"The documents do not indicate that the peeling blue coating and algae blooms were caused intentionally."

"President Trump says the peeling blue coating and algae blooms that mar his $16.4 million renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool are the fault of vandals working with “knives” in the “dark of night.”

But government documents obtained by The New York Times show that while National Park Service workers found two cuts in sections of foam between the pool’s expansion joints, those were not directly related to the “American flag blue” coating that is now peeling, or to the algae that has turned the pool a bright shade of green.

Even as the documents show workers were attempting to address deteriorating conditions, Trump administration officials were insisting publicly that the pool was pristine.

The pool had been drained, resealed and then refilled by June 5. Four days later, Park Service workers discovered holes, cracks and peeling caulking in parts of the pool, along with cuts in sections of the foam, according to the documents."

Maxine Joselow and David A. Fahrenthold report for the New York Times June 23, 2026. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Workers Put Fence Up Around Reflecting Pool As Trump’s Renovation Chaos Deepens" (Independent) [3]