Trump blames ‘radical left lunatics’ and an ABC reporter for reflecting pool issues

President Donald Trump said law enforcement is investigating vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and suggested that “radical left lunatics” were behind some of the structure’s issues.

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Almost immediately after the completion of a $14 million renovation that was carried out at Trump’s behest, the reflecting pool has run into a myriad of issues. The water turned green from an algae bloom and the new blue paint has been peeling off the bottom.

“Just like three days ago, they destroyed the grass outside of the Pool, they’ve also done everything possible to hurt the inside surface that was just installed,” Trump wrote on social media late Friday, apparently referring to the stenciling of the numbers “86 47” on the lawn near the pool.

He added that vandals were trying to “destroy and demean our beautiful work.”

The president also accused ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl of “sticking his hand into the Pool, and trying to rip the rubber off of the surface.” Karl showed the peeling blue rubber from the bottom of the pool in a news segment that aired Thursday.

U.S. Park Police responded last week to a report of vandalism over the numbers “86 47” that were written into the grass near the pool. The Trump administration has called the use of those numbers in other instances a threat against the 47th U.S. president, an assertion at least one judge has dismissed.

The pool repair work had alarmed some Interior Department staff who expressed concern about the speed and quality of a contractor’s work on the structure, The New York Times reported last month, citing government documents.