Donald Trump has accused vandals of causing fresh damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, despite having said only weeks earlier that its surface was so tough that even a knife would not pierce it.
During remarks on 4 May, Trump boasted about the recently refurbished pool, calling the surface “very, very strong” and saying it should remain leak-free for at least 50 years.
But on Monday and Tuesday, he said the pool would have to be drained once more, claiming that it had been hit by a deliberate slash stretching from one end of the structure to the other.
His description of the damage has not remained consistent.
At different times, he has said the slit measured 250 feet, 290,300 feet, and 350 feet.
The reflecting pool has drawn criticism ever since Trump ordered it emptied and coated in what he described as an “American flag-blue” finish, a project that cost more than $14 million.
The work was handed to Atlantic Industrial Coatings through a federal contract. The project has also been criticized because algae quickly returned after the pool was refilled, and sections of the blue coating began to peel away from the floor of the basin.
Trump has said the pool may need to be drained again to make repairs, and federal workers have been using chemicals and ozone nanobubbles in an effort to control the algae.
CBS News senior White House correspondent Ed O’Keefe asked Trump whether he had any evidence, including photographs or video, showing that vandals had actually carved a 350-foot slit into the pool.
“When you have a 350-foot slit, from one end to the other, you think that’s proof? You think that’s proof?”
O’Keefe then noted that journalists who had gone to inspect the site had not found evidence of any such slit.
Trump replied that proof would come later in court and told reporters to speak with the Parks Department or Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
He also floated the unsupported idea that fertiliser may have been intentionally dumped into the water to cause the algae outbreak.
Authorities have said six people have been arrested and seven others cited in connection with alleged vandalism at the pool, while the Interior Department has said five people were arrested and five more received federal citations. One person was arrested after touching peeling material at the pool, but federal officials have not said that any arrest explains the algae bloom or proves the coating was cut with a blade.
Federal officials have also said that 14 police reports have been filed for vandalism, including the crime described by Trump in a social media post. Even so, neither the contractor nor the National Park Service has said that a cut or slit is what caused the peeling.
Atlantic Industrial Coatings has acknowledged that “some areas require repairs” but said the affected spots make up only a small part of the full project. The company also said the issue does not point to a failure of the liner and that the work will be completed under warranty once the pool has been drained.
In a statement, they said: “Atlantic Industrial Coatings in conjunction with the US Park Service has identified some areas in the Reflecting Pool that require repairs.
“These areas are a very small part of the massive 7 acre project, and do not indicate a failure of the liner.
“These repairs can not be made until the pool is drained. As soon as its feasible for the Park, the pool will be drained and AIC will be back to make those needed repairs as part of the warranty.”
The US Park Service and the White House has been approached for comment.