Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times,
President Donald Trump said on Sunday that work to repair the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington will begin immediately after it was damaged by vandalism.
The reflecting pool had been renovated ahead of the 250th anniversary of the country’s Independence Day on July 4 under Trump’s order, which included repainting its surface blue. But problems have emerged in recent days with algae blooming in the pool and peeling paint.
Trump said in a Truth Social post on June 21 that he inspected the pool and found it had been “seriously vandalized.” He said the pool’s condition left him wondering “who would do such a thing,” adding that the damage will be fixed.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro told Fox News on Sunday that several citations have been issued to individuals accused of vandalizing the pool and warned that those responsible will be prosecuted to the fullest extent.
“Anyone who is in a position of vandalizing or attempting to vandalize the reflecting pool will face the criminal justice system in D.C.,” she said. “The president has made it a priority to make D.C. not only safe, but beautiful.”
Pirro also warned that anyone found to have poured products into the pool to generate algae could face more serious charges.
Trump said in a June 20 post that vandals destroyed the grass around the site and suggested some even poured “corrosive and destructive chemicals into the pool.” He said the pool’s water may need to be drained to allow repairs.
“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,” he wrote.
Trump said authorities have made multiple arrests in connection with vandalism at the reflecting pool.
In a separate post on June 19, the president said that 75 percent of the algae in the reflecting pool had been removed and that the issue was expected to be fixed early the next week.
The reflecting pool stretches 2,030 feet long and 167 feet wide, with a depth of 30 inches at its center. Trump first announced in March that he was working with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to clean up the pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, which he said was “absolutely filthy” and should have been cleaned during the prior administration.
Trump also announced earlier this month that he plans to build a promenade connecting the Lincoln Memorial and the Potomac River. The Lincoln Memorial honors Abraham Lincoln, the 16th U.S. president, who led the United States through the Civil War. It sits at the western end of the National Mall overlooking the Reflecting Pool.