President Trump posted Saturday, June 21, on Truth Social that vandals had slashed the lining of the National Mall’s Reflecting Pool and poured chemicals into the water — and that the pool would be drained again as a result. He said arrests had been made. He offered no evidence for any of it.
The post didn’t name suspects, identify the chemicals allegedly used, or point to any law enforcement agency confirming the arrests. No independent verification of the claims had been published as of Saturday afternoon.
This isn’t the first time the pool has been drained under Trump. The administration ordered it emptied earlier this year after the water turned green — a recurring algae problem that’s plagued the monument-flanked basin for decades. Whether Saturday’s claim is connected to that earlier incident or describes a separate event wasn’t clear from Trump’s post.
NPR, which reported the Truth Social message, noted the president provided no corroborating evidence. The National Park Service, which maintains the Reflecting Pool, hadn’t publicly commented on the alleged vandalism as of the time of NPR’s report.
Reported by NPR. Read the original report.
