CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Calls BS on Trump Reflecting Pool ‘Knife’ Claim — With Video Receipt

CNN anchor and senior White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins called BS on President Donald Trump’s “unproven” claim that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was “cut up” with a “knife” — and dropped a fun video receipt for good measure.

The president has been trying to shift blame for the disastrous condition of the Reflecting Pool to “vandals,” but when he was confronted during a gaggle about his claim that the lining was cut with a knife, he didn’t provide evidence.

On Tuesday night’s edition of CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins, Collins challenged the president’s claim, and even dug up a clip in which he bragged that such damage would be impossible with his “powerful” renovation:

COLLINS: The president is digging in on that unproven claim that vandals caused the damage at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, as his administration has yet to provide any evidence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Somebody went in with a knife and cut it. They cut it up good. And then they cut it 200, 350 foot slip in the form of lots of little slips, a real horrible stuff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: That’s what the president argued today. There are not pictures or video, from the Interior Department officials, or the Park Police, showing someone making a cut in the pool, which is actually something that the president told reporters, back in May, wasn’t even possible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: This will last for at least 50 years. You’ll never have a leak. It’s very strong. You couldn’t, if you had a knife — I don’t want to give anybody ideas. If you had a knife, you can’t even cut it. So strong, so powerful, it’s like powerful rubber. It is beautiful. Sealed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Well, The New York Times is reporting tonight that the cuts that were found by the National Park Service workers, quote, “Were not directly related to the “American flag blue” coating that is now peeling, or to the algae that has turned the pool a bright shade of green.” And then when the pool was actually drained earlier this month, the workers had discovered holes, cracks, peeling caulking. As President Trump now says, it will have to be drained again for more repairs after the July 4th holiday. That announcement was one of four posts that we saw from the President, about the Reflecting Pool, since about 08:00 p.m. last night, almost as many as he has posted about Iran.

Watch above via CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!