Trump: Reflecting Pool ‘almost completely fixed’ with improvements

President Trump on Sunday said the improvements to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool are “almost completely fixed.”

Trump shared a photo of the grass near the World War II Memorial on the National Mall, where an etching of “86 47” was seen in the grass in June. The aerial shot also showed the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which underwent renovations that were met with public scrutiny.

“Look what VANDALS did to the grass connecting the vandalized World War II Monument and the vandalized Reflecting Pool, which will be opened again, and better than ever, shortly,” Trump wrote on Truth Social .

“Anybody who thinks the Reflecting Pool wasn’t vandalized should go back to Law School!” he continued. “The grass is being replaced shortly, and the Reflecting Pool is almost completely fixed, including the various inflow and outflow pipes, which we were saving for the end of the year, but will do now.”

Trump on Friday quoted the Interior Department in saying the latest Reflecting Pool renovations were “ coming out great! ” His Truth Social post noted the pool was partially refilled to allow National Park Service staff and contractors to flush the piping system.

The state of the Reflecting Pool has been a source of controversy for months. Trump repeatedly touted the multimillion-dollar project while it was underway, but it appeared to be gray and peeling after it was completed.

Trump has insisted the pieces of “American flag blue” coating and algae blooms seen in the Reflecting Pool were perpetrated by vandals .

The Department of Justice (DOJ) charged several people, including Olympic canoeist David Hearn, in connection with the damage to the pool, accusing Hearn of damaging the pool with his bare hands. The charges were later dropped , with U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro saying the issues with the pool were caused by botched renovations.

Trump later accused Pirro of having “choked” in her decision to drop the charges.

Trump, too, said there was “ some contractor error ” with the renovations. Last week, he quoted the Interior Department in requesting “ NO VANDALS PLEASE .”

The “86 47” in the grass, seen days before the UFC Freedom 250 match outside the White House on Trump’s birthday, has become a reference to showing opposition to Trump, with “86” commonly used in the food and beverage industry to refer to items or ingredients no longer available or removed.

The president has claimed the numbers are a threat to him, most notably after former FBI Director James Comey shared a photo of seashells shaped to spell out the numbers on social media last year. The post led the DOJ to indict Comey , who moved to dismiss the case last month.