President Trump has threatened to slap ABC News with fresh lawsuits over the outlet’s reporting on his $14 million revamp of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool – which is turning green with algae after it was painted “American flag blue.”
Trump has claimed that the green tinge of the iconic 2,000-foot-long pool is a result of vandals who poured destructive chemicals into the water, adding that it will have to be drained for repairs and that authorities are actively investigating the matter.
“In describing the Vandalism that took place at the Reflecting Pool in Washington, DC, ABC FAKE NEWS, one of the worst in the business, even paying me $16,000,000 for past bad and inaccurate reporting, failed to report that their close ‘friends,’ Dumocrats Obama and Biden, spent over 100 Million Dollars on the Reflecting Pool, and it never worked. In fact, it was rarely open due to leaks and ‘stench,’” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Monday night.
“I spent approximately 16 Million Dollars, and it came out great, except for the Vandalism, which we are now fixing. It was also a much bigger job than originally envisioned, including the outer areas and sidewalks. We are preparing lawsuits against ABC for false reporting. I like their money, which will be given to the US Treasury!”
The Obama administration reportedly spent roughly $35 million on a reconstruction of the Reflecting Pool in the 2010s. It is unclear how much former President Biden spent on the pool, though he did not oversee any major repairs on the landmark.
ABC News did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
In a segment June 18, ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl stood near the Reflecting Pool as he reported on its green-ification – at one point bending down and lifting a peeling piece of the brand-new liner.
“You remember $14 million was spent to drain this whole thing and to paint the bottom ‘American flag blue’ was the color, he [Trump] said, to make it reflect more magnificently,” Karl said.
“As you can see, it’s all green now. They know that, they’re trying to kill the algae. But as they’re doing that, something else has happened. Check this out. That ‘American flag blue’ paint? It’s peeling away,” Karl said, lifting part of a shimmery blue strip of dried paint out of the water.
“The $14 million job to redo the bottom of this reflecting pool is falling apart before our eyes. The algae is still here, but the paint appears to be going away,” he added.
In a Truth Social post on June 19, Trump claimed the green appearance of the pool was the result of vandalism – and jabbed at Karl’s reporting, accusing him of ripping at the liner.
“No different than the chemicals that were used on the National Mall, they used something similar in the Reflecting Pool to try to destroy and demean our beautiful work. Lightweight ABC Reporter, Jonathan Karl, was seen sticking his hand into the Pool, and trying to rip the rubber off of the surface,” the president wrote.
“The algae is 75% gone, and the condition will soon be completely remedied, and the area that was vandalized, fortunately, is just a small area of damage, and will be fixed early next week.”
The grass on the National Mall was also defaced with a massive etching of the numbers “86 47,” which the White House has previously characterized as threatening – saying “86” is sometimes used as slang for getting rid of something, while “47” could refer to Trump as the 47th president.
Trump warned that anyone caught defacing the pool or the National Mall would face years in prison.
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Last week, federal employees and contractors dumped gallons of hydrogen peroxide into the water to fight off the rampant algae blooms, and used a swimming pool-style vacuum to clear out the bottom of the pool.
It would not be the president’s first lawsuit against ABC News, after he won a $16 million settlement from the network in December 2024 after anchor George Stephanopoulos falsely claimed Trump had been found liable for raping E. Jean Carroll. The president was found liable of sexually assaulting and defaming Carroll, but not of rape.
The following summer, the president clinched a $16 million settlement from CBS News over his claims that a “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris was deceptively edited to make her sound like a more coherent candidate.
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