Trump Trashes ‘Shaky’ ABC Anchor David Muir Over Report on Reflecting Pool: ‘It Was VANDALISM!’

(Allison Robbert / AP)

President Donald Trump tore into “shaky” ABC News anchor David Muir late Monday as he slammed the network’s reporting on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after it was drained again for repairs.

The president fired off two Truth Social posts after images emerged of the partially drained pool, using the repairs to repeat his administration’s claim that the pool’s lining had been deliberately slashed by “Vandals.”

“We drained the beautiful ‘Reflecting Pool’ today in order to fix the scars and damage that was done by the Vandals two weeks ago,” Trump wrote, adding that officials had delayed the work until after the July 4 holiday weekend.

He claimed “The slashes were 300 yards long, and the floor of the pool was cut and then pulled upward, with great force, by these thugs,” saying the National Park Service had emptied the pool to repair its “water tight basin” before refilling it. Trump also called for those responsible to face punishment, writing: “These Country hating sleazebags should pay a big price for the damage done.”

ABC’s World News Tonight briefly reported Monday that the Reflecting Pool had been drained for a second time in recent months, with Muir telling viewers: “Crews addressing several issues, including peeling paint and algae blooms.”

Roughly two hours later, Trump turned his attention to ABC and Muir, accusing the network of misrepresenting the reason for the repairs:

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!). In other words, the story was FAKE NEWS, but heavily slanted away from the real cause of the problem, Vandalism. It will be fixed soon, and better than ever. 60 monuments and fountains have been cleaned and fully renovated in D.C., and crime is at record lows! Washington has never looked better, or been safer! President DJT

(Screengrab via Truth Social)

Trump’s latest broadside continues his years-long battle with ABC News, a network from which he secured a $16 million settlement in a 2024 defamation lawsuit.

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