President Donald Trump blamed vandals for dead grass on the National Mall near the World War II Memorial in a Truth Social post on Sunday.
Trump, 78, shared a photo showing large patches of brown and dead grass across the turf connecting the World War II Memorial and the Reflecting Pool. The area had previously been covered by a large stage and seating for his Independence Day celebration last month, which drew crowds for the nation’s 250th anniversary. Photos from the event and its aftermath show the infrastructure occupied nearly the entire lawn where the grass damage now appears.
“Look what VANDALS did to the grass connecting the vandalized World War II Monument and the vandalized Reflecting Pool, which will be opened again, and better than ever, shortly,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Anybody who thinks the Reflecting Pool wasn’t vandalized should go back to Law School!” He continued.
Trump offered no evidence for his claim that vandals caused the grass damage. The post came as he has repeatedly blamed vandals for damage to his renovation projects in Washington, often contradicting accounts from his own officials.
Earlier this month, Trump criticized U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro after her office moved to dismiss a vandalism case against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn. Newly disclosed evidence showed widespread liner damage at the Reflecting Pool stemmed from flawed installation by contractor Atlantic Industrial Coatings and a rush to complete the project before July 4, undermining the prosecution.
“I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on August 1. “I don’t know what she was thinking?”
“To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM, that included the grass, which has 86 47 emblazoned in giant letters on it, and other components of the surrounding area,” he added. “There may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by VANDALS!”
On August 1, Trump posted a different photo of dead grass appearing to show “86 47,” which federal officials have argued is a threat against Trump as the 47th president. Those numbers were not visible in the photo he shared Sunday. No one has been charged in connection with the “86 47” grass markings, which were discovered in June near the Washington Monument.
On Friday, an arrest was made in a separate vandalism case at the World War II Memorial. The words “Clean hands dirty $” were found painted on the monument and bubbles filled a fountain. Felony charges are being brought against Melissa Farris, according to Pirro’s office. Charging documents in that case do not mention the grassy area Trump referenced in his Sunday post. Authorities said Farris was previously arrested for camping on federal property a few blocks from the memorial, but not the spot referenced by Trump.
Farris posted videos on Facebook from outside the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, before turning herself in. Speaking through tears, she said she had “never been in this position before.”
“I’m just trying to do the right thing. I was just trying to get people to listen,” Farris said. “I was just trying to scream loud enough that somebody would help me.”
“It was me. I’m doing it, I did it, it’s on camera,” she added in another video, showing her waiting to be arrested before throwing a pink spray-paint can on the ground and walking away.
Each charge Farris faces carries a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison. She was detained after her initial appearance.
In the viral moment that preceded Trump’s Sunday post, his administration has spent months pushing vandalism allegations that have collapsed under scrutiny. The $16 million Reflecting Pool renovation began in the spring but problems emerged almost immediately, including algae blooms, green-tinted water, and peeling liner. Trump has blamed “radical left lunatics” and others for the damage, while prosecutors concluded contractor failures were responsible. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has defended Trump’s vandalism claims, posting on X that “the evidence is clear, vandals have repeatedly caused damage to the Reflecting Pool.” Pirro’s office received 695 megabytes of additional documents from the Interior Department after the Hearn indictment, revealing what prosecutors called a “rushed and flawed installation process” with “repeated failures of the lining during the installation process.”
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on August 3 that Pirro “choked” and “folded like a cheap umbrella” in dropping the Hearn charges. When asked whether he was considering removing her, he replied, “You’re fake news. Don’t ever talk again.” The motion to dismiss Hearn’s charges without prejudice remains pending before Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman.
The Friends of the National World War II Memorial said in a statement that “a national memorial honoring those who served and those who never returned home should never be used as a canvas for vandalism.” The Veterans of Foreign Wars called the memorial vandalism “an act of profound disrespect, a slap in the face to the veterans who served and sacrificed.”
The Reflecting Pool is expected to reopen once repairs are complete.