President Donald Trump said Friday that the White House is searching for a "vandal proof material" following alleged damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C."The Reflecting Pool, so badly damaged by Deranged Vandals, has been emptied as the massive slash gets repaired.We got it through the great July Fourth Weekend.
What kind of animals would do such a thing?" the president wrote on Truth Social."We are looking for a Vandal Proof material, but such a thing should not have been necessary.The Scum in Court will hopefully be prosecuted to the MAX," Trump added.There have been multiple arrests in relation to the alleged vandalism of the basin, with Trump saying in late June that "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," and that "they also poured corrosive and destructive chemicals into the pool."LINCOLN MEMORIAL REFLECTING POOL DRAINED AGAIN AS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION RESUMES REPAIRSNational Park Service workers stand near a pump placed next to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Friday, July 10, 2026, in Washington.
(Mark Schiefelbein/AP)Trump ordered a restoration project for the Reflecting Pool earlier this year as part of his effort to refurbish D.C.landmarks ahead of the nation's 250th anniversary.The project was later beset by an algae bloom, and sections of the new blue coating began peeling from the bottom of the pool.FORMER US OLYMPIAN DAVID HEARN INDICTED IN ALLEGED REFLECTING POOL VANDALISMThe Lincoln Memorial and the Reflecting Pool are seen from the Washington Monument on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Washington.
Rahmat Gul/AP (Rahmat Gul/AP)According to court documents, U.S.Park Police responded to a report of damage at the Reflecting Pool on June 9.
Investigators said caulk had been spread over foam sealant that had been cut with a "sharp knife or razor," the newly applied surface coating had been damag...