President Trump said the newly renovated Reflecting Pool would likely have to be drained for repairs

[applegrove]

President Trump said the newly renovated Reflecting Pool would likely have to be drained for repairs, and accused people of vandalizing it.

— The New York Times (@nytimes.com) 2026-06-21T03:09:12.556866Z

Trump now claims the reflecting pool needs to be drained due to "vandalism" and has effectively assigned criminal liability to non-existent actors who are clearly being framed...by algae.

— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule.bsky.social) 2026-06-21T02:41:33.345Z

[dweller]

1. welp

I expect he will just east wing it now …
fill it in with rubble from the East wing demo ?

🤔


✌🏻

[applegrove]

2. I added his truthsocial post on the matter. He can't admit

it is all their fault.

Trump now claims the reflecting pool needs to be drained due to "vandalism" and has effectively assigned criminal liability to non-existent actors who are clearly being framed...by algae.

— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule.bsky.social) 2026-06-21T02:41:33.345Z

[Bluetus]

3. Trump is right. It was vandalism. Obviously.

By Donald J Trump.

[Lovie777]

4. More taxpayers' money.....

[dweller]

5. Has anyone seen

Police reports of vandals arrested ?

Anyone ?

Dimetrodon ?


😐



✌🏻

[Aussie105]

6. Repairing the not-repaired pool that went green?

Going to take time, effort and money to fix that mess.

Contract some competent people this time.

But those vandals, they are to blame and they are everywhere!

I bet they are antifa and libs!

Trump, like Bibi, sees enemies everywhere.
Are paranoia and blame shifting requirements for the leadership job?

[3catwoman3]

7. Oh, bullshit! The only vandalism was committed by none other than...

...Trump himself.

[GenThePerservering]

8. Fuck off, Trump

You stupid c*nt. Nobody believes you

[Kid Berwyn]

9. Vandals like them who drove over the reflecting pool in their limos?

The Beast alone weighs somewhere over 15,000 pounds plus all of King Traitor von Lardass driving over the delicate clay pipes that carry water for filtration, oxygenation and circulation to prevent algal growth.

[RedWhiteBlueIsRacist]

10. How shallow is Trump? He is so shallow, he fucked-up a body of shallow water.

[Tanuki]

11. Also Trump: "I don't take responsibility at all."

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/13/trump-coronavirus-testing-128971

"President Donald Trump on Friday deflected blame for his administration’s lagging ability to test Americans for the coronavirus outbreak, insisting instead — without offering evidence — that fault lies with his predecessor, Barack Obama.

“I don’t take responsibility at all,” Trump said defiantly, pointing to an unspecified “set of circumstances” and “rules, regulations and specifications from a different time.”

The remarks from the president came in response to questions at a Friday press conference about the lack of widespread access to testing, an aspect of his administration’s coronavirus response that has been the subject of widespread, steady criticism. Administration officials told lawmakers yesterday that the U.S. tested about 11,000 people during the first seven weeks of the outbreak — roughly as many as South Korea is testing each day.".... (more)

[Tanuki]

12. "The pump don't work 'cause the vandals took the handles."

- Bob Dylan, Subterranean Homesick Blues

[MustLoveBeagles]

13. 😂

[MineralMan]

14. Next, Let's Drain the White House and Install a New President!

[Johnny2X2X]

15. How is this playing on the right?

They wasted money and then lied about it. Now they’re making up stories and arresting people for no reason. And they’re going to drain it again and redo the job.

Like do people on the right just think it’s funny?

[struggle4progress]

16. "We're looking for someone with bribery convictions who wants to pay us to award a no-bid contract"

[applegrove]

18. The funny thing is if they drain the pool and put down

a new epoxy, how much is that going to cost? $1.7 million or $14 million? What to do, grifters, what to do?

[oasis]

17. Trump must answer to live media about this.

His Truth Social posts ain’t gonna get it done.

[Blue Full Moon]

19. Probably shouldn't have had his motorcade drive through it.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

20. MaddowBlog-Scrambling to avoid blame for Reflecting Pool fiasco, Trump's defense turns farcical

The debacle has become a metaphor of sorts, but not the one the president had in mind.

For Trump, the Reflecting Pool was supposed to be a totemic success story, demonstrating that his unique approach to problem-solving is fundamentally superior to his predecessors’.

This one project would serve as a metaphor for how awesome his awesomeness is.

Oops.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-06-23T13:15:51.138Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-reflecting-pool-fiasco-defense

There is a degree of irony surrounding Donald Trump’s Reflecting Pool fiasco. For months, the president obsessed over the renovation project, framing it as a metaphor for how awesome his awesomeness is: The Republican would tackle a lingering problem that vexed previous administrations, while delivering impressive results quickly and cheaply.....

With this in mind, the president came to realize in recent days that he needed an excuse — or preferably villains who could shoulder the blame for his own failures.

To that end, he began assuring the public over the weekend that he had succeeded beautifully, but that “vandals” intervened and ruined his triumph. At an unrelated White House event on Monday afternoon, the president went further, alleging nefarious criminals — some armed with “probably a box cutter or a knife of some kind” — attacked the Reflecting Pool with fertilizer and “did something to create the algae.”

The administration said five people were arrested on charges of vandalism, though without more information, it’s nearly impossible to say whether these people actually did anything wrong or whether they were charged as part of an inherently political exercise.

As is usually the case with Trump’s more outlandish claims, he has provided no evidence. At his Oval Office event on Monday afternoon, the president suggested the evidence exists, but he’s not yet prepared to share it.

Trump: I can't help it if somebody goes in with a knife and starts hacking it up. Uh... and we also have pictures of it.

Q: Can you release the photos?

Trump: At the right time you'll see it. You'll see it in court.

— FactPost (@factpostnews.bsky.social) 2026-06-22T20:41:36.507704516Z

......For good measure, the president also decided to whine about Barack Obama as part of the same clumsy presentation, though it wasn’t altogether clear why.

O'KEEFE: You said the guy was gonna do the reflecting poll in a week for about a million dollars. It's been two months and .5 million


TRUMP: Are you ready? Barack Hussein Obama

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-06-22T20:26:19.660Z

Indeed, one of the most amazing things about this story is the number of familiar boxes it checks. Trump fails to deliver on bold promises? Check. He relies on no-bid contracts and a rushed process that fell apart? Check. He concocts weird theories about his perceived enemies? Check. He desperately spins a fantastical tale with evolving details in the hopes of avoiding blame for his own failure? Check. His aligned prosecutors scramble to help justify his dubious claims with equally dubious charges? Check.

[HAB911]

21. He will never be able to correct it

nothing they try will be successful