A renovation project that was supposed to showcase President Donald Trump’s vision for the nation’s 250th birthday has instead spiraled into a legal, environmental and public relations disaster — prompting Trump to threaten yet another lawsuit against a major news organization on the evening of June 22, 2026.
A Renovation Plagued by Problems
The Trump administration’s effort to repaint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in what officials call “American Flag Blue” ahead of the July 4 anniversary celebration has been beset by trouble from the start. The $16 million project, which Trump said expanded to cover surrounding areas and sidewalks, quickly ran into environmental problems: algae bloomed and turned the water green, paint began peeling away from the floor, and federal workers dumped hydrogen peroxide into the pool in an attempt to kill the algae. A dead duckling discovered in the water added to the negative publicity.
The work is part of a broader renovation effort that includes the White House East Wing and a proposed triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery. But legal challenges emerged almost immediately. The Cultural Landscape Foundation filed suit in D.C. federal court on May 11, seeking to halt the work because the reflecting pool is listed in the federal historic register as part of the larger National Mall district. The organization argued that the Trump administration was legally required to complete a public consultation process under the National Historic Preservation Act before altering the site. According to the foundation, ongoing resurfacing work threatens the pool’s historic integrity. The Interior Department did not address the question of whether any such approval had been sought. The administration has since argued the group lacks standing to sue now that the repainting project is complete, a claim the foundation disputes.
Trump’s Claims vs. the Facts
The president’s grievance centered on his assertion that ABC had ignored the spending records of his Democratic predecessors while scrutinizing his own renovation. In his post, Trump claimed that former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden collectively spent more than $100 million on the reflecting pool and left it dysfunctional. That framing stretches well beyond what the record shows: President Obama oversaw a renovation of the pool that cost approximately $34 million, while President Biden did not undertake any major work on the structure at all.
Trump argued that the previous administrations had considered spending between $300 and $400 million on the site but ultimately allowed it to fall into disrepair. “In fact, it was rarely open due to leaks and ‘stench,'” Trump wrote, adding that officials “wanted to spend 300 to 400 Million Dollars, but just let it ROT.” He insisted his own investment had produced excellent results, apart from what he described as deliberate sabotage by outside actors.
Trump has alleged that vandals sliced what he called a 350-foot slit in the floor of the pool and introduced illegal chemicals into the water supply. He has provided no evidence to substantiate either claim. The Interior Department confirmed that five people had been arrested and five others received federal citations, and an agency spokesperson noted that 14 police reports had been filed in connection with vandalism at the site — but stopped short of corroborating the specific damage Trump described. On July 2, a D.C. grand jury indicted one of those arrested, former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, on a felony charge of destroying government property, which carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years. Hearn has said he was only examining a piece of detached lining when he was arrested.
A Lawsuit-Happy President Eyes Another Target
Trump closed his post by announcing that his legal team was preparing to sue ABC News and that any resulting settlement would flow directly into the U.S. Treasury — a claim that does not square with the facts. “I like their money, which will be given to the U.S. Treasury!” he added. In reality, the funds from an earlier settlement — $15 million plus $1 million in legal fees — went not to the Treasury but to Trump’s presidential library fund. The threat carries a certain irony: ABC News was the defendant in that suit, which Trump brought against the network and ABC anchor and “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos over comments Stephanopoulos made on air regarding writer E. Jean Carroll. The case never reached a jury.
Trump has also sued The Wall Street Journal, the BBC and The New York Times within the past year. In April, Trump singled out ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl over Karl’s book, “Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign That Changed America,” using the occasion to relitigate the Stephanopoulos settlement once more.
Protesters and Pink Frogs
Earlier on June 22, before unleashing his ABC News broadside, Trump had also aimed at a demonstrator — a woman dressed in a pink inflatable frog costume carrying a sign that riffed on a famous anti-Nazi poem by German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller. Trump described the protester as a “crazy pro-algae (likely paid) protester.” The activist in the costume, Nadine Otego Seiler, left her job to protest Trump’s policies full-time. In November 2025, she told The New York Times she viewed herself as Trump’s chief antagonist and used the frog costume to amplify her activism. Whether frog suits or federal lawsuits, Trump showed on June 22 he remains eager to fight on every front — even when the facts aren’t entirely on his side.