Donald Trump said on Sunday that vandals were to blame for large swaths of dead grass on the National Mall near the World War II Memorial, posting a photo that showed a once-green stretch turned patchy and brown across much of the turf. The grass was in the same spot where he had a stage built and hosted crowds for his July 4 celebration.
Trump wrote on Truth Social, “Look what VANDALS did to the grass connecting the vandalized World War II Monument and the vandalized Reflecting Pool, which will be opened again, and better than ever, shortly,” and added, “Anybody who thinks the Reflecting Pool wasn’t vandalized should go back to Law School!” He also called the area “a pure case of VANDALISM, that included the grass,” and said, “There may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by VANDALS!”
The claim landed because the lawn had been covered by a large stage and seating areas during the July 4 event, and photos from a streaming webcam atop the Washington Monument showed the structures covering nearly the entire stretch. photos from the days that followed then showed workers removing the setup and brown, damaged grass underneath, leaving open the question of whether the harm came from vandalism or from trampled turf and event-related construction.
The friction is sharper because authorities announced an arrest on Friday in a separate vandalism case at the World War II Memorial. In that case, the words “Clean hands dirty $” were found painted on the monument and bubbles filled a fountain, and Jeanine Pirro said felony charges are being brought against Melissa L. Farris. Charging documents in that case made no mention of the grassy area Trump highlighted, even though Farris had previously been arrested for camping on federal property a few blocks from the memorial.
Trump has repeatedly blamed vandals for damage tied to his renovation projects in Washington, often without evidence, and he did it again here despite the photos showing the lawn had already carried a stage, seating and crowds. On Aug. 1, he had posted a different photo of the same area that appeared to show “86 47” emblazoned into the grass and called it vandalism, but those numbers were not visible in the image he shared on Sunday. The lawn will be opened again, as Trump promised, but the exact cause of the dead grass he singled out remains unresolved.
