President Donald Trump is using the vandalism of a beloved Washington D.C. monument to resurface his baseless claims that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool’s problems were not caused by him.
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The World War II Memorial— which the Associated Press reported has been vandalized with bubbles and the message “Clean hands dirty $” written in red paint — triggered a raging response from Trump Friday morning.
“THERE CAN BE NO GREATER INSULT TO THOSE AMERICAN HEROES WHO DIED IN WORLD WAR II,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “First the Reflecting Pool, now this. We are on their trail! Where do these animals come from???”
The president’s comment flies in the face of his own federal attorney in the District.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro dropped charges against an Olympian canoeist the Trump administration accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
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Pirro was finally forced to admit the Interior Department’s botched renovations were to blame for pool problems.
And Trump’s tone was not that of those with a closer connection to the site.
The Friends of the National World War II Memorial, a nonprofit organization that helps maintain it, responded with measured disappointment in a comment to the Associated Press.
“There are many places in our country for expression, debate, and disagreement,” the nonprofit said in its statement. “A national memorial honoring those who served and those who never returned home should never be used as a canvas for vandalism.”
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