Interior Secretary Doug Burgum had a testy exchange with CNN's Dana Bash on Sunday after she questioned the Trump administration's claims that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was vandalized.
Appearing on State of the Union, Bash asked Burgum for proof of the vandalism that President Donald Trump alleged caused peeling paint and an algae outbreak at the pool, which has been plagued by issues since Trump ordered multi-million-dollar renovations.
Burgum asserts proof of vandalism
“You’re 100% sure that what happened with the liner was vandalism? You can prove it?” Bash asked.
“Oh yeah, absolutely you can,” Burgum replied. “And as we drain it, we’ve got all the photographs. We can see, I mean there’s no possible way—”
Bash interrupted to ask if the photographs specifically showed “a person or people cutting a 300 or 350 foot gash in the bottom of the reflecting pool,” as Trump claimed.
Heated exchange over liner damage
“Dana, I’m not sure why you and others in the media think that you want to keep trying to question whether or not—” Burgum snapped. “This is an industrial liner. Every farmer and rancher in America that’s had their pickup liner lined by this sprayed-on liner knows that you literally it would never just like peel off or fall off. This is like a strong material.”
Burgum maintained that the only way to have slices in one spot and not another was if “someone physically cut it.” He also claimed the pool had been leaking 45,000 gallons per day until it was fixed by Trump.
Trump's unsubstantiated allegations
Trump has made a series of unproven claims about the Reflecting Pool's issues. He has repeatedly asserted it was vandalized with a knife. Last week, while delivering remarks in Medora, N.D., he suggested algae had been maliciously placed in the pool.
“We got rid of the algae, which they put in,” Trump claimed. “They had a couple of people with signs [that said] ‘Protect the algae.’ Can you believe this? This world has gone crazy.”
