“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.”
President Donald Trump said Friday that agitators have vandalized the Reflecting Pool at the Lincoln Memorial after the federal government completed a multimillion-dollar restoration project aimed at cleaning and renovating the landmark.
The project was undertaken to address issues including peeling paint and algae growth in the Reflecting pool. The seemingly innocent cleanup effort has been met with hostility, being extensively covered on CNN and even resulting in “pro-algae” protesters appearing at the reflecting pool holdings signs that read “team algae.”
Separately, the message “86 47” was written into the grass near the National Mall between the Washington Monument and the World War II Memorial.
"Things are really looking good in our Nation’s Capital, and add to that the fact that when I became President, Crime was rampant, and now, Washington, D.C., is one of the Safest Cities anywhere in the United States," Trump posted on Truth Social. "However, we’ve had some real problems with Vandalism at the beautiful Reflecting Pool, which sits between The Washington Monument and The Lincoln Memorial.”
"Just like three days ago, they destroyed the grass outside of the Pool, they’ve also done everything possible to hurt the inside surface that was just installed,” he added.
The president said that vandals had damaged the ground near the fencing pool and used chemicals to damage the surface.
"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," he said.
The National Park Service and contractors used chemicals and ozone nanobubble technology this week to help control the algae, and workers used vacuums to remove algae from the bottom, according to Fox News. The park service said that there are “no harmful side effects to marine life or to the environment.”
President Trump said most of the algae had been removed and the vandalism would be fixed. He further said that law enforcement is investigating.
"The algae is 75% gone, and the condition will soon be completely remedied, and the area that was vandalized, fortunately, is just a small area of damage, and will be fixed early next week," Trump said.
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