Trump Blames Vandalism for Reflecting Pool Problems
President Donald Trump says vandals caused the algae blooms and peeling paint at the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool. He speaks with reporters in the Oval Office. (Source: Bloomberg)

CNN's Tom Foreman sounded surprised at his own reporting as he provided an update on the ongoing Reflecting Pool saga.President Donald Trump has blamed vandals for the problems that have plagued his $14 million renovation of the pool, which turned green with an algae bloom once it was refilled following a paint job that is already deteriorating. At least five people have been arrested for taking chunks of the damaged materials from the water."The only name we really know is a former Olympian, David Hearn, a local guy here, and he said he went by and all he did was reach in there," Foreman told "The Situation Room." "He is competing in the slalom canoe for the United States of America. He said he's a material scientist; he studied material science. He reached into the water just to touch this, to see what it was like, to see what this material was like, where it was already loose, and then they came along and they arrested him for this.""Part of the question here is," Foreman added, "if they're arresting him for that being damage, just because he touched it, as he said, the question is, what about the dozens and dozens of workers who have been in there day after day, walking all over it, pushing these little vacuum things all over it, potentially, that causes damage to."Foreman then described the ongoing efforts to undo the damage in time for the July 4 celebrations, which are less than two weeks away, and he seemed caught off guard by the latest developments."In any event, the algae is not under control," he said. "It's still there as of this morning, even though they're trying to get it cleared up, and now they're talking about maybe having to drain the whole thing and start over, literally putting tax money, well, figuratively, I guess, down the drain."Foreman then explained why Trump seemed so focused on fixing the damage his update had caused."He ridiculed all former presidents, saying all their efforts were just foolish, a waste of money, and I can do it for less than $2 million," Foreman said. "It ended up costing seven times that much, and so far shows no signs of working any better than anything that was tried before." - YouTube youtu.be
President Donald Trump says vandals caused the algae blooms and peeling paint at the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool. He speaks with reporters in the Oval Office. (Source: Bloomberg)
Former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, charged in Reflecting Pool vandalism, has ties to ActBlue and donated to Barack Obama's campaigns, records show.
Gov. Tim Walz's viral jab at Trump over the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool cleanup drew conservative blowback pointing to Minnesota's fraud scandal.
The controversy surrounding the recent Los Angeles mayoral election could become one of the most consequential political battles of President Trump’s second term — and BlazeTV host Liz Wheeler believes it’s time for the president to do something about it.“The Democrats have in a chokehold the election system. They have taken it away. They have stolen the election system from the people, and it is now in their control. So the outcome of these elections is essentially predetermined,” she begins.And Republicans, Wheeler says, “have a very big, daunting job to clean up our election systems.”“The American people voted for Trump because they want justice, because we want justice for all of the things that were done to us,” she explains, pointing out that the stolen election in Los Angeles is now a “golden opportunity” for Trump to take action.“And you should do that because it’s the right thing to do. You should do that because it’s your constitutional duty to make sure that we have free and fair elections,” she adds.And if Trump does take action after the outcome of the Los Angeles election, Wheeler predicts his base support will “balloon” and “increase exponentially.”“That energy will come roaring back if you pursue justice in the L.A. elections. What will happen is, you will have enormous midterm turnout because nothing motivates the base like justice does,” she says.“And this time, this is different than 2020. This time we have actual evidence that crimes were committed. We have evidence of how the Democrats stole this election,” she continues, explaining that there’s proof of election fraud via video.In the videos, which Wheeler plays, L.A.'s “homeless” tell reporters that they were paid to cast votes for Democrats. “This is not speculation. The fact that the majority of the fraud that happened happened on Skid Row with these 43,000 drug addicts who the left calls homeless, but we know they’re addicted, most of them,” Wheeler says.“What the Democrats did and are doing is wrong,” she says, adding, “but it is also a golden opportunity. And for this, Spencer Pratt seems to understand, and I’m very appreciative of that.”Want more from Liz Wheeler?To enjoy more of Liz’s based commentary, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
Comedian John Oliver warned Sunday that President Donald Trump's profane attack on Barack Obama is going to come back to haunt him.On "Last Week Tonight," the HBO host zeroed in on Trump's G7 appearance in France, where the president, seated beside Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, mocked Obama's 2015 nuclear deal, which Trump tore up in his first term, and claimed Iran once "laughed at Obama" and called him "a stupid son of a b----" over a $1.7 billion payment.Oliver pointed out that Trump's own memorandum of understanding commits Iran to receiving at least $300 billion in reconstruction aid. “If Iran called Obama a stupid son of a b---- for letting them get $1.7 billion, I think we’re about to find out what the Persian word is for someone 300 times dumber than that,” Oliver quipped.The host argued the agreement is "less a comprehensive peace deal and more a plan to eventually have one, with some pretty big holes in it," noting it "doesn’t even address Iran’s nuclear program—supposedly the whole point of this war in the first place.” He also flagged that the deal has been criticized within Trump's own party.Even as Trump keeps boasting that his deal beats the one Obama struck in 2015, the former president gave his own verdict in an NBC interview that aired Friday.“We’ve now fought a war, spent billions and billions of dollars, you know, put enormous strain on our military, a lot of people have died, and it feels like we’re back where we were before we started the war,” Obama said. “Except maybe a little bit worse.”
Alan Dershowitz is scheduled to sit down with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on July 20 as part of its sprawling investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and the government's handling of his case, according to Politico."I asked to be allowed to set the record straight and correct various misconceptions," Dershowitz said in a text message. "I look forward to doing so."The prominent defense attorney, whose past clients include O.J. Simpson and President Donald Trump, was part of the legal team that negotiated Epstein's controversial 2008 plea deal, which let the financier plead guilty to Florida state charges, including soliciting prostitution from a minor, and avoid federal sex-trafficking charges. Critics have long argued the lenient deal allowed Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019, to keep abusing girls for years before his later arrest.Dershowitz, who has said he wants to testify publicly and "about everything," has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing connected to Epstein's crimes. He has also proclaimed his innocence over an accusation by Virginia Giuffre, who alleged Epstein trafficked her to him. Giuffre withdrew the claim in 2022, saying she "may have made a mistake." She died last year.Dershowitz's appearance would add to a roster of high-profile figures the committee has questioned, including Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Bill Gates and Ghislaine Maxwell, as Epstein's survivors continue demanding answers. The panel is also expected to interview investor Leon Black, whose Epstein ties have faced scrutiny for years.
The President is threatening jail time for the alleged vandals he's blaming for damaging the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall in Washington.
A long-time expert in swimming pools knows the culprit behind the Reflecting Pool "vandalism" that caused an ongoing algae bloom. For the past several weeks, CNN has welcomed on "Swimming Pool Steve," a second-generation pool builder who has a YouTube channel dedicated to explaining aspects of swimming pools and hot tubs. Speaking to host Boris Sanchez on Monday, Steve Goodale said there would always be an algae problem in the Lincoln Memorial's Reflecting Pool. "Let's start with the algae leak theory," Sanchez began. "What is more likely: that someone planted this algae or that it occurred and spread naturally?" "Well, somebody definitely planted the algae and it was the very first bird that landed in the water," said Goodale. "You know, in an open-air environment like this, there's no stopping the algae from coming. It's going to be in the water. It's just how are you going to deal with it knowing that it will be expected."The way to fix it, he explained, is a multi-pronged solution: the pool must be drained and the immediate remediation would likely follow. The algae problem is likely to be back-burnered, he said, while they figure out the problem with the liner. Monday morning a baby duck was found dead in the pool's water, prompting Sanchez to question whether the new chemicals put in the pool could be the culprit. "It would really come down to a matter of concentration," said Goodale. "And again, we're talking about, you know, 6.5 million gallons of water or more. So, it would take an awful lot of product to get to dangerous levels of contamination here. It's why hydrogen peroxide would be commonly used for an open-air, clear water environment like this, because it is kind of the safer of the options. It's why we don't use something like chlorine, which wouldn't be as safe for the wildlife."He also passed along his sympathies for the tragic death of the baby duck. Sanchez then asked about Trump's claims of vandalism and the "300-foot gash" that was carved into the liner. Goodale explained that the material used is one that would require considerable equipment to produce the gash Trump described. "You know, in my experience, and, you know, when I heard that it had been vandalized as well, my reaction was surprise as I really tried to understand the mechanism of damage that would cause this kind of vandalism," he said. Goodale said it would be noticeable and require advanced equipment like power tools."This is a robust, strong puncture-proof material," Goodale said of the lining installed by Virginia-based contractor Atlantic Industrial Coatings. "That's why it was likely chosen for this application. It's why it's used in commercial and industrial applications. So it would take, absolutely, a concerted effort. I don't know exactly — what it would take, but it would take a concerted effort to cause significant damage like that."In an earlier conversation, CNN reporter Manu Raju called on the White House to release footage of the vandalism that caused the gash.