American flag blue U.S. Park Police David Carter Hearn government property renovation project National Park Service interior department