Trump Fumes Over Jeanine Pirro’s Reflecting Pool Case: ‘She Choked’
The president also snapped at a reporter for asking about Pirro’s employment.

President Trump is not happy over how Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, handled the prosecution of alleged vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.CNN reports that Trump is considering firing Pirro, a former Fox News host, over the Department of Justice’s legal admission that the pool’s peeling stemmed from “flawed” renovation work and not vandals like ex–Olympic canoeist David Hearn, who was federally indicted before charges against him were dropped.One unnamed source told CNN that Trump is “furious” with Pirro and thinks that it’s “highly likely she’s removed from her job,” while another told the network that the president was “blindsided” by the DOJ filing from Pirro’s office.“The president did not know beforehand that she was going to do that,” the source told CNN.Trump confirmed his dissatisfaction with Pirro Monday, telling reporters in the Oval Office that he thinks “she choked, because the judge was really vicious. Instead of going after the people that did it, the judge went after her and went after her department, and I guess she choked. I don’t know what the hell happened.”When a reporter asked Trump if he was reconsidering Pirro’s role, he snapped.“I don’t know what—you’re fake news. Don’t ever talk again. You’re fake news, one of the worst in the business. Fortunately, nobody watches you,” Trump said. Trump says Jeanine Pirro "choked" and then snaps at a reporter who asks if her job is safe: "Don't ever talk again" pic.twitter.com/dL7aLBO6h1— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 3, 2026Trump has made construction, beautification, and renovation projects around Washington, D.C., his highest priority in his second term, but his $14 million efforts to “fix” the Reflecting Pool keep failing. The “American flag blue” paint he added because he didn’t like the look of green algae was quickly obscured by, well, algal blooms. His contractors added hydrogen peroxide to kill the algae, failing to realize that it’s a paint thinner, and the blue lining started to peel away.Unwilling to admit that he caused the peeling, Trump went on a witch hunt against alleged vandals, which is where the spurious charges from Pirro’s office against Hearn came from. Now that the case has fallen through, Trump may soon take out his anger by firing Pirro. Meanwhile, the pool looks much worse than before.
The president also snapped at a reporter for asking about Pirro’s employment.
The president reiterated his disappointment with Pirro for a court filing in which her office blamed a contractor's shoddy work on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool rather than vandalism.
"She folded like an umbrella," President Trump said of Jeanine Pirro, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.
“I was disappointed in Jeanine Pirro. Really disappointed in Jeanine Pirro,” he added. “She folded like an umbrella.”
President Donald Trump said Monday that U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro “choked” in deciding to dismiss the indictment of a former Olympian accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. “I think she choked because the judge was really vicious,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “Instead of going after […]
President Trump said Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., “folded like an umbrella.” For now, her job appeared to be safe, according to two people familiar with the meeting.
Federal prosecutors dismissed charges against a former Olympian accused of vandalising the landmark pool, blaming contractors for a rushed job.