Visitors observe the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool through a fence as its draining continues, following renovations and Independence Day celebrations, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 12, 2026. REUTERS/Leah Millis TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Investigators descended on a drained Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Monday as witnesses on the ground reported no sign of President Donald Trump's claimed 350-foot "gash."
Trump ordered a $14.7 million renovation of the pool this spring, painting the bottom what he called "American flag blue" ahead of the nation's 250th birthday, according to PolitiFact.
The pool reopened in early June — and within days was covered in algae with its new lining peeling off, ABC News reported.
Trump blamed vandals. He claimed they had slashed a massive gash into the pool's rubber lining using knives and razors — and said arrests had been made.
"An inspection or investigation teams (sic) is at work at the Reflecting Pool this afternoon," DC freelance photographer Andrew Leyden wrote on X on Monday afternoon.
Matt Rein, the Democratic National Committee's creative partnerships director, reported from the pool earlier in the day as crews finished draining it.
"I'm here at the Reflecting Pool, and crews are almost done draining all of the water … no '350 foot' gash found from my vantage point," Rein wrote. "Lots of dirt and grime, though."
"Shockingly, no 350 ft gash in sight at the Reflecting Pool," former White House deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews wrote after also visiting the pool Monday.
However, Trump has repeatedly blamed a "gash" caused by vandals to explain problems with his renovation.
"The 350-foot gash, made by a very sharp knife or razors, is actually numerous slashes over a very long 350-foot length," Trump wrote on Truth Social in June. That same week, he told reporters that criminals had "cut it very violently…"
On a podcast last week, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said that workers would "[r]epair the vandalism that was done. Fill it back up again."
PolitiFact found Trump described the gash as 150 feet, then 250 feet, then 300 feet, then 350 feet — and the administration never produced photographs or other evidence to back any version of the claim.