The Very Idea of Someone Slashing the Bottom of the Reflecting Pool Is Ludicrous.

[MineralMan]

It would be impossible with any tool available to someone. Imagine cutting hundreds of feet of linoleum with a knife while it was on the floor. Now, imagine doing that under water you're wading in. Really? And nobody noticed you out there, either.

How would you do that?

Hell, most people can't successfully use a box cutter to open an Amazon box in one swipe.

It didn't happen. It couldn't happen. It's freaking impossible.

End of story!

[PatSeg]

1. AND while it is under water!

He really is grasping at straws with this one.

[MineralMan]

3. Yes. I went back and added the underwater thing to the OP.

before I read your post. You're absolutely right.

[PatSeg]

20. He certainly does have quite the imagination, doesn't he?

[Aristus]

6. Yeah, but his demented, shit-for-brains followers believe every word.

Thank Whatever I'm not that intellectually bereft and deluded...

[PatSeg]

21. And that is what's terrifying

[thomski64]

25. The Headline, if it objectively true, would read..

Bullshit "President" lies about another fiasco that he and he alone owns!!!

[3catwoman3]

46. Intellectually bereft is a very apt description.

[kiri]

47. OZONE

The correct treatment is with OZONE. It takes some scientific know-how to do it properly. But O3 reverts to pure oxygen, no residue, aftermath.

[Ocelot II]

2. Cutting hundreds of feet of whatever it is with a box cutter *under water.*

And didn't Trump say that the special American Flag Blue coating would be so tough that it couldn't be cut with a knife?

[MineralMan]

5. Yes. It's the same polyurea coating they put on garage floors.

It's really tough stuff. Hard to even scratch. It holds up under car traffic, foot traffic, and all sorts of abuses. It's not some thin plastic film like the fillm on top of a frozen pizza, for gooodness' sake.

[ProfessorGAC]

51. It's Also Basically Painted On

If properly applied on a correctly prepared surface, cutting a slit with a knife will not cause the coating to spall in a matter of days.
Infiltration under the unadulterated coating could cause it to peel, but a years, not days.
Completely agree that this is a preposterous lie.

[electric_blue68]

83. Interesting ty

[BootinUp]

4. Was any scuba gear found?

[MineralMan]

7. Don't think so.

I think that pool is just wading pool deep, though. So, SCUBA wouldn't work all that well, anyhow.

[3catwoman3]

48. An on-line source says the depth of the Reflecting Pool varies....

...from 18" at the periphery to 30" in the middle.

[MineralMan]

57. Wading pool depth, right.

Or like the shallow end of the pool.

[Lochloosa]

69. This gives you an idea of the depth

?si=VVV54VhKPm3cGmVQ

[MineralMan]

71. Love that! Great scene from the movie!

Thanks so much for posting. Yes, it does show the depth of the pool very well.

[AloeVera]

12. Just the oxygen tank. It had the official Antifa Seal.

[underpants]

23. They must've been super stealthy to avoid these guys

[popsdenver]

43. More like

SEAL TEAM ONE.........LOL

[Ocelot II]

28. The pool is pretty shallow, you could do the job with a snorkel and mask

if you didn't mind getting covered with algae.

[MineralMan]

59. I'd think someone would notice that activity, somehow.

[Ocelot II]

72. If you were all covered with algae they'd assume you were just another blob of the stuff.

[MineralMan]

73. Or the "Creature from the Green Trough."

Run, Suzie!
Run!

[Srkdqltr]

8. Of course it is. This is the 21st century there are cameras 📷 everywhere.

[underpants]

9. Don't forget, "they lifted it up"

It said that. In context it sounded like he meant the flooring of the pool…..with one supposed cut….and they pried the pool lining (cement?) up with their finger tips.

[MineralMan]

13. The coating on the bottom of the pool is a polyurea coating.

It bonds with the concrete, if things are properly prepared. So, it can't be peeled up.

Now, I doubt that the preparation for the coating was done properly. Before you apply the coating, the surface of the concrete has to be totally dry. If it's not, the coating will not bond well.

Further, if you try to use that stuff on concrete that gets damp from water seeping upwards, the bond will be broken and it will peel off.

There are a number of reasons for the coating to fail, and I suspect it just failed for one of those reasons. The chemicals poured into the water didn't help, either.

It was just a shoddy job, done poorly, and probably with a kickback to some shell corporation by the contractor. I mean, Trump doesn't do anything for free, as he has proven many times.

The coating was bound to fail. So, it did. The entire project was ill-conceived and poorly done.

[Woodwizard]

30. Right

The bottom was not prepared it was under water for a 100 years. They drained it and rushed the job SOP for trump.

[lonely bird]

42. Good info

For those out there who are unfamiliar with polyurea…

It is a subset of polyurethane. Both are polyols reacted with isocyanates. A polyurea has what is called an amine terminated polyol. This amine creates a polymer that can set in seconds depending upon what other additives are used to formulate the end coating.

Polyureas used on garage floors are built to cure much more slowly. This is so they can be applied by roller or squeegee and so that flake or colored aggregate can be broadcast into the coating. Sometimes spray applied polyureas are used for industrial floor applications. The spray application is done the vast majority of the time with heated, plural component spray rigs. The material is usually heated in the drums, agitated especially if pigmented, transfer pumps then send each component to tanks that are heated higher. From there the material is pumped through heated lines to the spray gun. The two components do not mix until they are sprayed. Set times can be as fast as 3 seconds.

Aromatic polyols will generally be more chemical resistant. Aliphatic polyols will be more UV stable. They can be built to be rigid or elastomeric. Generally, the higher the elongation then the lower the chemical resistance.

Regarding water infiltration from hydrostatic pressure, if the material is well bonded it will resist the hydrostatic pressure. The load is dependent on where the water table is and how far below the water table the application is. While we don’t know what the specifications were for this project or if there even was a specification, we can ask a few questions. Was the substrate tested for moisture content prior to coating? Polyureas do not like water when being applied. Both sides can react with moisture. To get past that problem using either very fast setting materials on dry concrete or moisture tolerant primers, usually epoxies but not always, can be applied.

This whole project was done fast with, imo, little inspection and oversight.

[3catwoman3]

50. Once again, I am impressed by the vast array of expertise here on DU.

I've said, many times, that no matter how specialized a topic, there will be someone here who knows all about it.

[KS Toronado]

44. No doubt Donvict got his kickback from his mar-a-largo neighbor.

It's how he's done business his entire life.

[FakeNoose]

10. Here's what happened, you be the judge

This photo was published 2 days ago ....


The green in the center of the pool is not only algae but also where the blue paint has detached from the bottom. Even if they clean out the algae (a major task) the pool is still ruined because the paint has not adhered properly.

On DU we have several painting and pool professionals who have told us that it's a complicated task with many time-consuming steps to prepare the concrete surface so that it accepts the paint and it remains adhered. These steps weren't done, or else they became undone when Chump's motorcade drove over the pool bottom.

I'm not an expert on this ... and we all know that Chump isn't either.

[MineralMan]

17. That's a great photo of this!

It is failing along the lines it was applied. More evidence of inadequate preparation of the base or improper application of the coating. It failed because of those things and because it was a bad idea from the very beginning.

Idiots hiring crooks do do work rarely end up with quality results.

That's the evidence of that.

[AloeVera]

33. Did you notice the sheer perfection of the cut by the Antifa vandals?

Straight down the middle of the pool, precision-cut, not one slip of the knife underwater? Antifa must take pride in its work!

Oh wait...that BLUE line means the lining is still there, smack dab in the middle. That can only mean... the vandals cut TWO perfect straight lines, several feet apart, just to be safe! Wait till Trump finds out, there will be HELL to pay! HELL!!

[Give Peace A Chance]

81. I think it's perfect reflection of what kind of man he is.

[The Madcap]

35. In the upper photo,

what is the shiny area at bottom right? If done properly, wouldn't the surface texture be uniform?

[FakeNoose]

77. I don't know, but someone said it wasn't dry yet

I'm not sure if that's paint, or maybe it was just leftover water that hadn't drained out yet. It seems like the pool floor was still being treated with something (if not paint) while the motorcade drove through.

[3catwoman3]

52. And just why did they drive in/on it?

Stu-pid stunt.

[FakeNoose]

76. It was a press photo op, and I think Chump is riding in the car in the middle

He's just a crazy asshole, that's the real reason.

[lonely bird]

74. Correct regarding coating concrete

There are several important steps involved.

Concrete is a pain in the ass to coat correctly. Coating steel isn’t easy, per se but it is more straightforward imo.

[3_Limes]

11. I think this is a manifestation of Trumps dementia.

He's somehow thinking that the reflecting pool has a liner. Like the PVC liners seen in above ground, backyard swimming pools, rather than (poorly) cured epoxy over concrete. If it were a vinyl sheet liner then knife damage and "pulling up" would make sense.

[MineralMan]

14. Many things are products of Trump's dementia and general lack of knowledge.

He's unfit for the job he holds. But, we knew that all along.

[IcyPeas]

15. It was those dastardly left wing lunatics

[GusBob]

16. Have we not figured it out?

It does not matter what the truth is to anyone
especially his supporters

Its a waste of time and a distraction from important things to address the fantastic lies

He wants them repeated and waved around as the distraction

[jmowreader]

18. The claim someone "slashed" the coating reminds me of an old dirty joke

It's the one where the guy gets told by 20 different doctors he needs to have his penis amputated, and the 21st tells him there's no need to do that because it'll fall off on its own.

In this case, there was no need to slash the coating because it started failing the second it was applied.

[MineralMan]

19. Yes, I think you're absolutely right about that.

[bucolic_frolic]

22. Confusing the public with logical fallacies is as good as not releasing the Epstein Files!!

I think that's what's going on here ... Dupe the Rubes!

[Midnight Writer]

24. Why is no one talking about the Rothschild's Space Laser? Who is covering it up?

[peggysue2]

82. Yes, we need the old version of . . .

Marjorie Taylor Greene. She was a leader in fantastical theories on all topics.

Her Jewish Space Laser story was right up there: offensive and stupid.

Antifa scuba divers? Lame. Although I gotta say, it made me laugh.

[MustLoveBeagles]

26. dump is doing what he always does

Blame others for his fuck ups.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

27. MaddowBlog-Scrambling to avoid blame for Reflecting Pool fiasco, Trump's defense turns farcical

The debacle has become a metaphor of sorts, but not the one the president had in mind.

For Trump, the Reflecting Pool was supposed to be a totemic success story, demonstrating that his unique approach to problem-solving is fundamentally superior to his predecessors’.

This one project would serve as a metaphor for how awesome his awesomeness is.

Oops.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-06-23T13:15:51.138Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-reflecting-pool-fiasco-defense

There is a degree of irony surrounding Donald Trump’s Reflecting Pool fiasco. For months, the president obsessed over the renovation project, framing it as a metaphor for how awesome his awesomeness is: The Republican would tackle a lingering problem that vexed previous administrations, while delivering impressive results quickly and cheaply.....

With this in mind, the president came to realize in recent days that he needed an excuse — or preferably villains who could shoulder the blame for his own failures.

To that end, he began assuring the public over the weekend that he had succeeded beautifully, but that “vandals” intervened and ruined his triumph. At an unrelated White House event on Monday afternoon, the president went further, alleging nefarious criminals — some armed with “probably a box cutter or a knife of some kind” — attacked the Reflecting Pool with fertilizer and “did something to create the algae.”

The administration said five people were arrested on charges of vandalism, though without more information, it’s nearly impossible to say whether these people actually did anything wrong or whether they were charged as part of an inherently political exercise.

As is usually the case with Trump’s more outlandish claims, he has provided no evidence. At his Oval Office event on Monday afternoon, the president suggested the evidence exists, but he’s not yet prepared to share it.

Trump: I can't help it if somebody goes in with a knife and starts hacking it up. Uh... and we also have pictures of it.

Q: Can you release the photos?

Trump: At the right time you'll see it. You'll see it in court.

— FactPost (@factpostnews.bsky.social) 2026-06-22T20:41:36.507704516Z

......For good measure, the president also decided to whine about Barack Obama as part of the same clumsy presentation, though it wasn’t altogether clear why.

O'KEEFE: You said the guy was gonna do the reflecting poll in a week for about a million dollars. It's been two months and .5 million


TRUMP: Are you ready? Barack Hussein Obama

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-06-22T20:26:19.660Z

Indeed, one of the most amazing things about this story is the number of familiar boxes it checks. Trump fails to deliver on bold promises? Check. He relies on no-bid contracts and a rushed process that fell apart? Check. He concocts weird theories about his perceived enemies? Check. He desperately spins a fantastical tale with evolving details in the hopes of avoiding blame for his own failure? Check. His aligned prosecutors scramble to help justify his dubious claims with equally dubious charges? Check.

[johnnyfins]

29. "At the right time, you'll see it"

"You'll see it in court"

H O R S E S H I T !

[Diamond_Dog]

54. "Give us time to make up some fake photos ".

In other words.

[2MuchNoise]

65. We'll see it right after we see his taxes.

And his healthcare plan, and infrastructure week.

[Klarkashton]

31. The contractor probably fed him that bullshit and he

Embellished it with lies about having pictures.

He is mentally ill.

[SidneyR]

32. Turn the reflecting pool into a formal garden of roses, cherry trees, and Japanese Maples.

Maybe a Ginkgo or two. Add some meandering paths lined with spirea hedges and hydrangeas. And some park benches.

[calimary]

49. THAT is a GREAT idea!!!

Get RID of the reflecting pool. Unless you’re planning to install decent water filtering and purification procedures. Costs more but donald, but what do you care? It’s not coming out of YOUR pocket.

But the mosquitos won’t be too happy…
Heck, by the time you’re done, they won’t want you, either.

[NJCher]

68. renovated in 2012 or around there

Obama and Bush put the required $$ into it. I think it was around $35 million. Nothing needed to be done to it but trump wanted it this unrealistic blue, which he couldn't carry off and which he made a gigantic mess of. All this money that is being spent is to straighten out trump's mess.

The idea is for the pool to connect the two monuments, so turning it into a park would not do that, despite the fact that the trees recommended upthread are very attractive. It doesn't visually carry off that mission, but if that's not important to anyone, a park would be fine.

We will be spending other money to straighten out trump's Iran mess. We will be paying and paying and paying for having someone this incompetent in such an important position.

Now American people: do you understand why you need to pay attention to national affairs and make an informed vote?

[PCIntern]

34. Didn't he make some comment months ago about a hypothetical knife cut in the Pool?

I seem to recall some form of idiocy.

[RedWhiteBlueIsRacist]

36. The Reflecting Pool damage reflects Trump's incompetence. It's right there, in your face, America.

He needs to be removed from office.

[maxsolomon]

37. The point of the lies is to change the story.

Now we're talking about his stupid, absurd lies and whether or why aren't true. Not the illegal procurement process, not the rush job that had no chance of success.

Mission accomplished.

[ChicagoTeamster]

38. But the administration that lies about absolutely everything said it happened!

[Amaryllis]

39. Yes, but do you notice how little anyone is talking about Epstein now?

[MineralMan]

40. Of course, but Epstein is just one of the things Trump is

trying to hide. There is so much more. At some point, we'll all know a lot more. But not until Trump is gone.

[Amaryllis]

41. Of course, but the point is all the atttention on reflecting pool takes it off a lot of vastly more important things.

Mission accomplished.

[Martin Eden]

45. Also, the paint wouldn't delaminate like that with just a cut

Unless it didn't adhere well at all to the floor of the pool in the first place.

[dalton99a]

53. Well, there were 13 people, and they worked very hard in the dark

[LR3]

70. Standard Trump ever inflating lie

Remember how the fucking ball room was going to cost $200M? Then $250M. Then $350M. Then $400M. And now $600M

Well, the "gash" was originally 250 feet. Then 300 feet. Now 350 feet. And next week probably 400 feet.

[BidenRocks]

55. He talks about it like it was

an above ground pool and this was the liner.

[3catwoman3]

56. Apologies if this is a stupid question, but terminology matters.

Does the Reflecting Pool have a coating or a lining? Both terms are being used.

Our garage floor has that poly-whatever coating. No way we could slice that up with any kind of blade.

The backyard above-ground pool we had when I was a kid had a lining you could have poked a hole in with a toothpick.

[MineralMan]

58. It's a coating, not a liner.

It gets applied with rollers, like paint rollers. So, you're right; cutting it would do nothing like what has happened.

[3catwoman3]

66. Thank you. That is what I thought...

...but did not want to be guilty of assuming, especially in an area where I have no expertise.

[MineralMan]

67. Well, the general media are not helping people understand this.

Since there's nobody there who knows anything about such things, they can only report what they see in news releases and the like. That's one of the problems we're facing with understanding what's in the news. Lots of reporting, but not very much explaining going on.

I have no solution, really. It's likely to continue like it is, I think. Lots of news, for example, about AI, but virtually no explanation of what it is and what are its limitations and the current state of the technology. The news is all about investments and job cuts, but nobody really knows what they're writing about and it's too complicated to learn about quickly.

So, we're getting lots of news, but too little actual information. Not a good combination.

[3catwoman3]

79. Agreed. I call myself a word nerd, and am rather fanatic about precise word usage, proper grammar...

...and all that. In my long nurse practitioner career, accuracy and precision were crucially important. Kids' lives and my license were on the line if I was not constantly vigilant. I was very careful about listening, examining, what I said, and what I wrote in charts.

I think I'm hard-wired that way.

Whoever coined the neologism "infotainment" knew whereof they spoke.

[SamuelAdams]

60. Also, how did it grow from 250' to 300' to 350'?

[gordianot]

61. You have to admit this is classic Donald Trump.

Invade Greenland, rename the Kennedy center, tear down the east wing of the White House, Impose, illegal, tariffs, do all you can to wreck the United States and world economy . We are.living in an Idiocracy. A shit sandwich and every day we have to take another bite.

[Nasruddin]

62. I think it's confabulation

His broken brain just made that up.

This kind of thing (not the 1st time) is convincing me he does have a form of dementia

[Ritabert]

63. If you looked at the initial application they rolled it on in sections

The rectangular areas met in the middle of the pool so there was a seam the length of the pool. Once the pool was filled an aerial shot showed a pale line right down the middle of the pool. My guess is that the hydrogen peroxide caused the seam to lift from the granite bottom.

[H2O Man]

64. Wait!

Maybe a circular saw bought at a Walmart fathers' day sale with a mighty long extension cord? I mean, that's possible, isn't it?

Recommended.

[mercuryblues]

75. Who remembers that phrase

Dig a hole to China?

In China, they have a similar phrase. Dig a hole to USA.

Ergo, China did this.

China
China
China

[twodogsbarking]

78. It was Lex Luthor.

[Katinfl]

80. Your comment on opening the Amazon box cracked me up! How true.