Social media users can't get enough of a satirical AI-generated video of the gang from Scooby-Doo helping President Donald Trump figure out what happened to the 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 Trump administration hired a contractor 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.
Notably, after defending his administration's work on the Reflecting Pool, Trump 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.
After ABC News reported 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 threatened to file a lawsuit against the network.
But this whole mess feels a little more palatable now that Jason Moore, an Ohio-based graphic artist, has produced a video mocking the whole affair with the help of Scooby-Doo and his team of mystery investigators.
@b..dub7 On Mystery Gang‼️. Zoinks! Mystery Inc. has been called to Washington. 🔎🐾 When the Reflecting Pool mysteriously turns green, Donald Trump calls in Scooby-Doo and the gang to find the vandals responsible. But Velma starts finding clues that suggest there may be a little more to the story... SCOOBY-DOO: The Mystery of the Reflecting Pool A vintage Saturday-morning-cartoon-style political satire from Midnight Oil Productions. Parody/Satire. #ScoobyDoo #DonaldTrump #PoliticalSatire #fyp #viral
The clip begins with Trump calling Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. gang to the Oval Office to investigate what he claims are “vandals” who turned the Reflecting Pool green. The gang searches for evidence and encounters a fictional “Potomac Muck Man,” which Shaggy and Scooby chase while Velma examines the pool.
The mystery is ultimately solved by Velma, who discovers evidence of peeling paint, damaged liner and a rushed no-bid repair contract. She concludes that there were no vandals and that the pool’s problems resulted from dark paint and shoddy contractor work.
The joke culminates when she unmasks the Muck Man and reveals Trump as the culprit, accusing him of inventing the vandal story to conceal his own responsibility:
“There were never any vandals. The dark paint made the perfect conditions for this whole debacle, and the contractors botched the job, which led to the liner peeling itself."
“He played the Muck Man and made up the whole vandal story to scare everyone off before they figured out he was responsible for the whole thing."
Trump replies:
“And I would've gotten away with it too if it weren’t for you meddling kids.”
The clip closes with D.C. Attorney General Jeanine Pirro saying:
“Oh, you’re going to get away with it. We’ll see to that.”
That final note is interesting considering Trump lashed out at Pirro after the Justice Department conceded that Trump's overhaul of the Reflecting Pool was "hasty and botched." The DOJ moved to dismiss the criminal charges against Olympian David Hearn, who had been accused of damaging the site.
People couldn't get enough of the video.
The Trump administration also charged three other individuals as part of its campaign to blame the Reflecting Pool's deterioration on vandalism. All three pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor offenses, and prosecutors have since dropped the charges against at least two of them, according to court records and one defense attorney.
The Justice Department conceded in its court filing that signs that large sections of the pool's blue liner were peeling away appeared more than a week before Hearn ever visited the site.
Hearn's legal team says the government owes their client an apology, noting that having the charges dismissed doesn't "erase the abuse of government power in arresting and charging a patriotic American who did nothing wrong.”

















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