Fox News host Jesse Watters has blamed the Democrats for “cuts” to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool despite not presenting proof to support his claim.
Tensions surrounding the historical site have soared in recent weeks, following President Trump’s renovation of the pool. On Truth Social, the president has suggested that a 300-foot-long gash was carved into the pool and that “chemicals have been illegally placed in the water.”
On Thursday’s edition of The Five, Watters claimed that it was the Democrats who were “ripping up the Reflecting Pool.”
“Stop it!” his co-host, Jessica Tarlov, hit back.
“A couple days ago, a lot of people at this table pooh-poohed the idea that you guys would vandalize the pool,” Watters continued. “But now we have hard evidence reported by The New York Times and the Park Police, because I’ve looked at all the reports.”
Watters went on to claim that a man with a pitchfork was caught at the reflecting pool at midnight “the other day.”
“Someone even got caught pulling up while he videotaped himself ripping up the bottom. That was the canoeist,” he added.
In a June 9 report obtained byThe New York Times, U.S. Park Police stated that there were “razor blade slashes” made along a 20-foot-long stretch.
However, government documents viewed by the newspaper described the cuts as two 171-foot blade cuts, although the files did not address how they were made.
The article did not suggest that Democrats were behind any damage to the pool.
David Hearn, a former U.S. Olympic canoeist, told The Daily Mail that he simply touched a “loose flap of coating” at the pool but was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor.
“It's a completely unfounded accusation,” he told The Mail.
Trump announced the renovations to the Reflecting Pool in April, with estimates at the time suggesting that the project would cost around $2 million. More recent estimates suggest that the project could cost at least $16 million.
Trump said that the pool would be painted “American Flag Blue.”
However, when the pool was refilled earlier this month, an algae bloom developed on the water. That made the surface appear green.
Chunks of the pool’s blue surface have also been spotted floating free in the water.
Earlier this week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that six “deranged individuals” had been arrested for “vandalizing and desecrating" the Reflecting Pool.
Katie Martin, a spokesperson for the Interior Department, told The Times the pool was “clear” and “reflecting beautifully.”
“While President Trump was restoring a crown jewel of our nation’s capital, which is supported by Americans across the country, vandals were attempting to destroy, impede and delay ongoing work,” she added.
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