‘Total Collapse Of Reality’: Trump’s Massive Reflecting Pool Claim Just Got Even Bigger

President Donald Trump continues to inflate the extent of the alleged vandal-inflicted “damage” to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, nearly tripling the length of a cut he initially claimed was done to the pool’s surface last month.

Trump on Monday remarked on his Truth Social platform about the crews draining the pool again as it continues to suffer from long-standing algae-related issues in the water and, following a series of costly renovations under his watch, damage to its surface that experts suspect could be due to poor repair work.

In recent weeks, the president has argued that vandals used a “knife or blade” to cut the surface, originally claiming on Saturday, June 20 that the size of a “gash” to the pool was 250 feet long.

By Monday, Trump claimed the alleged “gash” was 300 feet long, or the length of a football field minus the end zones.

By nighttime? What he called a “slit” was 350 feet long.

And now, three weeks later, Trump has claimed that “slashes” on the pool were 300 yards long, adding that the floor of the pool was “cut and then pulled upward, with great force, by these thugs.”

That’s nearly three times as tall as the Statue of Liberty (305 feet from the ground to the torch).

“These Country hating sleazebags should pay a big price for the damage done,” the president wrote.

It is unclear exactly where the “slashes” on the pool are, as of Tuesday morning.

A shot taken by photographer Joe Flood shows a pre-existing line running down the center of the pool for drainage, along with several other markings.

A White House spokesperson, when asked where the “slashes” were on the pool, told HuffPost over email that the “gashes” are located along the edge of the pool, markings not visible in Flood’s photo.

Flood, in an email to HuffPost, pointed out that the floor of the pool — which is depicted in the photo and, per Trump, was “cut” then pulled upward by vandals — did not appear to have any “slashes” on it. He added that he couldn’t get close to where the White House now claims the “slashes” are.

Critics on X swiftly mocked the president over his latest claim, arguing that it’d be difficult for vandals not to get caught making such a tear underwater.

Others argued that Trump’s motorcade driving through the pool back in May could have contributed to any damage, with one user calling the president’s post a “total collapse of reality.”

“He can’t even grasp how insane he looks,” wrote @jimstewartson.

Tim Auerhahn, chair of the Aquatic Council, a pool and hot tub industry consulting firm, expressed his concerns to The New York Times in May that the motorcade driving across the pool’s surface may have put significant weight on the leaky joints between its concrete slabs following the repair work, stressing that he’d require an “immediate inspection” of it thereafter.

omg he’s really going to pretend the tire tracks are his imaginary gashes which are now 300 YARDS long.

this is a total collapse of reality. he can’t even grasp how insane he looks. he truly believes his thoughts are automatically completely real.

we cannot let this go on. https://t.co/kCfmkfDZwj pic.twitter.com/lrImNpkmcJ

— Jim Stewartson, Decelerationist 🇨🇦🇺🇦🇺🇸 (@jimstewartson) July 14, 2026

“300 yards long” is the length of three football fields. And it’s nearly twice as long as the Washington Monument is tall

That’s an incomprehensible length for a vandal’s slash https://t.co/jDJVPooUhj

— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) July 14, 2026

If you think vandals cut a 3 football field-long tear in the Reflecting Pool with a box cutter, in the water, with no one noticing, and this wasn’t just a case of Trump overpaying a donor known for doing terrible work, then congratulations, you’re in a cult. https://t.co/mzA6tS1mjD

— Melanie D’Arrigo (@DarrigoMelanie) July 14, 2026

https://t.co/J2D8bAMEKJ pic.twitter.com/xkPuHxOWdP

— Zack Guzmán (@zGuz) July 14, 2026

The mysterious gashes have now grown by 3 times in size. Must be the Incredible Hulk with the a chain saw who is responsible.

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— Ron Shillman (@shillman1) July 14, 2026