President Donald Trump told the media a month ago that the D.C. Reflecting Pool’s new coating was impervious to knives. Now, he’s claiming vandals destroyed it with a box cutter.

In recent days, the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has been the subject of controversy due to its pricey renovation and immediate deterioration. Trump promised the project to revitalize the pool would cost less than $2 million, but the budget eventually ballooned to over $14 million.

Making matters worse, green algae began to grow just days after the renovation was complete. Days after that, the new coat of paint installed at the bottom of the pool, which Trump dubbed “American flag blue,” began to peel and rise to the surface.

The president and his supporters have begun blaming vandals for the worsening conditions of the pool, claiming people have sought to make Trump look bad by ripping up the paint and pouring algae into the pool.

In a Monday evening tweet, The Bulwark reposted a clip of Trump telling reporters in May that the new coating was actually strong enough to withstand the exact thing he’s accusing vandals of doing.

“This will last for at least 50 years,” Trump said in May. “You’ll never have a leak. It’s very strong. You couldn’t, if you had a knife — I don’t want to give anybody ideas — if you had a knife, you can’t even cut it. It’s so strong, so powerful. It’s like powerful rubber.”

Then, on Monday, Trump was asked if the contractors of the Reflecting Pool’s renovation were to blame for its current condition. In response, the president said:

No, no, we had vandalism. No, vandals. We have a, I think, 290-to-300-foot slit right through it. Probably a box cutter or a knife of some kind.

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