A federal court document confirmed a razor blade sliced 300 yards through the Reflecting Pool's new liner.
ABC News looked at that document and told viewers the pool had a paint problem.
Now Trump has ABC on the record lying about a crime scene – and the proof is sitting in a federal court filing.
The Vandals Left a Crime Scene, Not a Maintenance Issue
Trump drained the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool this week to repair deliberate damage.
He is not just saying that.
The National Park Service documented it in a sworn court declaration – a sharp knife or razor cut through the pool's new liner on June 9, slicing foam sealant installed as part of a $16 million renovation.
ABC News told viewers the pool was drained over peeling paint and algae.
Trump fired back on Truth Social and named the anchor by name.
"ABC Fake News and its shaky anchor, David Muir, said that the Reflecting Pool was drained to address Peeling Paint (there is no paint, it was slashed with a knife, or box cutter, high grade colored waterproofing liner – it was VANDALISM!) and Algae Blooms (also caused by Vandals, but removed long ago!)," Trump wrote.
https://twitter.com/RibGoneRogue/status/2076816480201801874?s=20
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum backed Trump up – the latest draining was planned to clear Fourth of July debris and repair vandalism damage before refilling.
That should have ended the story.
The Left Turned a Restored Landmark Into a Political Target
This was not random negligence.
Fox News Digital confirmed the June 9 liner attack was the first in what became a coordinated campaign against the newly renovated pool.
It did not stop there.
The same day, vandals ripped metal fence posts out of the ground and threw them into the water.
Then came "8647" markings across the National Mall – the anti-Trump slogan spray-painted on monuments throughout the summer.
Then someone wrote a message in their own blood on the Washington Monument.
Interior Department communications director Katie Martin told Fox News the Mall saw a dramatic spike in vandalism this summer – fuel lines cut, monuments tagged, fencing destroyed.
By the time authorities finished tallying the damage at the Reflecting Pool alone: five arrests, five additional federal citations, and fourteen police reports filed.
The highest-profile defendant is David Hearn – an Olympic canoeist who competed for the United States three times and now faces a felony malicious destruction charge carrying up to ten years in federal prison.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro alleged NPS workers witnessed Hearn "forcefully and violently" pulling at the liner with both hands during a June 19 incident.
He has pleaded not guilty.
What ABC Chose Not to Tell You
The NPS deputy director's sworn declaration confirming the June 9 knife attack was a public court document.
ABC had it.
They led with algae and paint anyway.
That is not a reporting oversight – it is an editorial decision made by people who do not want you thinking about the left deliberately destroying a national landmark Trump restored for America's 250th birthday.
Remember what ABC agreed to pay Trump after George Stephanopoulos spent years lying about his legal cases – $16 million.
https://twitter.com/washington_EY/status/2077025320478056720?s=20
The same network.
The same bias.
A different day.
Trump has now cleaned and renovated 60 monuments and fountains across Washington.
The left's response was to send people with box cutters to destroy what he built.
And ABC News covered for them.
Sources:
- Charlie McCarthy, "Trump Rips ABC Over Reflecting Pool Report," Newsmax, July 14, 2026.
- Staff, "Deranged Vandals Fuel Mall Sabotage Trend, From Blood Writing to Reflecting Pool Damage," Fox News Digital, June 2026.
- Staff, "Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Drained Again: Complete Timeline of Trump's Troubled Renovation," Newsweek, July 2026.
- Frank Lands, NPS Deputy Director Declaration, Federal Court Filing, June 2026.
