President Donald Trump escalated his algae blame game on Monday with a social media post featuring an image of a demonstrator at the Reflecting Pool wearing an inflatable frog costume with the word "AMPHIFA" on its belly. Trump wrote on Truth Social: "Here is another example of a crazy pro-algae (likely paid) protestor."
Reflecting Pool Renovation Problems
Trump spent over $14 million in taxpayer funds to drain the Reflecting Pool, paint its bottom in what he called "American flag blue," and refill it with water. However, issues emerged quickly. The blue paint began peeling in chunks, and an algae bloom turned the water green. Experts suggested the new blue bottom may have inadvertently created favorable conditions for algae growth.
Protesters have gathered at the Reflecting Pool to mock Trump's efforts. Nadine Seiler, a protester, told WUSA: "I'm pushing back against the incompetence. This reflecting pool is a reflection of the incompetence of this fascist regime."
Trump's Unsubstantiated Claims
Trump alleged that vandals used "chemicals" to cause the pool's problems and claimed, without evidence, that someone used a "box-cutter or a knife of some kind" to cut a 350-foot-long slit—nearly the length of a football field including end zones. Several people have been arrested in recent days, though there is no indication they were involved with the algae, peeling paint, or chemicals Trump mentioned.
Seiler told WUSA she witnessed one arrest: "The man put his hand and touched the peeling blue paint, and that's what they're calling vandalism."
Social Media Reactions
Trump also complained about a protester's sign reading "First they came for the algae," a play on the 1946 poem by Martin Niemöller, a German pastor who initially supported Hitler before opposing the Nazis and being imprisoned in a concentration camp. On social media, critics mocked Trump's post, with one user saying, "He's losing it I can't stop laughing. Another new war, this one against algae." Another commented, "Trump is mad at a frog at the Reflecting Pool?"
The incident has drawn widespread ridicule, with many questioning Trump's focus on the pool amid other national issues.
