(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Trump deflects from Reflecting Pool failure by arresting ‘vandals’ [1] ['Emily Singer'] Date: 2026-06-22 The United States drifted further toward becoming a fascist state over the weekend, when at least five people were arrested at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, in Washington, D.C., on dubious vandalism charges. The arrests came after President Donald Trump said the problems with the Reflecting Pool, including a massive algae bloom and its peeling blue paint, were the fault of vandals rather than stemming from his own incompetence after he spent $13 million renovating the pool. “What these terrible Vandals have done is a true affront to both Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and should be dealt with accordingly,” Trump wrote Saturday in a Truth Social screed, a tacit call to authorities to arrest people who dared touch the paint floating on the pool’s surface or blowing across the surrounding area. He continued, “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. They also poured corrosive and destructive chemicals into the Pool.” AP Visitors watch as National Park Service employees use vacuums to clean the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, on June 20. Trump made more threats on Monday morning, saying the supposed vandals made a “300 foot long gash” into the pool and reminding Americans that “there is a 10 year prison sentence for the destruction, or even the attempted destruction, of such things – Which will be fully enforced!” Of course, these alleged vandals did not cut a gigantic gash into the paint. Rather, they pulled out of the water floating chunks of the epoxy, which clearly peeled off due to the incompetent work done by a contractor to whom Trump gave a no-bid contract. In fact, the “vandals” are more likely to be Trump and his aides, who drove SUVs across the drained Reflecting Pool and over some of the painted areas. What’s more, when it comes to “corrosive and destructive chemicals” poured into the water, it was park service employees who dumped jugs of hydrogen peroxide to try to kill off the algae bloom that had turned the pool green within days of being refilled. Experts say the bloom was exacerbated by the pool’s “American flag blue” paint, which Trump had ordered. It was dark and caused the water to heat up—an environment algae thrives in. Now, Trump is ordering arrests to give credence to the conspiracy theory he and other MAGA freaks concocted to explain away the fact that he blew millions of taxpayer dollars on yet another vanity project. Of course, it’s not the first time Trump and his administration made baseless arrests to distract from their failures. Last year, Trump’s Department of Justice tried and failed to charge Sean Charles Dunn—a man who hurled a sandwich at federal immigration officers—with felony assault. That was one of many other failed indictments of other protesters demonstrating against Trump’s violent immigration raids. Ultimately, the Reflecting Pool debacle was initially funny—another high-profile unforced error from Trump. But it’s no longer something to laugh at. Now, innocent people are being arrested and used as fall guys to explain away Trump’s incompetence—something that you’d see in an authoritarian state like North Korea. AP Water from a vacuum line being used by National Park Service employees to clean the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool pours into a nearby drain, on June 20. As for the Reflecting Pool, Trump on Sunday said it will be fixed up again, possibly costing taxpayers even more money. “Work will begin immediately on fixing the seriously vandalized Reflecting Pool,” Trump wrote Sunday evening in a post on Truth Social, lying about the cause of the pool’s algae bloom and peeling paint. “I just inspected it, and could only say to myself, and those gathered around me, WOW, who would do such a thing? SICK, DERANGED PEOPLE! We will fix it?” It’s unclear whether Trump meant to use a question mark at the end of that sentence, but it’s fitting since we, too, are unconvinced he will fix the problem. After all, it’s near impossible to keep a massive tank of nonchlorinated water clear. Ultimately, almost no one cared about the pool’s color before Trump made it an issue. Unfortunately, we now have to care since our tax dollars are being wasted in yet another quagmire of Trump’s own making, even as he says there are not enough tax dollars to help offset the skyrocketing cost of living for average Americans. What a mess. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/6/22/800059058/news/trump-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool-peeling-arrest-fall-guys/ Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/