Trump Claims Vandals Cut a "350-Foot Gash" in the Reflecting Pool and Calls Them "Enemies of Our Country" — But the Government Won't Produce Any Records, the Gash Length Keeps Growing, a PolitiFact Reporter Couldn't Find It, and the Only Person Charged Is a 67-Year-Old Three-Time Olympian Who Touched a Piece of Already-Peeling Paint
As the Reflecting Pool renovation continues to unravel — algae, peeling paint, storm drains, $16+ million in costs — Trump has constructed an alternative explanation: vandals did it. He claims six people were arrested and seven cited for cutting "a 350-foot gash" in the sealant with "a very sharp knife or razors." He calls them "enemies" who "want to destroy our country." The problems: (1) The government has produced no records of these arrests — no complaints, no citations, no court filings. The New York Times reported "no records of arrests or citations have been produced to support the president's claims." (2) The alleged gash keeps growing: 150 feet, then 250, then 300, then 350. (3) A PolitiFact reporter visited the pool and saw no visible gash. Officers on-site could not point to it. (4) Interior Department staff noticed coating defects including bubbling and small holes in May — before any alleged vandalism. (5) The only confirmed arrest is David Carter Hearn, a 67-year-old three-time Olympic canoeist, who says he simply reached in to touch a piece of already-peeling paint during a bike ride and was held in a Park Police jail for five hours. (6) Pool experts say the polyurea coating is naturally chemical-resistant, and the tools Trump describes would cause only superficial damage. Former federal prosecutor Ankush Khardori: "My operating hypothesis is that this information is not being produced to the public because it would not support the president's claims." He compared it to a pattern where the D.C. U.S. attorney's office under Jeanine Pirro loudly publicizes cases that serve the narrative — like the "sandwich guy" arrest video — but goes silent when the facts don't cooperate. Khardori: "I don't believe him. I'll just be honest."