I don't know if the claims of vandalism are true, but the temptation to vandalize was obvious and strong even before Trump started talking about vandals. Now, it's unavoidable, and I think we will never have our pool back where it belongs in the American psyche. It's a mess, a bone of contention, a symbol of everything and anything people don't like about Trump. The pool never worked as it was intended, and now its essential badness is glaring at us, and it will never calm back down into the serene murky swamp it once was.
June 21, 2026
"I was just a curious, concerned citizen. I guess I was there at the wrong place, wrong time."
Said David Carter Hearn, 67, "a cyclist and three-time Olympian as a canoeist who says he stopped at the [Reflecting Pool] on Friday just to have a look, then reached down to touch a strip of peeling blue paint mixed with the algae. The U.S. Park Police arrested Mr. Hearn shortly after, accusing him of destroying government property, a crime that can carry up to a 10-year prison sentence."
"The administration has not released the names of others accused of vandalizing the pool, a crime that Mr. Trump said on Saturday could lead to 'years in jail.' In a later post, he said without evidence that vandals had 'poured corrosive and destructive chemicals into the Pool.'"
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77 comments:
"Concerned citizen" is a tell. It's like the couple in Milwaukee who were just out for a pleasant drive with the kids and happened to end up in the middle of an anti-ICE protest.
I'm not for blaming anyone who might be innocent. But the NYT has taken sides.
"a bone of contention" Cuz progs started contending. Same with "controversial" topics/issues/policies.
The Pool don't work cause the Vandals burned with Candles.
NYT: ... "He said without evidence"
There it is again. The collective communist left's go to phrase.
What evidence do you have - NYT?
He was so concerned, he laid down on the pavement and reached in, just to touch it? That's some real concern, boy.
I guess they had evidence that he did that.
Nah - the left will buy their own smelly lies like they always do.
The truth will come out.
F the left.
At this point it probably makes more sense to repaint the Reflecting Pool and then fill it up with Lucite.
Canoeing is an Olympic sport?
On a long list of stupid authoritarian things…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/06/20/cyclist-arrested-reflecting-pool-denies-trump-vandalism-claims/
Sounds like the quality of a typical Trump construction project.
Shallow pools painted dark blue with little/no moving filtered water are likely to be green. Most adults know this.
Why not fountains instead of pool
Looks like downtown Minneapolis, eh?
Now tell us about the fake Whitmer kidnapping scheme - Kak-a-Bot(D)
or all the feds in masks at the Jan 6th set-up that you leftist so love.
the temptation to vandalize was obvious and strong
That's a feature, not a bug.
The park service can keep sweeping up wreckers until they all get caught up in the criminal justice system. Use it like a Japanese beetle traps.
My guess is that the reflecting pool will attract a certain type of vandal. BLM thugs, Somali pirates, and confrontational defund the police types won't be interested.
Leftists live to hate and damage things.
Shall we roll the tape of all the fire bombings at Tesla dealerships?
Washington DC never worked as it was intended, and now its essential badness is glaring at us, and it will never calm back down into the serene murky swamp it once was.
Isn't an article about a man arrested for vandalism some evidence that there might be vandalism involved. Kind of meta. The NYT asserts without evidence that Trump alleges without evidence.....Anyway, this is definitely an embarrassment for Trump, but the extensive coverage is also an embarrassment for the media. There have been any number of widespread fraud cases that have not received anywhere near this amount of coverage....I would have thought that the pool reconstruction would have been in Trump;s wheelhouse, but apparently no. And I would have thought that the media would latch onto stories about fraudulent learning centers with some enthusiasm, but apparently no...........Anyway, no DC jury will convict this man, and many public minded DC citizens will feel compelled to piss in the pool.......The pool has become the subject for serious reflection on the obligations government owes to its citizens and vice versa.. It's a meta reflection pool.
@DogandPonyShow beat me to my point.
"Isn't an article about a man arrested for vandalism some evidence that there might be vandalism involved."
The phrase "without evidence" appears in this context: "In a later post, he said without evidence that vandals had 'poured corrosive and destructive chemicals into the Pool.'"
Hearn seems to have been seen reaching in and touching the blue material that seems to be flaking off. That is some evidence that he was doing something destructive, but not anything involving corrosive/destructive chemicals.
Again - we are relaying on reporting from a known leftist source.
I'll wait for some validation and actual evidence.
Trump needs to learn that the left are poised and ready to attack him on any level for anything.
William - indeed.
Prediction No matter what repairs/improvements/ changes are made - the corrupt hate fueled left will continue to sabotage.
Why can’t the left just live and let live? They have to impose their mental illnesses on the rest of us. Inevitability it results in finding, like NYC did last month, that a handful of people are responsible for 98% of all the damage done by vandals. Lock them up.
The fascinating thing about the pee pool is that both sides are making the same institutional-trust argument.
The left says:
We don't trust federal law enforcement.
The right says:
We don't trust the press.
Ann seems to me to be standing a little outside both camps and saying:
Fine. But now the pool is ruined because nobody trusts anything anymore.
It reminds me of Steve Bannon’s political strategy to “flood the zone with shit”.
“I was just a curious, concerned citizen ….”
Concerned about what? Piranhas in the pool? An attractive nuisance for toddlers? Global warmings impact on the pool level?
AntiPOOL
It was CNN that tested the water and found “extremely high” levels of phosphates, which could be called a corrosive chemical and surely was introduced for the purpose of encouraging algae growth. There is plenty of evidence for he who has eyes to see or ears to hear.
I would like to hear more about the pool’s “essential badness.” Is this some inadequacy of design or an inherent Lovecraftian evil of which we were previously unaware?
this kind of shit analysis motivates to make sure leftie shitheads never acquire power again…
Q: Could a vandal pouring phosphates in a reflecting pool accelerate the accumulation of algae?
AI: Yes. Pouring phosphates into a reflecting pool would provide a primary nutrient source that acts as liquid fertilizer for algae. When high levels of phosphates enter shallow, stagnant, and sunlit water, they create ideal conditions for rapid and uncontrollable algal blooms.
People are caught on camera vandalizing the public property. Tests prove foreign substances were introduced. There is no defense in the stupid retort that “we don’t trust the government.” It’s irrelevant. Americans shouldn’t vandalize American monuments. Another 90/10 issue in which the tiny Althouse commentariat amazingly contains people who excuse the criminal behavior because Trump. You useful idiots will back any antisocial behavior so long as it makes you feel superior to Trump.
Will these idiot cretins ever grow the fuck up?!
Perhaps a year or three of “Community Service” after a 6 month stint in jail would help.
We should be grateful that this summer America is arguing about algae in a pool rather than rioting and starting another civil war.
There is a virtue in doing obviously good things that force bad people to reveal their badness. After a while, the normies will find it easier to identify the bad people.
Catch ‘em in the act, grab them at the back of their pencil necks and hold their misshapen heads under water as they reflect on their demise.
All those in favor, say “aye”.
must have scapegoats to cover for incompetence. Empty the pool and redo it correct with people who know what they are doing.
All the media that spent 4 years pretending not to notice Biden had the IQ of a sweet potato are now doing 24/7 live updates of current reflecting pool conditions. So on brand for our journalist super heroes
"I don't know if the claims of vandalism are true, but the temptation to vandalize was obvious and strong even before Trump started talking about vandals. Now, it's unavoidable, and I think we will never have our pool back where it belongs in the American psyche. It's a mess, a bone of contention, a symbol of everything and anything people don't like about Trump. The pool never worked as it was intended, and now its essential badness is glaring at us, and it will never calm back down into the serene murky swamp it once was. "
- Unavoidable? Only in the minds of people who have prejudged DJT because in their minds, he stole The Precious from Hillary.
- We will never have our pool back where it belongs in the American psyche? I'm not sure it was in the American psyche, except maybe in that of the protesters splashing about in the late Sixties. Was the water there ever pristine?
- A symbol of everything and everything people don't like about anything Trump? No. It's a symptom of irrational hate. Emmanuel Goldstein-level hate.
"... it will never calm back down into the serene murky swamp it once was." Given time, and proper care, it should become something better than it ever was. I'll reserve judgment for a while to see what becomes of it, but I'm optimistic.
Accepting the immediate destruction of the works accomplished under our short time in this world as inevitable is a choice, a lazy one, one that you may be all right with in your weakness and sloth, but do your neighbors deserve that, and do your descendants? Will we accept our legacy (all that matters at this point) to be one of neglect and parasitic self-absorption of what was handed to us at great sacrifice? We can do better, a lot better, but it takes some fortitude and principle. Do we at least have that in us?
Fill it full of dirt, plant some briars and label it “Green Acres”.
People are caught on camera vandalizing the public property. Tests prove foreign substances were introduced.
If you are referring to the reflecting pool, neither statement is true. If I am mistaken, please provide a link to the videos and test results.
All that rot requires is acceptance.
Vandalism is far superior than the left’s normal reaction of riots, arson and murder to anything they don’t like.
Sorry, I don't get it.
I saw a facebook video titled "Exclusive! RAW VIDEO. Man arrested for vandalizing Lincoln Reflecting Pool. He grabbed the hose that female National Park Service workers".
It shows a guy talking to someone by the reflecting pool, and there was a hose lying there, and then he was arrested.
What did he do?
In honor of Freder, fill it full of sand so Lefties can bury their head in it.
Or their over abundant scat…
BIRM
If the restoration was done wrong, then the contractor needs to fix it, but I haven't seen any evidence that anything was done wrong with the restoration. I see a lot of unsubstantiated claims. It's possible, but I find it hard to believe the contractor would screw it up so that this would happen so quickly on it's own. If you find bullet holes in your door, and your immediate impulse is to blame the carpenter for installing the door wrong, you might not be thinking it through.
“What did he do?”
Well, if he’s a garden variety lefty, he tried to jam that hose up his keister, the sorry SOB.
“Why can’t the left just live and let live?”
I say WE should live and let die.
"At this point it probably makes more sense to repaint the Reflecting Pool and then fill it up with Lucite."
Liquid mercury.
Mad Town Guy -
Excellent and indeed.
I dindu nuffin, man.
I'm the one who originally brought this story here, and if he turns out to be innocent, I apologize for infecting the discussion with bad data points.
I sincerely hope the contractor screwed up, and if so, Trump accepts that if it's true. The alternative is that we have a large number of politically motivated people who want our public spaced fouled and desecrated over simply losing an election. That is far far worse. The trouble is I'm pretty sure the second is true even if it's not the case here. We've already seen it, and much worse than vandalism.
If the contractor screwed up, I don't expect Trump to accept that, and it would be a failing of his. I do understand the immediate assumption that vandalism was at play. After watching years of property of innocent people vandalized, cities burned, and people murdered, it's the default assumption.
I'm reminded of a pivotal scene in Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451." In that future society, the protagonist was being hunted by the police and the chase was being televised live, as entertainment (prophetic or what?). The protagonist escaped, and the TV producers desperately needed their narrative satisfied, so an unlucky man nearby suddenly had a spotlight trained on him and was shot. The government's propagandist needs were met. That's exactly what just happened to this poor guy at the Reflecting Pool.
The reflecting pool was beautiful for a few days. We may just have to remember it as an ephemeral work of public art, like Christo and Jeanne-Claude‘s Surrounded Islands or Chihuly’s Float Boats.
So many questions.
Who are these vandals that Trump is going to prosecute? So far only the one arrest has been made public. Maybe he intends to prosecute the algae, or the water. Water always finds its way.
Was the reflecting pool not guarded? There are still a few thousand national guard stationed in DC. Surely a platoon or two was detailed to guard the reflecting pool.
Was Hearn caught with some type of tool? He says he was examining a loose piece of the sealant that was still partially attached to the bottom of the reflecting pool. Are we to believe he was able to pull that piece up with just his hands? Not very good workmanship if that’s the case.
How could it have been feasible to cause widespread damage with chemicals? Wouldn’t at least a tanker truck of chemicals be needed to have sufficient potency in the reflecting pool’s 6.5 million gallons of water? And wouldn’t these chemicals have to get under the sealant in order to cause it to detach?
How do you put a 250 foot long gash into the sealant with a knife or blade without getting caught? I do remember pictures of vehicles driving around on the new surface of the reflecting pool during the installation and thinking that might not be a good idea. That’s how the gashes got put into the new granite that Trump had installed in the White House Rose Garden.
I read one report that algae blooming phosphate levels tested too high to be natural, as the pool was actually filled with city water, not Potomac as claimed by some. AI says that it would only take half of a 50# bag of phosphate to get to algae blooming concentrations in the pool. The grass adjacent to the pool was vandalized with a chemical killing the grass in a "8647" pattern, maybe the other half of the bag? None of this means the contractor didn't screw up on the coating, but the algae is a separate issue.
I guess you really can fail a rohrschach test.
I saw the same Facebook video that Jim saw. The cyclist was arrested for grabbing the hose that park service workers were using to clean the pool. Now today we read that he was just a concerned citizen who touched the peeling liner. There was another video on the same Facebook page that talked about someone who removed a piece of the peeling liner. It sounded to me like there were two different incidents, but the video involving the cyclist talked about interfering with the park service hose.
My prediction: the cyclist will go to court and the charges will be dropped.
I thought the internet was going to make us all smarter. It can, but the same mechanism can make us dumber. If everything is a double-edged sword, there must be a God, and he's very entertained.
Fuck off with your link requests FF. Back up your own worthless takes. Everyone else is aware of the ABC and CNN tests on the water. CNN talks so much about the reflection pool that the Babylon Bee satirized them with a floating anchor desk in the pond.
"Peachy said...
Trump needs to learn that the left are poised and ready to attack him on any level for anything."
After being shot in the head I think he may have already figured that out.
"People are caught on camera vandalizing the public property."
So help us out and provide the link.
TDS should be considered a national health crisis and all those afflicted rounded up..........for their own protection, if you know what I mean.
one ounce of gold leaf will cover about an acre.
"I sincerely hope the contractor screwed up, and if so, Trump accepts that if it's true. The alternative is that we have a large number of politically motivated people who want our public spaced fouled and desecrated over simply losing an election."
Even if the contractor did screw up, that doesn't mean we don't have a large number of politically motivated people who want our public spaced fouled and desecrated.
I mean- all those statues didn't topple themselves.
I would note that at any time in the past three centuries most of literature and drama is not very good and some of it is excellent.
Why would I conclude that it was childish vandalism? Because I have a lot of experience with childish lefty tantrums and this is what they do.
Here’s Emily Miller’s video of the arrest. Miller is a journalist who happened to be on the scene and also happens to have served in the first Trump administration. Looks to me like Hearn got double Karenned by Miller and a National Park Service Employee.
Other people here claim to have seen the video. Can’t you find the same footage they watched?
Uh, did you read about the 8647 vandalism?
Basically same location. Its a massive 8647....that's not one dude probably. If they are willing to vandalize grass to do this, why would they NOT vandalize the pool?
I think this ups the possibility a lot.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/federal-authorities-investigate-giant-8647-markings-national-mall-rcna349717
…the bike doosh quickly comes up with the ‘Am I free to go?’ refrain…
Means + Opportunity + Motive + History of no punishment.
I have questions.
Surely there is surveillance film of the area. It's the National Mall. Perhaps it hasn't been disclosed by the government because it is "evidence" to be used in the suspect's prosecution. Remember January 6?
Who is this guy? Why haven't the media been all over his social media history? Is he an anti-Trump activist? A lunatic? A straight-out good guy whose neighbors approve of? If he smirked at a Native American activist we would know everything there is to know about him Yesterday afternoon.
Why didn't this guy's lawyer tell him to shut up?
Why didn't the NYT look into these things?
When your ox is government corruption and fraud and your ox is being gored you can’t openly complain so you try playing fast and loose with language- italics on- ballsy -italics off…and when that stops working you get frustrated and lash out, especially your political enemy pushing your buttons when you have no experience with your buttons being pushed.
…I hear sunrise walks help a bit…
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