Tarps hiding drained Reflecting Pool raise suspicions about Trump's vandalism claim

Workers erected black screening around the drained Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Monday, hiding it from public view and fueling accusations of a "cover-up."

"We drained the beautiful 'Reflecting Pool' today in order to fix the scars and damage that was done by the Vandals two weeks ago," President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social late Monday. "The slashes were 300 yards long, and the floor of the pool was cut and then pulled upward, with great force, by these thugs."

But earlier that day — before the screens went up — former CNN anchor Jim Acosta visited the drained pool and found no sign of the damage Trump described.

"There are no signs of any slashes or a 350-foot gash down the middle of the reflecting pool," Acosta reported on Instagram.

"There are signs of a shoddy paint job that was done down here," Acosta added. "You can see some of the splotchy paint marks up and down the bottom of this reflecting pool, but nothing like he has been talking."

Trump ordered the pool painted "American flag blue" ahead of the nation's 250th anniversary, a project that quickly drew complaints of peeling paint and algae blooms, CBS News reported. The renovation cost $14.7 million.

Hours after Acosta's report, workers began installing black screening along the pool's perimeter.

"The great Reflecting Pool cover-up has begun," Thomas Watkins, Washington bureau chief for The National News, wrote on X.

Watkins' post included photos of the screens going up. He noted the view from the Lincoln Memorial staircase still showed the full length of the screened-off pool.

The Reflecting Pool is the latest Washington landmark to be covered with a tarp this month.

The White House's North Portico columns and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts sign have both been obscured by coverings in recent weeks, Forbes reported.

Trump said the pool "will be refilled and put back into service soon."