Newly released photos show 'deep cuts' in Reflecting Pool just as Trump described

WASHINGTON, DC: Photographs of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool released on Friday, August 7, are drawing fresh attention to the dispute over what damaged its newly installed coating.

With a fence recently removed from the area, images now show deep cuts along the pool’s expansion joints.

The markings are strikingly similar to the damage President Donald Trump had previously described as deliberate cuts, although the photos alone do not establish who caused them or settle the wider dispute over the damage.

Photos reveal 'huge gash' hidden for weeks

The newly visible sections of the pool provide the clearest look yet at markings that had largely been concealed from public view.

The photographs show pronounced cuts running through the coating along the side of the Reflecting Pool.

White House has also reacted to the pictures on X, writing: "President Trump was right again."

The damage was reported to Park Police by the contractor as vandalism, but fencing around the project had prevented the public from getting a clear view of the affected sections.

That changed after the National Park Service removed the fence.

What is now visible is notable because it resembles the kind of damage Trump had been describing for weeks.

The president had repeatedly claimed that vandals deliberately sliced into the pool's new coating, even describing a lengthy gash that he said was made with a knife or box cutter.

The photographs do not independently establish whether that is what happened. They do, however, show that deep cuts of the type Trump had been referring to are visibly present.

Political tensions surround Reflecting Pool

The dispute intensified after the Justice Department sought to dismiss a felony property-destruction case against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn.

In a July 31 court filing, US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro cited documents from the Interior Department indicating that damage to the pool was caused by problems with the contractor's installation of the coating.

The filing described the installation as flawed and said the project had been rushed ahead of events connected to the America 250 celebrations around Independence Day.

That account conflicts with Trump's repeated insistence that vandalism was responsible for the major damage.

Trump publicly rejected Pirro's conclusion on August 1.

“I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, arguing that the incident was “a pure case of VANDALISM.”

He acknowledged that there may have been contractor problems but maintained that vandals were responsible for the principal damage.

Trump later pointed to footage that he said showed material being deliberately cut with a knife or box cutter.