WASHINGTON, June 21 (Bernama-dpa) — United States (US) President Donald Trump on Sunday alleged that “vandals” were responsible for the deterioration of Washington’s landmark Reflecting Pool, which has seen material peel from its floor just days after the completion of a multi-million-dollar renovation project ordered by Trump, reported German Press Agency (dpa).
Trump said on his Truth Social platform that “terrible vandals” had “poured corrosive and destructive chemicals into the Pool,” suggesting that this had caused the material to loosen.
The issue first came to light on Friday and involves paint applied to the bottom of the pool to give the water a blue appearance, according to media reports.
The exact cause of the problem was not immediately clear.
The Reflecting Pool is one of Washington’s most iconic landmarks.
The roughly 600-metre-long pool stretches between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, and served as the backdrop to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963.
Trump recently had the landmark renovated at a cost of about US$14.2 million.
As part of the project, the pool floor was coated with a dark blue finish that Trump has described as “American flag blue.”
The makeover had already encountered problems when huge algae blooms turned the water green. Park employees added hydrogen peroxide to the water this week in an attempt to combat the algae.
— BERNAMA-dpa