Trump Vents Growing Frustrations With Reflecting-Pool Problems

The administration, signed a new sponsorship deal with the Tabloid Monday which will fund the renovation of the pool's reflecting surface.

Trump Vents Growing Frustrations With Reflecting-Pool Problems

President says multiple people have been arrested for vandalism and the pool will likely need to be drained for repairs

By Alyssa Lukpat, WSJ

Updated June 21, 2026 5:04 pm ET

President Trump said vandals caused problems for the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which is plagued by algae after a $14.7 million renovation.

President Trump poured out his frustrations with the problems plaguing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, saying that multiple people had been arrested and it would likely need to be drained for repairs.

The reflecting pool on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., has been plagued by algae and a coating that is sloughing off after a recently completed $14.7 million renovation that was part of the president’s project to beautify the nation’s capital. On Saturday, Trump blamed the problems on vandals, who he said cut and poured corrosive chemicals into the pool.

“They took some form of knife or blade, and put a 250 foot long gash into the beautiful facade of what took so much work, competence and money to build and complete,” Trump said.

It wasn’t immediately clear what the president meant by this. The new surface isn’t plastic like a typical pool lining, which is easier to cut, but is more like a coarse coat of paint. The Interior Department and the U.S. Park Police, which help oversee the pool, didn’t immediately return requests to provide additional details.

Trump said on social media on Sunday that he inspected the pool himself. “Work will begin immediately on fixing the seriously vandalized Reflecting Pool,” he said.

The reflecting pool was resurfaced this spring with an “American flag blue” coating. Within days of the pool’s reopening this month, algae blooms coated the floor and colored the surface, drawing spectators and online mockery. Some have taken pieces of the blue coating that has been floating in the water.

Videos on social media showed at least one person was arrested near the pool in recent days. Under federal law, destroying government property carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Someone who causes only minor damage faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. Trump said vandals also destroyed the grass surrounding the pool.

Chipped blue paint in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Damaged paint was visible Sunday in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, where work has been under way to remove an algae bloom. Aaron Schwartz/Reuters

Five people have been arrested for vandalism as of Saturday night, a Trump administration official said. More than a dozen police reports were filed for vandalism including one reporting a blade used to slash a section of the pool, the official said.

National Park Service workers this week have been trying to clean the algae blooms off the bottom of the 2,000-foot-long pool by pouring hydrogen peroxide into the water and vacuuming the floor. Hydrogen peroxide can also be used as a paint remover.

Algae thrives in warm, shallow waters, making the 3-foot deep pool an effective breeding ground. Changing the color of the basin from gray to navy blue may have had the unintended effect of making the water warmer, which can further spur algae growth.

The Interior Department said last week that the pool was clear and that workers were sucking up dead algae.

The government had awarded the pool resurfacing contract to Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings without a full bidding process.

A local organization sued the government over the resurfacing job, claiming the Trump administration sidestepped required reviews before starting the project in April. The government finished the work before a judge had decided whether to step in. The administration has tried to move at a similar speed to complete work like Trump’s White House ballroom project.

Charles Birnbaum, head of the Cultural Landscape Foundation, which filed the lawsuit regarding the reflecting pool, said that had the administration gone through the typical review process, “We might not now be witnessing this failed renovation, which almost certainly will leave the Reflecting Pool in a state of disrepair for the nation’s 250th anniversary.”

Write to Alyssa Lukpat at alyssa.lukpat@wsj.com