(Ben Sellers, Headline USA) President Donald Trump revealed that vandals were to blame for putting chemicals in the National Mall’s Reflecting Pool that likely caused a new resurfacing job to begin peeling.
🚨 IT’S OFFICIAL: President Trump confirms the sealant peeling off the Lincoln Reflecting Pool is VANDALISM that will now be REPAIRED
The algae is 75% gone 👏🏻
LEFTISTS WANT FILTH!
“We’ve cleaned, renovated, and beautified over 45 Monuments and Memorials, 28 Statues, and 22… pic.twitter.com/8Qu6NlgblG
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 20, 2026
“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,” he wrote Friday in a post to 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.”
Leftists have gleefully mocked the degradation of the iconic public space following Trump’s roughly $14 million restoration project to fix the leaking pool.
Some, during a recent protes,t wore T-shirts identifying themselves as “Antifa Algae” while chanting slogans such as “Algae’s smarter than MAGA.”
Algae at the reflecting pool now has a cheer squad lol pic.twitter.com/0QwzxJVdb7
— CHARLIE COTTON (@hicharliecotton) June 19, 2026
The Reflecting Pool previously underwent a nearly $35 million renovation during the Obama presidency that involved installing a pump system to draw water from the contaminated Potomac River via the nearby Tidal Basin.
Although algae reportedly has been a persistent problem since the 1920s, a Washington Post article claimed that this year’s was one of the heaviest blooms on record when it began shortly after the completion of Trump’s project, part of which involved his promise to clean the water and remove the algae.
“It will look far more beautiful, more beautiful than it did in 1922 when they built it,” Trump said of the project, which he first undertook in April.
Yet, with the return of the algae, memes began to circulate on social media, some of which showed Randy Quaid’s “Cousin Eddie” character from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation appearing to contaminate the Reflecting Pool.
Cousin Eddie at the DC Reflecting Pool: “Shitter’s full!” 🚽🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/nc5tujVXRR
— 🛒 ᗰYᑕᗩᖇT 🛒 (@iramike) June 19, 2026
It quickly became evident that life was imitating art, with ecoterrorists actively trying to use chemical agents to contaminate both the Reflecting Pool and the National Lawn.
Park Rangers discovered faint traces of a giant “8647” message on the Mall just opposite the pool that was made using some form of herbicide. The numerical code has been used by former FBI Director James Comey and others to signal support for Trump’s assassination.
Vandals likewise reportedly targeted the newly installed “American Flag blue” pool liner, attempting to cut pieces from it. Trump further said that they were suspected of using chemical agents in the pool to cause the liner to peel.
“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,” Trump wrote. “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.”
On Friday, David Hearn, a three-time Olympic canoeist, was arrested for alleged vandalism after claiming he had noticed a piece of the liner floating in the water while cycling past.
🚨 A man was reportedly arrested after being caught cutting into the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and pulling up large pieces of the blue coating.
Taking tools to a national monument and ripping pieces out to make a statement isn't activism—it's vandalism.
The Lincoln… pic.twitter.com/rl5wYIFdbR
— 🎹 Ames™ 🎹 (@Real_Ames) June 20, 2026
Hearn insisted that he was not responsible, according to the Washington Post.
“I didn’t vandalize anything,” he said.
Exclusive! RAW VIDEO. Man arrested for vandalizing Lincoln Reflecting Pool. He grabbed the hose that female National Park Service workers were using to clear the algae. Police and National Guard responded. Watch pic.twitter.com/oMIXFqKwEs
— emily miller (@emilymiller) June 19, 2026
A second cyclist was also reportedly arrested for attempting to grab a hose that was being used for algae cleanup.
The National Guard is now patrolling the area in an effort to prevent further vandalism.
🚨 NOW: National Guard troops are monitoring the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool like HAWKS after a man was arrested for jumping into the pool RIPPING SEALANT off the bottom
Deranged lefts are literally VANDALIZING the pool just to “get Trump”
INSANE to think this is where we… pic.twitter.com/f1ORXJ8bzV
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) June 19, 2026
But Trump pledged to remain undeterred in his efforts to beautify D.C.
“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,” he wrote.
Ben Sellers is a freelance writer and former editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/realbensellers.
