President Donald Trump is refusing to let the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool controversy die, even after his own Justice Department moves to dismiss the case. Prosecutors concluded the damage likely resulted from a rushed, botched installation. Trump, however, is doubling down on blaming sh adowy vandals. At the same time, he is quietly changing his tune about the handpicked contractors he once celebrated as heroes. Trump doubled down on blaming vandals for the Reflecting Pool damage, even as his own Justice Department blamed a rushed installation and he appeared to forget the “86-47” talking point. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) Speaking about the Reflecting Pool this week, the president insisted the renovation had been flawless until someone damaged it. He had a complete meltdown in the Oval Office, where he seemed to forget the message he has repeatedly cited in recent weeks. ‘Did He Really Post This?’: Trump Goes Off the Deep End, Unloads Nearly 40 Unhinged Posts After a Brutal Setback—and His Own Team Was Just the Beginning “When it was completed, it was perfect. But then somebody went in and cut it, just like they did the grass,” He said. “You know, nobody talks about the grass. The grass — they have helicopter pictures of what they did.” Trump was referring to aerial images taken after someone damaged the National Mall’s grass near the White House ahead of the UFC event he attended on his birthday. “Was it ’87,’ right? Do you know what they did, right?” he said to the press. “Did you see what they did? Did you see what they wrote? What did they write?” An aide answered, “’87’ — or, sorry, ‘8647.’” View on Threads “That’s right. ‘8647.’ So it’s ‘8647.’ They didn’t do ’45.’ At least they left ’45,'” Trump answered. The numbers “8647”—The numbers, widely interpreted as an anti-Trump message, became central to Trump’s argument that vandals had also targeted the newly renovated Reflecting Pool. The moment took off online with people on Threads weighing in. “T[rump] tries to cover up the fact that he can’t remember the phrase that was burned into the grass,” one person wrote. Another added, “Wow, the lying accordion is REALLY FLAPPING.” A third commented, “This man is clearly insane, by pure definition of the word,” as someone else continued, “Show us then, you f—king liar!!” Trump wasn’t finished. A massive anti-Trump '8647' message appeared to have been scrawled into the grass on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., just blocks from the White House.The U.S. Department of the Interior on Thursday said it is now investigating the "deranged vandalism.""Any threat… pic.twitter.com/qIAHyEpXz0— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) June 11, 2026 During the same news conference, he again argued vandals, not faulty construction, were behind the pool’s problems. “Beautiful. Now we have photographs, or tapes, like moving cameras, right? We have them where people are on the side cutting it with a box knife,” Trump said. “So now, I’m not saying I was 100% thrilled with the contractor, but the contractor was rushing. We wanted to get it open for July Fourth, and we got it done. But, in addition, there was vandalism.” That brief acknowledgment contrasted sharply with how Trump originally talked about the contractors. When he announced the renovation in April, Trump repeatedly praised Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings as exactly the right team for the job. CNN side by side video of Trump saying today he didn’t know the reflecting pool contractor and… Trump in April saying: I have a guy who's unbelievable at doing swimming pools. I'm going to send my contractor over. pic.twitter.com/O75dRMFztr— Acyn (@Acyn) August 4, 2026 “I said, you know, Doug [Burgum, the 55th U.S. Secretary of the Interior], I have a guy that’s unbelievable at doing swimming pools. I’m going to send my contract over, take a look,” said Trump in a briefing that month. Trump said the contractor convinced him to get the American Blue paint, adding, “He talked me into it very easily.” Citing his experience maintaining pools at his golf resorts, Trump claimed he knew the right contractor could finish the job in a week for a fraction of the cost. He touted the pet project as proof government work could be done faster and cheaper under his watch. His praise didn’t stop there. After the renovation wrapped, Trump invited the crew to the Oval Office, thanked them publicly, handed out presidential challenge coins, signed hats and credited them for finishing ahead of America’s 250th celebrations. At the time, he wasn’t suggesting that the contractor had rushed the job or shared blame for what would become one of the administration’s most embarrassing public works failures. The crew behind one of Washington's most recognizable restoration projects got a signature thank you from President Trump.The workers who rebuilt the Reflecting Pool near the Washington Monument were invited to the Oval Office, where Trump praised their work and signed hats for… pic.twitter.com/5Ug4BK0nMt— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 10, 2026 Then the project fell apart. The blue liner peeled loose. Algae overtook the water. The pool had to be drained again. Officials arrested former Olympian David Hearn, accusing him of damaging the liner with a knife. Last week, the administration’s own case unraveled. A filing from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office asked the court to dismiss the felony case after newly discovered Interior Department records showed the liner problems were consistent with a “rushed and flawed installation process.” Prosecutors concluded they couldn’t prove beyond a reasonable doubt that vandalism, not construction failures, caused the damage. The reversal put one of Trump’s top appointees directly at odds with him. Pirro, whom Trump selected as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, effectively abandoned the administration’s original theory. Trump publicly rebuked her, writing that he “disagree[d] 100%” with her conclusion. In the briefing, he insisted, “She folded like an umbrella.” That explanation sounded markedly different from the confidence Trump projected weeks earlier, when he personally vouched for the contractors and celebrated their work in the Oval Office. “He can’t let it go. Just like the 2020 election. He’s so used to bullsh—ting his way through life,” one Threads user wrote. Trump’s latest appearance wasn’t just another attempt to keep the vandalism narrative alive. It showed how far the story has shifted. As the Trump administration pushed for felony charges against a former Olympian accused of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, prosecutors said otherwise. They moved to dismiss charges against the Olympian as well as three other defendants. ‘Clearly Insane’: Trump’s Reflecting Pool Story Implodes After He Forgets His Own Script and Throws His Handpicked Contractors Under the Bus ...read more read less