Trump Slammed After He Threatens To Sue ABC News For Their Reporting On Alleged Reflecting Pool Vandalism

President Donald Trump was called out after he threatened to sue ABC News over their coverage of the alleged vandalism at his renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, criticizing the network for failing to report that "Dumocrats" also spent millions on the 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.

To make matters worse, paint has reportedly begun peeling from the floor of the Reflecting Pool. 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.

Trump has gone so far as to claim that "vandals" used "probably a box cutter or a knife of some kind" to make a "slit" in the pool's paint job, though he did not provide any proof to back this up.

After ABC News reported Monday that Trump continued to blame vandals for the peeling paint and other problems at the Reflecting Pool, while noting that he "provided no evidence of vandalism himself," he took to Truth Social to attack the network:

"In describing the Vandalism that took place at the Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., ABC FAKE NEWS, one of the worst in the business, even paying me $16,000,000 for past bad and inaccurate reporting, failed to report that their close 'friends,' Dumocrats Obama and Biden, spent over 100 Million Dollars on the Reflecting Pool, and it never worked."

"In fact, it was rarely open do to leaks and 'stench.' They wanted to spend 300 to 400 Million Dollars, but just let it ROT. I spent approximately 16 Million Dollars, and it came out great, except for the Vandalism, which we are now fixing. It was also a much bigger job than originally envisioned, including the outer areas and sidewalks."

"We are preparing lawsuits against ABC for false reporting. I like their money, which will be given to the U.S. Treasury!"

You can see his post below.

@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social

Trump's post came hours after he claimed in remarks to White House correspondents gathered in the Oval Office that former President "Barack Hussein Obama spent over two years and $100 million on trying to fix" the Reflecting Pool. Trump claimed Obama took "water from the river" described as "putrid" that "destroyed the whole thing."

After defending his administration's work on the Reflecting Pool, he said he "can't help it if somebody goes in with a knife and starts hacking it up." He claimed evidence would be presented "in court" and that reporters should simply reach out to the Parks Department to find out more.

Trump was harshly criticized following his outburst.

Trump's hostility toward ABC News is well documented.

The network agreed to pay him $15 million, along with an additional $1 million in legal fees, to settle a defamation lawsuit stemming from comments made by George Stephanopoulos regarding E. Jean Carroll.

Trump also singled out ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl in April over his book, Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign That Changed America. During his criticism, Trump once again branded ABC as "fake news" and boasted about the settlement, mockingly referring to the case as the "Slopadopolus error."

Figures he'll act this way—don't expect to see any proof of this "vandalism" while Trump creates another distraction.