This is the story that will not end. President Trump continues to claim that vandals are responsible for the damage but the media is in a frenzy to prove him wrong.
National Guard members and Park Police have been patrolling the deck around the pool after Trump insisted over the weekend that vandals were responsible for damage to the liner, without providing evidence.
Trump said Tuesday that the Interior Department will release images of alleged vandalism at the pool. Pressed by reporters after Air Force One landed in Pennsylvania for a visit to a trucking company, Trump said Interior is “going to share” photos and videos of the alleged vandalism, which remains unverified.
The president had said on Monday that the images existed and the federal government would provide them. No photos were made public as of Tuesday afternoon.
The NY Times has apparently got hold of some documents which do indicate damage to a portion of the pool. However, they note that there's no proof as of yet that the damage was caused by vandalism.
The pool had been drained, resealed and then refilled by June 5. Four days later, Park Service workers discovered holes, cracks and peeling caulking in parts of the pool, along with cuts in sections of the foam, according to the documents.
The cause of the cuts was unclear. While a June 9 report by the U.S. Park Police described the cuts as “razor blade slashes” made along a 20-foot-long stretch of the foam, the administration has yet to present evidence supporting that assertion. The documents reviewed by The Times described them as two 171-foot blade cuts but did not address how they were made.
By June 16, workers had noticed that chunks of blue sealant that covered the pool’s bottom were peeling and floating to the surface, the documents show. That sealant was separate from the foam in the pool’s expansion joints, which allow its concrete slabs to expand and contract.
We don't have all the facts yet but there is a camera which is taking live shots of the reflecting pool 24/7. So if someone did get in the pool it should be recorded. Of course whether or not you could see that at night is an open question. Someone in dark clothes may not show up at all on the camera at night.
As for the cuts in the foam, that certainly sounds suspicious but as the NY Times points out, the foam is not the same as the blue sealant which has been peeling in some areas of the pool. Did Trump get the two confused or does he have reason to believe that both were cut?
Trump has also claimed someone poured fertilizer in the pool to help spawn the growth of algae.
Mr. Trump also told reporters on Monday, without offering evidence, that vandals had poured fertilizer into the pool to feed the algae.
As I pointed out here, it takes remarkably little phosphate fertilizer to prime the entire 6 million gallon pool for an algae bloom. However, the Times points out that DC city water already includes some phosphate in it.
Though Mr. Trump claimed vandals dumped fertilizer in the pool, his administration refilled it with D.C. municipal water, which is treated with phosphate to keep lead from leaching out of old pipes. But phosphate also provides nutrients for algae, as do droppings from ducks swimming in the pool.
According to Google Gemini, the concentration of phosphate in the city's water supply is at least triple what would be required to generate an algae bloom in warm water.
The concentration of phosphate in the DC municipal water supply typically ranges between 1.0 and 4.5 milligrams per liter (mg/L) as orthophosphate...
In pool chemistry, phosphates are measured in ppb, and the standard threshold for algae risk starts at just 200 to 300 ppb. At over 1,000 ppb, phosphates act like super-fertilizer, causing severe, chlorine-resistant algae blooms if sanitizer levels slip.
So there's really no need for anyone to throw fertilizer in the Reflecting Pool if the amount already in the city's water supply is more than enough to create a bloom. As noted earlier, CNN's water test did find high levels of phosphates in the pool so we know it's there. Was there some effort to remove it with filters? I don't know what the setup is for filling the Reflecting Pool but, citing Google Gemini again, it appears physical filters don't remove it because it dissolves so completely in water.
In addition to all of this, a few ducks were found dead near the pool so an environmental group is now demanding an investigation.
Adding to the controversy swirling around the pool, an environmental group called on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to investigate after a Mallard duckling carcass was photographed floating in the algae-filled pool, and two other ducks were found dead nearby. The Center for Biological Diversity said Tuesday that the Wildlife Service must enforce the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which protects migratory birds.
“Wasting taxpayer money turning the reflecting pool into a giant duck death trap just in time for America’s 250th birthday party is as Trump as it gets. Cruel, stupid and selfish,” said Tara Zuardo, a senior campaigner at the Arizona-based group.
Update: Minutes after I finished this post, Emily Miller put up a video saying she's known about the damage since June 9 when it was discovered. She also includes some images.
I had to watch this twice and stop it a few times to follow it as the cuts are pretty fast, but it looks like the damage was right along the edge of the pool where you could pretty easily reach from above before the pool was completely filled.
EXCLUSIVE: Photos prove Pres. Trump report that vandals destroyed Lincoln Reflecting Pool construction by cutting a huge piece out of the sides and more. Watch my report! pic.twitter.com/wbygDMj9Vg
— emily miller (@emilymiller) June 23, 2026
What I don't see is how this could have caused the blue sealant to peel. Unless someone cut that also.
So this is where we are. The Reflecting Pool is one of the biggest stories in the country and yet I have the sense that the media has no interest in looking into the possibility that there was some actual vandalism here because that's not the story they want to tell. It's resistance journalism all the way to the bottom.
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