President Donald Trump accused ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl of putting his hand into the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and trying to damage the newly installed surface. The accusation came as Trump was defending his administration’s renovation of the famous pool after algae, peeling coating, and vandalism allegations turned the project into a national media fight. Trump said vandals had been trying to destroy the work done to restore the area between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. He then singled out Karl by name, claiming the ABC reporter had been seen handling the pool’s surface during a report on the controversy.
The dispute centers on the Reflecting Pool renovation that Trump ordered ahead of America’s 250th anniversary celebrations. The project included draining the pool, resurfacing the bottom, and repainting it what Trump called “American flag blue.” The restored pool was supposed to be part of the administration’s broader effort to clean up and beautify Washington, D.C. Instead, the pool quickly became the subject of headlines about green water, peeling material, alleged vandalism, criminal charges, and questions about what caused the damage.
Trump’s post focused on what he described as deliberate attempts to damage the restored pool. He said there had been “real problems with Vandalism” at the Reflecting Pool and accused unnamed people of doing “everything possible” to hurt the new surface, as indeed arrests of vandals who cut up and destroyed the lining in the Reflecting Pool appear to show.
The president also argued that the algae trouble inside the pool was similar to chemicals allegedly used elsewhere on the National Mall, which would make sense in explaining the massive and immediate algae bloom. Then, getting to the real knockout blow of the post, he turned his attention to Karl, turning a media report about the pool into a direct accusation against the ABC News correspondent.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that “Lightweight ABC Reporter, Jonathan Karl, was seen sticking his hand into the Pool, and trying to rip the rubber off of the surface.” Trump also said the algae problem was mostly fixed and that the vandalized section was a small area that would be repaired. The post marked another escalation in the fight between the White House and the media over how the Reflecting Pool problems should be described.
The video Trump appeared to be referencing was posted by ABC News and showed Karl reporting from the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as workers continued dealing with algae and the new paint job. In the clip, Karl could be seen reaching into the water and moving a loose piece of material as he described the condition of the pool. ABC framed the report as a look at the pool’s peeling surface and the administration’s effort to explain what had gone wrong. Trump instead treated the moment as evidence that Karl himself was trying to damage the newly installed surface.
Watch Karl put his hand into the Reflecting Pool here:
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After calling out Karl, the president added, “The algae is 75% gone, and the condition will soon be completely remedied, and the area that was vandalized, fortunately, is just a small area of damage, and will be fixed early next week. It’s a shame that the Radical Left Lunatics, most likely Dumocats, who have spent their lives trying to ruin our Country, are free to do so. Law Enforcement is actively investigating this situation, and will hopefully have it resolved soon. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The Reflecting Pool story had already become a political fight before Trump’s comment about Karl. The Washington Examiner reported that the pool had turned bright green from an algae bloom after the installation of the blue coating. National Park Service workers were seen treating the water with hydrogen peroxide as officials tried to clear the bloom. Soon after that, the new coating at the bottom of the pool appeared to be peeling, which gave critics of the project another line of attack.
The Interior Department defended the project and said the algae issue was being addressed. According to another Washington Examiner report, the department credited advanced nanobubbler technology with killing algae that had long plagued the Reflecting Pool. Officials also said residual algae from supply lines was part of the normal startup process after construction. The department argued that the water was clearing and that workers were vacuuming dead algae from the bottom as the pool returned to its intended color.
The alleged vandalism side of the story also grew as officials described broader damage to the pool’s liner. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said vandals had cut or damaged the Reflecting Pool’s industrial liner, while authorities made multiple arrests connected to the damage. Fox News reported that Burgum said seven people had been arrested, multiple citations had been issued, and 18 police reports had been filed. Burgum also said investigators believed damage to the liner was caused by box cutters and amounted to an attack on one of the country’s most important national monuments.
One of the most prominent cases involved former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn. The Justice Department announced that Hearn, 67, of Bethesda, Maryland, had been indicted on one felony count of destruction of property tied to a June 19th incident at the Reflecting Pool. Prosecutors accused him of ripping a piece of recently installed blue sealant from the bottom of the pool. The charge is only an allegation, and Hearn is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The Associated Press reported that Burgum said the administration would not seek new bids for the repair work and would continue using the same contractor. Burgum said he was fully convinced vandalism caused the damage, while Trump claimed authorities had proof to support the vandalism allegations. The same report noted that the pool had been closed for the Independence Day celebration, though Burgum said that closure was tied to fireworks safety. The controversy also drew attention from Democrats questioning the contracts behind the renovation.
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.