President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was drained Monday to make repairs and that it “will be refilled and put back into service soon,” again claiming that vandals gashed the pool’s lining.
CNN observed that much of the water had been drained, revealing dried sediment, algae, and some debris on what was supposed to be a freshly renovated landmark. The more than $14 million project has been plagued by massive algae blooms, green-hued water, a chipping bottom, and allegations of vandalism.
Repairs and Vandalism Claims
The president said Monday night on Truth Social, “We drained the beautiful ‘Reflecting Pool’ today in order to fix the scars and damage that was done by the vandals two weeks ago.” Trump’s latest claim that the gashes in the lining were “300 yards long” is considerably longer than his past claims, which have increased in length several times.
A CNN crew visited the pool late Monday afternoon and did not notice any obvious signs of long gashes in the recently installed lining, but they were not able to access the full length of the pool because of fencing that has been installed around much of the landmark.
Original reporting: KTVZ (Central Oregon) — read the source article.
