Donald Trump lashed out after his administration was forced to admit that his hand-picked contractors botched the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool refurbishment — and not "sick vandals" as he had repeatedly claimed. The Justice Department made a humiliating climbdown and dropped charges against former Olympian David Hearn.
Trump has contradicted one of his own top lawyers. He posted on Truth Social: "I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool. I don't know what she was thinking? To me it was a pure case of VANDALISM."
He added: "There may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by VANDALS!"
Contractors chosen by Trump
In April, Trump said he had scrapped a multi-year, $3 billion plan to refurbish the iconic landmark, where Martin Luther King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. Instead, he said he would arrange for his own hand-picked contractors to line it with industrial swimming pool sealant in "American Flag Blue".
The job was completed five weeks late, just days before the July 4th deadline, and at a cost of nearly $15 million — ten times the $1.5 million he promised it would cost. Within days of the pool being refilled, algae turned it swamp green, and within a week the lining had begun to peel from the bottom.
Vandalism claim
Trump blamed "sick, deranged vandals" for the damage, claiming a "300 foot long gash" was sliced into the sealant with a blade. David Hearn, a champion canoeist, faced a 10-year prison sentence after being arrested on suspicion of vandalising the pool.
But in a court filing on Friday, the Trump administration said new information from the Department of the Interior (DOI) had indicated the damage "was the result of flawed installation by the contractor."
It also accepted it was down to "the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026."
Charges dropped
The documents continue: "It was not until after these documents were produced that [prosecutors] first became aware of information showing that the damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism as initially represented by DOI."
Trump's UFC Birthday Party event last month kicked off with an event next to the reflecting pool, a week after the work was completed.
