President Donald Trump posted a series of AI-generated images on Truth Social late Friday, including one depicting him and members of his Cabinet shirtless and lounging in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The captionless image, shared at 11:03 p.m. local time, shows Trump, 79, smiling and giving a thumbs-up while reclining on a golden inflatable lounger in the historic pool on the National Mall.
Vice President JD Vance, 41, appears beside him, also giving a thumbs-up, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, 54, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, 69. An unidentified woman, possibly AI-generated, floats nearby in sunglasses and a blue-and-white gingham bikini.
The Reflecting Pool is currently undergoing an accelerated beautification project ordered by Trump and overseen by Burgum. The $1.5 million project aims to fix leaks in the pool’s aging granite foundation by applying a new “American flag blue” industrial-grade coating. Trump previously criticised the Biden administration for the state of the landmark, pledging full restoration for the nation’s 250th anniversary on July 4.
In the same burst of activity, Trump posted additional images, including one suggesting the pool was in poor condition during Barack Obama’s presidency, and two renderings of the expected completed renovation. “Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and I are working on fixing the absolutely filthy Reflecting Pool,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that the work “was supposed to be done by the Biden Administration.”
However, the site was vandalised on Friday with graffiti featuring the numbers “86 47” spray-painted on it. The number “86,” commonly used in the service industry to mean removing an item, has been interpreted by some Republicans as a coded threat against Trump. The incident follows the recent indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, tied to a social media post in which he shared an image of seashells arranged to spell “8647,” which authorities viewed as threatening toward Trump. A spokesperson for the U.S. Park Police confirmed the site was secured and covered while cleanup was arranged, and an investigation is ongoing.
