Trump’s own contractor admits its shoddy work caused the problem at the Reflecting Pool – not vandals
Por Brendan Rascius — – World RSS Feed
Trump’s own contractor admits its shoddy work caused the problem at the Reflecting Pool – not vandals
The contractor blamed ‘human oversight’ and the combination of incompatible chemicals, according to a report
Brendan Rascius in New York Friday 11 September 2026 21:29 BST
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The contractor that refurbished the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool acknowledged that its own faulty work — not sabotage — led the newly installed liner to become damaged, according to a new report.
President Donald Trump repeatedly blamed vandals after sections of the liner began peeling away shortly after the president’s multimillion-dollar refurbishment was completed this summer.
“I saw it. They cut it. They cut it very violently,” Trump told reporters in June, alleging that a “box-cutter or a knife of some kind” had caused what he described as a “350-foot slit” in the pool’s lining.
But Atlantic Industrial Coatings, the contractor, told the Trump administration in reports that its design and implementation of the renovation project had fallen short, The New York Times reported. The report was based on government documents, but few specifics were given about them.
For one, the company stated, workers applied too little primer because of “human oversight,” causing the liner’s layers to adhere to one another.
open image in galleryThe “American flag blue” liner also contained two “incompatible” chemicals.
“The chemical on top reached a temperature hotter than what the compound underneath could withstand, and the heat caused the bottom layer to blister and come loose,” the Times reported. “The contractor said it had not expected that outcome because it was very uncommon to mix the two products in that way.”
The report comes after prosecutors, in July, moved to dismiss its cases against several people who had been charged with vandalizing the pool. A filing from U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro’s office stated that the “damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism.”
open image in galleryThe Reflecting Pool currently remains closed and fenced off. Since Trump announced the repairs, the project has been a boondoggle. The repairs were supposed to be finished by July 4 in time for America’s 250th birthday celebrations, but constant setbacks delayed those plans.
Algae blooms, the paint ripping away and the discolored water were all part of the reported aftermath. The Trump administration tried to blame others, including vandals, for the damage.
“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 said around July 4 also referencing damage to the grass at the national mall.
“Anybody who thinks the Reflecting Pool wasn’t vandalized should go back to Law School!” he added.
Pirro’s office charged several people in connection with the alleged vandalism,, then dismissed the case and admitted it did not have the full picture before charging.
Atlantic Industrial Coatings, which the government agreed to pay $14.7 million, plans to undertake the repairs.
“President Trump promised to make D.C. safe and beautiful, and he’s delivering,” a White House spokesperson told the Times, while an Interior Department spokesperson seemed to continue blaming the pool’s problems on vandals.
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