White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt took aim at protesters celebrating the algae that has bloomed in the Reflecting Pool after controversial renovations ordered by President Donald Trump. Leavitt, who left for maternity leave in late April ahead of the birth of her daughter, Viviana, appeared Tuesday on Fox News' 'Hannity' to call out the protesters, whom she described as 'deranged leftists.'
Leavitt's Remarks on Fox News
'The algae is obviously the news of the day, and it is completely ridiculous. It’s unbelievable to see these people, these deranged leftists, in algae costumes with ‘team algae’ on their backs. What does that even mean?' she began.
Leavitt continued blaming Democrats for the ruckus. 'Only the Democrats could hate beautifying our nation’s capital and making it a symbol of pride again, but this is what the American people elected President Trump to do. He made this promise to them on the campaign trail, that he was going to make our nation’s capital both safe and beautiful again, and it is a promise that he has kept.'
Renovations and Algae Bloom
Trump’s multimillion-dollar renovations of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool have caused a stir after the water has since turned green from an algae bloom outbreak, and the pool’s new 'American flag blue' paint has appeared to peel off. Trump has blamed vandalism for the damage but has offered no evidence.
Trump's Vandalism Claims
In a Tuesday Truth Social post, the president alleged that defacers created a '350 foot gash' in the pool using a 'very sharp knife or razors.' He also said that six people have been arrested and seven were cited for damaging the Washington, D.C. site. A HuffPost reporter who walked around the pool Monday could not see a gash, but algae, which scientists say has been made worse by the darker color the pool was recently painted, could have been hiding damage.
'It was purposefully and criminally done, and somebody had to work very hard, probably in the dark of night, to create such a condition,' Trump wrote. When reporters asked Trump to provide proof of the vandalism, the president referred them to the National Park Service but provided no evidence of vandalism himself, according to The Hill.
Planned Repairs
Trump also said in his Truth Social post that the pool will be partially drained 'either immediately before or after the Fourth of July' for repairs.
