Democrats were quick to respond with a clip of President Donald Trump's own words after he claimed that "vandals" cut the peeling blue paint from the bottom of his renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
The renovation of the Reflecting Pool has become a debacle, marked by recurring algae blooms, workers resorting to pouring hydrogen peroxide into the water to combat the problem, and a political blame game in which some Republicans have attempted to pin responsibility for the mess on Democrats.
The New York Times linked the problem to a separate $14.7 million no-bid contract awarded to Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings under a claim of urgent need.
The company was hired to apply a blue waterproof coating to the pool's concrete floor, but the coating has since shown signs of deterioration, raising further questions about the emergency contracting process and the quality of the work performed.
In remarks to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump blamed the project's problems on "vandals" who knifed a "slit" into the paint job:
"I think with a 290, 300-foot slit right through it, probably a box cutter or a knife of some kind. ... It's not a lot of damage but we'll probably have to let the water out and fix it. I was just told by the people over at Parks they have five people arrested and five people under investigation right now."
Trump called the incident a "sad thing" but when asked for proof to back up his claim that vandals had intentionally damaged the pool, Trump only said:
"Who would think that somebody would go into a pool and take a knife and start cutting it? Well, let's put it this way, when you have a 350, I think it's 350, not 250, when you have a 350-foot slit, from one end to the other, you think that's proof? You think that's proof?"
When CBS News senior White House correspondent Ed O'Keefe pointed out that reporters found no evidence of a "slit," and asked again for proof, Trump said:
"Well, you'd have to go see the Parks Department. They'll show it to you, or see, see the secretary, but I saw it. They cut it, they cut it very violently. The same thing with the floor, they cut it, and then they lifted it. They pulled it, and that's what it is." ...
"Yeah, at the right time you'll see it. You'll see it in court. You'll see it in court, but all you have to do is call the Parks Department, call the Department of Interior."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Trump's remarks caught the attention of the official Democratic Party X account, which hit back with a video from last month of Trump claiming that such an act would be impossible.
Because there's always a tweet:
"This [the Reflecting Pool renovation] will last for at least 50 years and you'll never have a leak. It's very strong. If you had a knife—I don't want to give anybody any ideas—if you had a knife, you can't even cut it. It's so strong and so powerful rubber."
"It is beautiful, sealed, and I looked at just one of the little pieces that they did the finish. It's like glass, beautiful color, beautiful everything. You could never get anything like that."
You can hear what Trump said in the video below.
Trump—and anyone who buys his story—were swiftly mocked.
Rest assured, there's always a tweet or a contradictory video where Trump is concerned.














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