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domingo, 21 de junho de 2026

Days after $14M reno, Reflecting Pool choked w/algae as bottom peels off

Reflecting pool turns green after $14.2m Trump renovation

President Donald Trump has publicly acknowledged "real problems" at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, reversing earlier administration claims that the water was "crystal clear".

Trump acknowledges ‘real problems’ at reflecting pool after $14m makeover, blaming ‘vandalism’

President Donald Trump has publicly acknowledged "real problems" at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, reversing earlier administration claims that the water was "crystal clear". Following a highly criticized $14.2 million makeover aimed at turning the basin an "American flag blue," the site has been plagued by a massive green algae bloom and widespread peeling paint. Trump has explicitly blamed the issues on "vandalism" and foul play, though critics and experts attribute the failure to poor planning, chemical reactions, and a controversial contracting process.

The Core Issues and Trump's Response

The "Vandalism" Claim: Trump alleged on Truth Social that vandals "destroyed the grass" and did "everything possible to hurt the inside surface".
Arrests Reported: Trump claimed multiple people were arrested by National Guard troops and Park Police. One detained citizen noted he was simply a curious tourist who touched a piece of the rubbery, peeling paint.
Chemical Sabotage Suspected: The president claimed perpetrators used destructive chemicals similar to those used to etch "86 47" into the National Mall grass, a slang threat directed at the 47th president.
Projected Fix: Trump stated the algae is already "75% gone" and that the "small area of damage" will be fully repaired.

Scientific and Political Backlash

Algae Growth: Laboratory testing commissioned by The Atlantic identified the culprit as Scenedesmus, a standard genus of green algae.
Peeling Paint: Large flakes of the newly installed industrial blue coating are detaching from the basin floor and floating to the surface. Experts suggest the frantic use of hydrogen peroxide by crews to kill the algae may have reacted poorly with the new paint.
No-Bid Contract Scrutiny: The New York Times reported that the Trump administration bypassed standard procedures to award the no-bid contract to Atlantic Industrial Coatings Ltd. The Virginia-based company is tied to a longtime Trump donor and previously worked on his golf resorts, but lacks government contracting experience.
Political Fallout: Political opponents, including Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, have leveraged the debacle as a metaphor for the administration, calling it a cycle of "imaginary problems," ignored experts, and millions grifted to buddies

Trump acknowledges ‘real problems’ at reflecting pool after $14m makeover, blaming ‘vandalism’

Trump acknowledges ‘real problems’ at reflecting pool after $14m makeover, blaming ‘vandalism’

US president also claims vandals have been arrested, as Washington attraction sees algae bloom and peeling paint

Anna Betts

Sat 20 Jun 2026 09.57 EDT

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/20/trump-reflecting-pool-renovation-vandalism

Donald Trump has blamed “vandalism” for “real problems” at Washington’s reflecting pool after an algae bloom in the wake of a $14.2m renovation of the site he declared would turn it “American flag” blue. Paint has also been seen peeling off in the water. He also made claims that vandals had been arrested.

Days after his administration claimed the pool was actually “crystal clear”, despite an unmistakably green hue, the US president acknowledged issues – and, without evidence, blamed foul play.

“We’ve cleaned, renovated, and beautified over 45 Monuments and Memorials, 28 Statues, and 22 Fountains in Washington, DC,” Trump wrote in a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform on Friday night. “However, we’ve had some real problems with Vandalism at the beautiful Reflecting Pool, which sits between The Washington Monument and The Lincoln Memorial.”

Trump noted that “86 47” was recently etched onto a vast patch of grass nearby – “86” is frequently used across the restaurant industry to mean “stop” or to get rid of something, while Trump is the 47th president of the US – and claimed some people had “also done everything possible to hurt the inside surface” of the pool painted as part of the recent renovation.

“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,” Trump alleged, again without evidence.

In a Truth Social post on Sunday afternoon, Trump claimed, again with no evidence whatsoever, that “multiple individuals” had been arrested by US park police for “vandalizing our Nations magnificent Reflecting Poll”. “Who would do such a thing?” Trump wrote. “These are very serious crimes having to do with the destruction of National Monuments. Years in jail! Work will begin immediately on its repair.”

Trump also claimed in his post that the algae problem was largely under control, suggesting it was “75% gone” and the issue would soon be “completely remedied”.

Law enforcement is “actively investigating this situation”, he claimed, and “will hopefully have it resolved soon”. The Department of the Interior did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Trump’s statement.

A three-time US Olympian and canoeist was arrested on Friday after noticing a partly detached piece of the blue liner and reaching into the water to see what it felt like, he said.

“I didn’t vandalize anything,” David Hearn, who had been cycling, told the Washington Post. “I didn’t destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.”

Trump ordered a refurbishment project to turn the pool “American Flag blue” ahead of the country’s 250th birthday celebrations. The site – one of Washington DC’s most historically symbolic attractions – has been one element of his efforts to recondition Washington during his second term.

Just days after the renovation was finished, however, an algae bloom turned the water green. In response, National Park Service employees were deployed and seen using skimmers and adding hydrogen peroxide to the water in an attempt to restore the water quality.

In a statement on social media on Wednesday, the interior department declared that “advanced nanobubbler technology” had “very effectively killed the algae”, adding: “Our National Park Service team is now vacuuming up the dead algae resting on the bottom of some parts of the Reflecting Pool – just like the destroyed Iranian Navy resting on the bottom of the Persian Gulf.”

In reality, however, much of the water remained murky later in the week, with algae still visible in some areas, and large flakes of paint peeling from the basin and floating on the surface.

The Atlantic reported this weekend that laboratory testing it commissioned identified algae in the pool as Scenedesmus, a genus of green algae.

The project has also come under scrutiny over its contracting process. The New York Times reported that the Trump administration had awarded a no-bid contract to a business tied to a longtime supporter of the president to install the water-purification system in the pool.

Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor who ran against Trump and JD Vance as the running mate of Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Found an imaginary problem, said only they could fix it, didn’t listen to experts, hired buddies who grifted millions, failed miserably, bragged how great it went. The entire Trump presidency in a nutshell.”