A sprawling vanity project that has mired President Donald Trump’s second term in controversy spilled over into a legal threat against ABC News on the evening of June 22, when Trump took to Truth Social to announce his team was preparing to sue the network over what he called false and incomplete coverage of alleged vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
A Renovation Plagued by Problems
The reflecting pool controversy has dogged Trump for weeks. His administration launched a project to repaint the pool a shade officially described as “American Flag Blue” in preparation for the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration on July 4. Trump said the project cost around $16 million and grew to include surrounding areas and sidewalks. The work is part of a larger renovation plan that includes the White House East Wing and a proposed triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery.
Almost immediately, problems emerged: algae turned the water green, paint peeled from the floor, and federal employees poured hydrogen peroxide into the pool to combat the algae. A dead duckling found in the water brought further negative attention. The renovation has also attracted legal opposition. 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.
Trump’s Claims vs. the Facts
The president’s grievance centered on his assertion that the network had ignored the spending records of his Democratic predecessors while scrutinizing his own $16 million 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 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.
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.
A Lawsuit-Happy President Eyes Another Target
Trump closed his post by announcing that his legal team was preparing to take ABC News to court 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 that 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 moved against other major outlets during his second term. The Wall Street Journal, the BBC, and The New York Times have all faced lawsuits from the president 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 a demonstrator he spotted near the pool — 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.” Nadine Otego Seiler, the activist in the costume, 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.
