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

Administration Trump says drained Reflecting Pool will be ‘put back into service soon’ Comments: by Sarah Davis - 07/14/26 9:50 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Sarah Davis - 07/14/26 9:50 AM ET Comments: Link copied

NOW PLAYING

President Trump said on Monday that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool will reopen “soon” after it was drained for repairs over the weekend.

The White House completed its renovations to the iconic landmark just last month — a project that has been mired in controversy over no-bid contracts, an algae bloom and peeling of the pool’s “American flag Blue” base layer.

The 2,082-foot pool was drained again for repairs after the peeling paint and algae raised concerns around the project. Trump has alleged without proof that the pool was vandalized.

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

The president added that they waited to drain the pool until after the Fourth of July celebrations on the National Mall and repeated his statement that “thugs” made 300-yard-long slashes in the pool’s base.

“These Country hating sleazebags should pay a big price for the damage done. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” the president wrote.

Law enforcement has arrested several people and issued federal citations to others for allegedly vandalizing the pool’s base. Former Olympian David Hearn pleaded not guilty last week to this vandalism charge.

The president has pushed back strongly against criticism of this project, which is part of his administration’s larger efforts to renovate the capital city and its landmarks.

In a separate Truth Social post late Monday, Trump attacked ABC News anchor David Muir over his coverage of the pool’s troubles. The president said the algae bloom was “also caused by Vandals” and has since been fixed.

“In other words, the story was FAKE NEWS, but heavily slanted away from the real cause of the problem, Vandalism,” Trump wrote. “It will be fixed soon, and better than ever.”