Donald Trump blames vandals for National Mall grass damage

President Donald Trump has accused “VANDALS” of damaging grass on the National Mall near the World War II Memorial. In a social media post on Truth Social, Trump shared a photograph showing patchy, brown turf and claimed the damage was intentional, specifically linking it to the areas surrounding the memorial and the Reflecting Pool.

Trump did not provide evidence to support the claim of vandalism. Experts noted that the appearance of the grass is consistent with heavy foot traffic and wear typically seen following large-scale public events, such as the July 4 celebrations held at the site. John Kaminski, a turf professor at Penn State University, stated that nothing in the provided photograph clearly indicates vandalism, suggesting the conclusion is a “fairly large leap.”

This incident follows previous instances where the president attributed damage to renovation projects in Washington, D.C., to vandals, sometimes despite official findings to the contrary. For example, a recent investigation into damage at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool concluded the issue resulted from poor construction rather than intentional destruction.