President Donald Trump has claimed that vandals are responsible for patches of dead grass on the National Mall near the World War II Memorial, an area that hosted his July 4th celebration. Trump posted on Truth Social, sharing a photo of the brown and damaged turf, and stated, "Look what VANDALS did to the grass connecting the vandalized World War II Monument and the vandalized Reflecting Pool." He asserted that anyone who believed the Reflecting Pool was not vandalized should "go back to Law School!"
This claim comes as the Department of the Interior addresses significant damage to the National Mall, including the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has detailed restoration efforts and the deployment of increased security. Seven individuals have been arrested in connection with acts of vandalism targeting the National Mall, which Burgum described as an attack on the country that will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
While Trump alleges widespread vandalism caused the grass damage, photographs from the July 4th event show a large stage and seating areas occupying much of the lawn. Subsequent images depict workers removing these structures, revealing the damaged grass beneath. The provided photos illustrate that event infrastructure covered a significant portion of the affected area, but they do not definitively attribute all the grass damage to vandals.
Trump has a history of attributing damage to his projects in Washington, D.C., to vandals, sometimes without providing evidence and in contradiction to accounts from his own officials. Earlier in August, Trump criticized U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro after her office moved to dismiss a vandalism case concerning the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Newly disclosed evidence indicated liner damage from a flawed installation and a rushed completion of the project, which undermined the case against the defendant.
Separately, an arrest was made on August 16 in connection with vandalism at the World War II Memorial, where the words "Clean hands dirty $" were found painted on the monument and bubbles were released into a fountain. Felony charges are being brought against Melissa Farris in that case. Charging documents related to Farris do not mention the grassy area Trump referred to in his recent social media post. Authorities stated that Farris had previously been arrested for camping on federal property near the World War II Memorial, but not at the specific location Trump highlighted.