President Donald Trump snapped at a CBS reporter on Monday after he claimed someone took a knife to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Ed O'Keefe, CBS News' senior White House and political correspondent, asked Trump during an Oval Office press conference if he would share a photo or proof that the incident had happened. Trump responded with frustration.
"When you have a 350-foot slit, do you think that's proof?" Trump asked.
O'Keefe pushed back.
"Reporters have been down there today looking for that slit you mentioned. There's no evidence," O'Keefe said.
Trump suggested the parks department would have proof.
"But I saw it. They cut it, they cut it very violently," Trump argued.
"You write fake news," Trump told O'Keefe.
Trump had ordered National Guard troops to the location and ramped up patrols at the National Mall after reports of damage and algae blooms turned the blue reflecting pool green after the multi-million dollar remodeling project. Reports at the scene indicated the new paint had peeled off the bottom of the large-scale fountain.
Early Monday, Trump had threatened that anyone who vandalizes his vanity projects, including the reflecting pool, would face 10 years behind bars. He told reporters that five people were currently under investigation.
TRUMP: When you have a 350 foot slit, do you think that's proof?
O'KEEFE: Reporters have been down there today looking for that slit you mentioned. There's no evidence
TRUMP: All you have to do is see the parks department. They'll show it to you. pic.twitter.com/ZMzO76CpDY
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 22, 2026