Fox News host Laura Ingraham faced widespread criticism on Tuesday after she suggested that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is in poor condition because people continue to vandalize it, and that Democrats are to blame. “Will any Democrat urge people not to vandalize the Reflecting Pool?” Ingraham wrote on X.
President Donald Trump has been focused on cleaning the Washington, D.C., landmark ahead of America’s 250th anniversary celebration this summer. He launched $14 million in renovations, but the water became infested with algae, turning green, and new paint began to chip off.
Demand for Evidence
Celebrity chef José Andrés, founder of World Central Kitchen, responded on X: “Come on Laura, no one has vandalized the Reflecting Pool….no one!” Another user demanded: “Provide proof of someone vandalizing the reflecting pool.”
Trump has blamed the pool’s state on his Democratic predecessors and accused ABC News of failing to report on maintenance costs incurred by past administrations. He threatened to sue ABC over its reporting on his failing renovation. Trump also baselessly claimed vandals “went in there with a knife,” which Ingraham appeared to echo.
Social Media Pushback
Critics responded with sharp digs. One user wrote: “We’ve been trying to get Trump to stop but he just keeps messing with it and making it worse. Here you go: I urge Trump to stop vandalizing govt property by employing people with our tax dollars who don’t know what they’re doing.”
Another noted: “If someone else vandalized it then there would be footage of it running 24/7 on Fox.” A third echoed: “We didn’t want Trump to do it in the first place. And as you know, Ms. Ingraham, the pool is under 24-7 surveillance. It hasn’t been vandalized.”
Contract and Costs
The no-bid $1.7 million cleaning contract was awarded by the federal government to Green Water Solutions, a company owned by Trump donor J.J. Cafaro. The firm is using a “nanobubble” filtration system to fight the algae, with clearly lacking results.
A National Park Service member was seen last week trying to remove algae from the pool. The extensive pushback on social media centered on calls for proof, with users demanding video evidence from the 24/7 CCTV cameras that monitor the site.
