President Donald Trump has turned his focus from the Iran war to the ongoing setbacks in his renovation of the Reflecting Pool, but it's clear the project won't be ready in time for the July 4 celebration.
The $14 million renovation has been bedeviled by issues from the start, and CNN's Kevin Liptak provided an update to "The Situation Room" on the continued issue that Trump has tried to blame on vandals.
"It is becoming clear that the president is now consumed with what can onlybe described as a botched renovation of this Reflecting Pool," Liptak said. "We have seen you know over thelast several days the algae growing, the linerpulling up, the president sort of continuing these accusations that this wasthe work of vandals, although he has not backedup any of that with evidence."
"He has just postedon Truth Social that six people now have beenarrested and seven people have been cited for thedamage that he has said has been done to this facility," Liptak added, "describing a 350-foot gash, which we should note, is 100 feetlonger than he said it was a couple of days agothat he said was conducted by very sharp knife orrazors, and that it was numerous slashes."
Liptak said the president has provided other conflicting statements about the project.
"Now in early May, President Trump was at an eventsaying that there was not possible to cut thislining with a knife because it was so strong and so powerful, now suggesting that vandals had gone in and slashed that verybright blue liner that you have seen being pulled up from the bottom," Liptak said. "He also says that a small area at the bottom of the pool wascut and lifted off the surface, leaving uneven edges, and then the president went on to write, 'In anyevent, even prior to fixing those areas, the ReflectingPool is as beautiful as it can be.'"
Then hesays we will drain some of the water eitherimmediately, before or afterFourth of July to do the permanent repair," the reporter added. "So essentially confirming here that the Reflecting Pool will notbe in tip-top shape by Fourth of July, which was his ownsort of self-imposed deadline to get this up and in working shape."