Donald Trump’s Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has become one headache after another.

The president is now playing the political blame game after his high-profile renovation led to rapid reports of algae growth and recent claims of vandalism.

His $14.8 million renovation is facing bigger problems, including a liner that is detaching from the concrete basin and floating to the surface.

Now, a former Olympian has ended up in handcuffs as Trump becomes increasingly convinced his administration is under sabotage.

A former Olympian has been arrested after alleged vandalism at Trump’s reflecting pool. (Photos by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images; Paul Lemon/Facebook)

Park Police handcuffed David Hearn, a 67-year-old former Olympic canoeist from Bethesda, Maryland, hours before Trump erupted online.

Hearn had stopped during a 52-mile bike ride to check out the renovated project on Friday.

The three-time Olympian said he noticed a loose section of the new “American flag blue” liner floating in the water.

Out of pure curiosity, he said he reached down and touched the already detached material.

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Officers charged Hearn with misdemeanor destruction of government property, though he insists he did nothing wrong.

“I didn’t vandalize anything,” he said after his release, according to The Washington Post. “I didn’t destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.”

“I reached in there, and I was able to grab the end of that flapping piece, the already peeling piece,” Hearn explained. “It was still attached to the bottom. I didn’t remove anything.”

A very different version quickly appeared online.

Video footage shared by conservative blogger Emily Miller shows Hearn handcuffed, surrounded by National Guard and Park Police, calling the arrest justified.

“Man arrested for vandalizing Lincoln Reflecting Pool,” she wrote on X. “He grabbed the hose that female National Park Service workers were using to clear the algae.”

Later that night, Trump exploded on Truth Social, blaming vandals and Democrats for what he destroyed.

He argued the damage had nothing to do with faulty construction, despite several warnings about an algae bloom. Instead, he blamed political opponents for trying to ruin the project.

The president then accused unnamed critics of using chemicals to damage the renovation.

“No different than the chemicals that were used on the National Mall,” he wrote. “They used something similar in the Reflecting Pool to try to destroy and demean our beautiful work.”

Trump also accused ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl of trying to rip the pool’s lining.

Karl publicly rejected that accusation, according to The Washington Examiner. Like Heard, he said the loose material was already floating in the water.

Still, Trump insisted the algae was “75% gone” and promised the problem would soon be resolved. He also downplayed the damage, calling it a “small area” that crews would repair next week.

He then shifted gears and blamed Democrats, repeatedly using the term “Dumocrats,” a nickname he claims to have invented.

Hearn spent nearly five hours in custody after Park Police claimed they watched Heard interacting with the damaged painted-on liner. He is scheduled to appear in court next month.

Hearn was not the only person stopped near the pool.

Several videos, posted on Saturday, June 20, show unidentified individuals handcuffed after allegedly reaching into the water and touching the liner.

After acknowledging the additional arrests, Trump announced plans to drain the pool that was “never so beautiful as it was just one week ago.”

“We met with contractors today, will probably be forced to release and drain much of the water in order to do the necessary repairs, but will have them done as quickly as possible,” he insisted on Truth Social.

He accused the vandals of using a sharp item to put “a 250 foot long gash into the beautiful facade of what took so much work, competence, and money to build and complete. They also poured corrosive and destructive chemicals into the Pool.”

Online reaction split almost immediately.

Critics quickly pointed out the irony that some of the people Trump blamed were contractors and workers connected to the very renovation project his administration approved and oversaw.

“Vandals found. Park workers pouring Hydrogen Peroxide into the Reflecting Pool,” said one person.

A second pointed out, “His people poured hydrogen peroxide in it. It’s a paint remover.”

“Why do you enjoy being lied to … we all saw the pool cleaners dumping gallons of hydrogen peroxide in the water for days,” blasted a third person. “That was obviously Trump’s attempt to fix the algae… he did this to himself you morons.”

Another said, “Of course he did. Because saying the truth would mean to admit he hired amateurs to do a bad job.”

Supporters of the former Olympian strongly disagreed: “He didn’t vandalize anything, he grabbed a hose. He was cuffed, but not arrested.”

What was supposed to be a showcase project has become a public relations nightmare. The Reflecting Pool fight has moved beyond peeling liner and algae, becoming another flashpoint in America’s divide, and Trump is blaming everyone.

‘He Did This’: Trump Blames Sabotage After Reflecting Pool Chaos Lands a Former Olympian In Handcuffs — But Critics Say He’s Missing One Thing