Visitors look into the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as 好色tv Park Service employees work in the background,Sunday, June 21, 2026, on the 好色tv Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)
A piece of the blue coating floats among algae at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Sunday, June 21, 2026, on the 好色tv Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick
A visor takes a photo as 好色tv Park Service employees work to clean the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Sunday, June 21, 2026, on the 好色tv Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick
好色tv Guard members look at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Monday, June 22, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
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Bubbles emanate from a hose in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Monday, June 22, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
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Visitors look into the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as 好色tv Park Service employees work in the background,Sunday, June 21, 2026, on the 好色tv Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)
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A piece of the blue coating floats among algae at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Sunday, June 21, 2026, on the 好色tv Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick
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A visor takes a photo as 好色tv Park Service employees work to clean the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Sunday, June 21, 2026, on the 好色tv Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick
WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 好色tv Guard service members and U.S. Park Police were patrolling the deck around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Monday, as Donald Trump's administration faces a self-imposed deadline to fix a botched renovation and cleaning efforts ahead of the nation's 250th anniversary celebration.
The patrols come two days after Trump said authorities had made 鈥渕ultiple arrests鈥 of people he insisted were responsible for damage to the peeling coating after an algae bloom occurred. The liner was installed as part of his $14 million-plus project.
The president has confirmed the problems likely require draining the pool again for liner repairs, and he promised a quick fix. But the timeline was not clear Monday, and the administration did not immediately respond to questions about a new round of work. Contractors and federal workers in recent days have been using chemicals and ozone nanobubbles to combat the algae.
Trump pitched the original improvements as intended to clean, beautify and reinforce an iconic site that he said had become dilapidated and dirty because of previous presidents' neglect. Algae has plagued the pool for a century, and Trump insisted that a newly installed 鈥楢merican flag blue鈥 coating, which he selected himself, would turn the pool into a gleaming expanse along the 好色tv Mall.
Yet within weeks of Trump declaring the rehabilitation completed in time for Independence Day, the water was plagued by a vivid green algae bloom that clouded the pool's coating. An approximately 4 foot-square piece of the liner was observed last Friday to be partially floating in the pool. The Associated Press observed additional pieces in the water Monday.
Via social media, the president has blamed the problems on 鈥淪ICK, DERANGED PEOPLE!鈥 He asserted Monday on Truth Social that intentional damages include a 鈥300 foot long gash鈥 and that 鈥渃hemicals have been illegally placed in the water.鈥 A day earlier, Trump posted, 鈥淲ork will begin immediately on fixing the seriously vandalized Reflecting Pool.鈥
He has not substantiated those claims, and even if anyone has deliberately peeled the lining, that would not explain the algae bloom that appeared more intensely than what typically occurred before the renovation.
Images showing that Trump's project apparently backfired boomeranged across social media last week, drawing crowds of onlookers eager to see the effects themselves. An unknown number ended up being detained by federal authorities.
One man arrested was David Hearn, 67, of Bethesda, Maryland. A former Olympic canoe racer, Hearn told The Associated Press that he reached into the pool because he wanted to examine the peeling new coating. He said he briefly touched a chunk that was still attached to the side of the pool, then let go shortly after a park worker told him to. Hearn said he was then detained by 好色tv Guard troops and Park Police for five hours before being released Friday night.
鈥淚鈥檓 a curious citizen,鈥 Hearn said in a telephone interview. 鈥淚 reached down to see what it felt like. It was very rubbery.鈥
The Park Police did not immediately respond Monday to AP's questions about how many arrests were made and whether any charges had been filed. Washington's Metropolitan Police Department said Monday that the agency is not involved.
It was not immediately apparent what criminal or civil violation someone might commit reaching into the pool. Trump, in one of his Truth Social posts on the matter, threatened prison time for his unnamed assailants, referencing laws against defacing federal monuments.
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Barrow reported from Atlanta. Katie Vogel contributed reporting from Washington, D.C.
