A White House social media account on Wednesday, June 24, 2026 called former CNN correspondent Jim Acosta “truly one of the dumbest individuals to have ever existed” after he posted video showing peeling paint and algae at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool but no evidence of the vandalism President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed occurred there.
The administration’s official @RapidResponse47 account on X attacked Acosta with personal insults rather than addressing his findings, telling him to seek professional help and declaring him among the least intelligent people ever to have drawn breath.
A Long and Contentious History
The animosity between Acosta and the Trump orbit stretches back years. In November 2018, the White House suspended his press credentials after falsely accusing him of pushing an intern during a briefing. A doctored video of the incident circulated widely and led to a lawsuit before his access was eventually restored. That episode set the tone for a relationship defined almost entirely by mutual contempt.
In January 2025, Trump posted on Truth Social describing Acosta as among the least credible and most dishonest journalists in the profession and a major sleazebag, reacting with visible delight to reports that CNN had moved him to a late-night slot. His response to Trump’s Truth Social attack was characteristically dry — he posted a screenshot of it and observed that someone appeared to be suffering from “Acosta Derangement Syndrome.”
Acosta ultimately left the network that month after declining an offer to anchor a late-night program that would have required him to relocate to Los Angeles. He served as CNN’s chief White House correspondent through both the Barack Obama and first President Donald Trump administrations.
What Acosta Found at the Pool
Acosta walked the full length of the 103-year-old landmark in Washington, D.C., searching for the slash that Trump has repeatedly insisted vandals carved into the pool’s base. He came up empty. What he found was paint on the pool’s bottom peeling away in large sections — shoddy renovation work carried out under the administration’s direction.
Acosta said he went looking for the slit Trump keeps lying about but didn’t find any of that, though he discovered extensive evidence that the coating applied to the pool floor had deteriorated and fallen apart. He concluded flatly that the president’s account had no basis in fact.
Trump Points the Finger at Democrats
Rather than acknowledge the possibility of a construction failure, Trump moved quickly to assign blame. He told NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday that Democratic “thugs” were responsible, saying six people had been arrested and that six or seven more were under investigation. Trump claimed vandals used a box cutter or sharp knife to slash the pool’s rubberized surface and may have deliberately dumped fertilizer into the water. He told Rutte the pool would be drained and restored around the Fourth of July.
Trump also linked one of the suspects to the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue, saying the person was a major donor to Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt amplified that line on Fox News, saying those arrested were deranged individuals and longtime donors to the Democratic Party, to Barack Obama and to Act Blue.
A Renovation Gone Wrong
The trouble at the reflecting pool traces back to Trump’s decision to resurface its concrete bottom in what the administration described as “American flag blue.” The project’s cost began at an estimated $2 million but has since expanded with total expenses beyond $16 million. No-bid contracts were issued without planning approval, and lawmakers now seek accountability for the project’s management.
When the pool was refilled earlier this month, the protective coating on the concrete began coming loose almost right away, and the water turned a poisonous green shade as algae spread without control. Workers have been working to kill the algae and resurface the base, and helicopters have circled overhead to prevent further incidents. Dead ducks were also reportedly found near the pool. The nation’s capital now faces the prospect of celebrating America’s 250th birthday with the landmark sitting empty.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said Washington will now celebrate America’s 250th birthday with an empty reflecting pool — a circumstance he called a testament to the project’s mismanagement. The pool’s troubles show no sign of quiet resolution, and the White House’s decision to respond to a journalist’s field report with insults rather than evidence has done little to close the story down.