Trump, without evidence, blames vandals for damage at Reflecting Pool; says 6 arrested

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that six people have been arrested over damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, as the president’s $14-million-plus rehabilitation project gone awry increasingly becomes a flashpoint ahead of the country's 250th anniversary celebrations.

In a social media post, Trump claimed without supporting evidence that there had been a “350 foot gash” in the paint as the administration faces a self-imposed deadline to fix the botched renovation before the nation's 250th anniversary celebration next week. He has also said, including again on Tuesday, that the federal government would release images to substantiate his claim.

Trump pledged to beautify the century-old Reflecting Pool ahead of the anniversary celebrations, draining its water and having the bottom painted a color he dubbed “American flag blue.” But since the site was restored, its water has been plagued with algae bloom and pieces of the new coating appeared to be peeling off the bottom.

Trump, without evidence, has repeatedly blamed the peeling paint on vandalism.

“It was purposefully and criminally done, and somebody had to work very hard, probably in the dark of night, to create such a condition,” Trump wrote Tuesday, adding that another seven people were cited for allegedly damaging the pool.

The U.S. Park Police and Interior Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the arrests or Trump's claim of vandalism.

The Associated Press verified that one man was arrested after touching the already-peeling paint. He said he wanted to examine the new coating, touching a still-attached chunk briefly then letting go shortly after a park worker told him to.

National Guard members and Park Police have been patrolling the deck around the pool after Trump insisted over the weekend that vandals were responsible for damage to the liner, without providing evidence.

Trump said Tuesday that the Interior Department will release images of alleged vandalism at the pool. Pressed by reporters after Air Force One landed in Pennsylvania for a visit to a trucking company, Trump said Interior is “going to share” photos and videos of the alleged vandalism, which remains unverified.

The president said Monday that the images existed and the federal government would provide them. No photos were made public as of Tuesday afternoon.

The arrests highlighted what’s expected to be tightened security in the capital ahead of and during the 250th anniversary celebrations, which are set to draw large crowds to the National Mall and other tourist sites.

Trump also said Tuesday that “some of the water” will be drained from the pool “either immediately before or after the Fourth of July, to do the permanent repair.”

It was unclear from his post what the scale, scope or cost of the permanent repair would be.

Atlantic Industrial Coatings, a contractor on the pool project, said it has identified some areas in the Reflecting Pool that require repairs. “These areas are a very small part of the massive 7 acre project, and do not indicate a failure of the liner,” the company said in a statement.

The company said it expected to make the repairs to the pool once it is drained, as part of the warranty.

Trump pitched the original improvements as intended to clean, beautify and reinforce an iconic site that he said had become dilapidated and dirty because of previous presidents’ neglect. Algae has plagued the pool for a century, and Trump insisted that the newly installed “American flag blue” coating, which he selected himself, would turn the pool into a gleaming expanse along the National Mall.

Yet within weeks of Trump declaring the rehabilitation completed in time for Independence Day, the water was plagued by a vivid green algae bloom that clouded the pool’s coating. A piece of liner, about 4 square feet, was observed Friday partially floating in the pool. The Associated Press saw additional pieces in the water Monday.

Trump told reporters Monday that he was told that vandals may have put fertilizer in the pool to develop algae. It was unclear who told him that or when that damage may have occurred.

“Somebody said they might have put fertilizer" in the pool, Trump said at an unrelated event Monday at the White House. “They did something to create the algae. But that doesn’t matter, because that’s been purified. It’s dead, laying at the bottom."

There is no evidence fertilizer has been added to the pool.

Workers were seen in recent days pouring hydrogen peroxide into the pool in an attempt to kill the algae. Hydrogen peroxide can act as a paint remover.

Experts say the dark lining can add to algae growth by absorbing more sunlight than lighter surfaces. That raises the surrounding water temperature, allowing algae to thrive.

Associated Press writer Josh Boak contributed to this story.

Visitors look at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Sunday, June 21, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick

Separation is seen in the blue coating on the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Monday, June 22, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Visitors watch as National Park Service employees use vacuums to clean the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Saturday, June 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

A National Park Service employee works to clean the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Sunday, June 21, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick

A piece of the blue coating floats among algae at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Sunday, June 21, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick

National Guard members look at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Monday, June 22, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

MACUNGIE, Pa. (AP) — President Donald Trump visited a Mack Truck facility in the swing state of Pennsylvania on Tuesday, attempting to shift attention to the U.S. economy in his first major public event outside the nation's capital since he signed an interim agreement to end the Iran war.

Trump's trip to Macungie, in the Allentown suburbs, comes as he works to try to put the conflict — and the higher gasoline prices it caused — in the rearview mirror as November midterm elections draw closer.

It is the president's fifth second-term visit to Pennsylvania, a key state whose support in 2016 and 2024 helped him to win the White House. The Macungie, Pennsylvania, facility is in the 7th Congressional District, where incumbent Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie faces Democratic challenger Bob Brooks in November.

The visit comes amid rising prices that could color the verdict voters render on Trump's stewardship in the fall. About one-third of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s approach to the economy, according to a June Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. That’s in line with last month for Trump on the issue.

The Iran war, which began Feb. 28, has also been a politically difficult issue for the president. Most Americans continued to disapprove of his handling of Iran, according to the June AP-NORC poll, which was being fielded as Trump announced a tentative deal with Iran and concluded just before the interim agreement was signed last week. It found about two-thirds, 65%, of U.S. adults disapprove of how the president is handling issues with Iran, unchanged from May.

Still, while most Democrats and independents view Trump’s actions negatively, only about 3 in 10 of Republicans are unhappy.

Trump was in the kind of swing district that may prove pivotal to Republicans holding narrow control of the House, where a loss could hobble the president's final two years in office. Mackenzie, a freshman lawmaker, is looking to hold onto a district Democrats have targeted to flip. Brooks, president of the state firefighters' union, has support from Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, who's also seeking reelection this year.

Trump's predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, also visited the Mack Truck facility to highlight regulations aimed at promoting manufacturing jobs. Manufacturing employment peaked in 1979 at nearly 19.6 million jobs. It trended downward after the 2001 recession and the 2007-09 Great Recession. The figure now stands at 12.6 million as of May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Trump did a private tour of the factory, then gave a speech from a stage erected on the factory floor with rows of workers in fluorescent safety vests standing behind him under a large “America Workers First” banner. Two red and white trucks frame the stage where a lectern bearing the presidential seal has been set up.

“For more than 100 years, this legendary company has been making trucks right here in eastern Pennsylvania, building the heavy duty machinery that keeps our economy rolling, our factories moving, and our industries roaring all across the nation,” the president said.

Trump urged the crowd to support Mackenzie, saying of his trip, “I'm not doing this for my health.”

Trump also said he was pushing policies to promote “America first” and said that he stood up to Iran to ensure that it never developed a nuclear weapon. The president also trumpeted the stiff tariffs he imposed on U.S. trade partners around the world before the Supreme Court found most of them unconstitutional.

In 2025, the truck facility got hit by market uncertainty, including the tariffs Trump imposed, and about 170 people were laid off, according to Mack spokesperson Kimberly Pupillo. She added that by the end of last year almost 150 people were recalled to work and anyone laid off last year was given the chance to return.

There are about 2,800 workers at Mack, Pupillo said.

At a pizzeria down the road from the truck facility, workers and diners said they'd heard about the president’s visit and recalled Biden’s trip to the plant.

George Carver, a retired elementary school principal, said he wasn’t a fan of Trump’s: “I’m looking for a president who’ll clean up this mess,” he said, meaning improve the economy and better handle the war in Iran and immigration.

“I’m looking for someone who’s gonna tell the truth — that could be a Democrat or Republican,” Carver said.

Trump's visit underscores Pennsylvania's status as a crucial swing state.

Trump visited Mount Pocono in December to road test messages that he's addressing affordability; in July 2025, he was in Pittsburgh to tout tens of billions of dollars of recent energy and technology investments in the state; in June 2025, he was in West Mifflin to tell steelworkers he was doubling the tariff on steel imports to protect the industry; and in March 2025 he attended the NCAA wrestling championship in Philadelphia.

Denise Green, a retired software trainer, was among a handful of people protesting the visit at a McDonald’s across the street from the plant. She held a sign that said “Hey DJT Why are you ruining our country?”

Green said she was a former Republican who became a Democrat in 2007 because her original party backed policies where “all the money" was going to the rich.

Green said her key issue was Social Security funding, which she said she’ll need but is worried could run out.

“It’s outrageous,” she said.

President Donald Trump speaks to the media after disembarking Air Force One at Reading Regional Airport, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Reading, Pa. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

People wave as President Donald Trump's motorcade goes by Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Reading, Pa. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

President Donald Trump speaks to the media after disembarking Air Force One at Reading Regional Airport, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Reading, Pa. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

President Donald Trump prepares to board Air Force One, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House during an executive order signing about quantum computing, Monday, June 22, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)