Critics zeroed in on photos of tire tracks scarring the floor of the newly drained Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, where the presidential motorcade drove weeks earlier.
President Donald Trump drained the pool Monday, insisting vandals had left a 300-yard gash in its lining. But reporters and on-the-ground onlookers told CNN they saw no gash.
Photos of the scene that appeared to show tire tracks on the pool's floor quickly went viral on social media.
Back in May, Trump's motorcade had rolled across the freshly sealed pool floor, leaving tire marks caught on camera. When the pool drained Monday, Washington, D.C., photographer Joe Flood posted images of the basin floor showing two long parallel lines in the blue coating.
"...for Reflecting Pool fans: take a look at the drained sections. If there's a 350-foot cut in it, I don't see it yet," Flood wrote on X, including photos showing what appeared to be tire tracks.
The criticism was instant, with political commentator Keith Edwards highlighting the photos on X to his 1 million viewers. "BREAKING: Trump drained the reflecting pool, and it DID reveal damage... tire marks," Edwards said.
Attorney and political commentator Seth Abramson connected the damage to Trump's motorcade visit.
"Evidence has mounted that the supposed 'gash' in the Reflecting Pool is... tire tracks Trump caused by insisting his many-ton presidential convoy drive on the pool's fragile surface. Why? He was too lazy to walk. Per his own edict, he must now do 10 years in federal prison," Abramson wrote on X.
The Trump administration has not publicly explained why the motorcade needed to cross the unfinished pool floor. Three days before the May 7 drive, Trump had boasted the coating was indestructible.
"If you had a knife, you can't even cut it," the president said on May 4. "So strong, so powerful. It's like powerful rubber."
After Trump's vandalism theory didn't hold up to scrutiny, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers dismissed it as "dumb and unfounded."
On Monday night, Trump doubled down in a post on Truth Social. "We drained the beautiful 'Reflecting Pool' today in order to fix the scars and damage that was done by the Vandals two weeks ago. The slashes were 300 yards long, and the floor of the pool was cut and then pulled upward, with great force, by these thugs," he wrote.
Hours later, he posted again, attacking "ABC Fake News for fact-checking his vandalism claims.
"ABC Fake News and its shaky anchor, David Muir, said that the Reflecting Pool was drained to address Peeling Paint (there is no paint, it was slashed with a knife, or box cutter, high grade colored waterproofing liner - it was VANDALISM!) and Algae Blooms (also caused by Vandals, but removed long ago!)," Trump wrote.
While Trump pointed fingers at vandals, one of the six people he had arrested was three-time Olympian David Hearn, 67, who says he briefly touched a loose flap of coating on a bike ride and was held for five hours. Hearn has pleaded not guilty to a felony charge that carries up to 10 years in prison — Abramson argued that Trump should face the same sentence.
"Per his own edict, he must now do 10 years in federal prison," Abramson said.
