A gash with a knife or other sharp object would not cause the paint/coating to come off in small irregular chunks like it has. Also, the only chemicals being poured in has been the hydrogen peroxide poured in by National Park Service employees.
https://www.npr.org/2026/06/21/nx-s1-5865636/trump-reflecting-pool-dc-vandals-drain-green
Trump claims vandals damaged D.C. Reflecting Pool, and says it will be drained again
President Trump has claimed that United States Park Police have made several arrests in connection with what he described as deliberate sabotage of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington D.C., which underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation earlier this year.
"The United States Park Police have arrested multiple individuals for vandalizing our Nations magnificent Reflecting Pool," Trump wrote on Truth Social late Saturday evening. "These are very serious crimes having to do with the destruction of National Monuments. Years in jail! Work will begin immediately on its repair."
In a second post on Saturday, Trump described the alleged damage in greater detail, saying more arrests had followed.
He provided no evidence for any of his claims about the nature of the damage, and neither the Park Police nor any other law enforcement agency had publicly confirmed any arrests as of the time of publication.
The president connected the alleged vandalism to the recent green color of the pool — again, without evidence. The pool turned green last week after being refilled following its renovation, in which its floor was repainted in a shade Trump calls "American flag blue."
"They took some form of knife or blade, and put a 250 foot long gash into the beautiful facade of what took so much work, competence, and money to build and complete. They also poured corrosive and destructive chemicals into the Pool."
Aquatic ecologists and pool specialists told NPR the discoloration was caused by a natural bloom of algae from the genus Desmodesmus — a process scientists say is common in shallow, sun-exposed bodies of water, and one that may have been accelerated by the renovation disturbing the nutrient balance of the water. A George Mason University professor who took water samples confirmed the algae was not toxic.
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