Doug Burgum Clashes With CNN Over Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Vandalism

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum unloaded on CNN Sunday, accusing the media of pushing a misleading narrative about the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool while downplaying what the Trump Administration says was a coordinated campaign of vandalism.

Appearing on State of the Union, Burgum sparred with anchor Dana Bash over reports criticizing the recently restored Reflecting Pool, arguing that the real story isn’t algae or cosmetic blemishes—it’s the criminal damage investigators say was intentionally inflicted on one of America’s most recognizable monuments.

The dispute centers on a $14.8 million restoration project launched under President Donald Trump ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary. The overhaul repaired decades-old infrastructure problems at the 1922 landmark, including a leak that had been wasting roughly 45,000 gallons of water each day.

After media reports highlighted green water, floating debris, and what some outlets described as peeling paint, Bash asked Burgum what had gone wrong.

“It keeps being reported that this was paint; it was not paint,” Burgum replied. “This was an industrial liner that was put into the pool for the very first time … multiple layers, fixing two and a half miles of expansion.”

Burgum said the temporary green tint resulted from algae remaining in the system as the pool was refilled and insisted the issue has already been resolved through a new ozone nanobubble filtration system.

“The water is completely clean and clear,” he said.

The interview grew more contentious when Burgum rejected suggestions that the damaged liner was the result of faulty construction.

“It didn’t peel off. There was vandalism. There were box cutters, there have been seven arrests,” Burgum said. “There were people literally trying to destroy part of a monument. The Reflecting Pool is not just a pool on the Mall; it is part of the Lincoln Memorial.”

When Bash questioned whether investigators could conclusively determine the damage was intentional, Burgum answered without hesitation.

“Oh, yeah, absolutely we can,” he said. “The only way you can end up with actual slices in one spot and not the other is that someone physically cut it … it would never just like peel off or fall off.”

Federal prosecutors have charged former Olympic canoeist David Hearn in connection with damage to the site. According to authorities, National Park Service employees allegedly witnessed Hearn pulling away sections of the protective liner while investigators say other suspects used sharp blades to carve a gash stretching more than 300 feet through the material.

Officials say the U.S. Park Police have opened 14 vandalism investigations tied to the Reflecting Pool, resulting in at least seven arrests and five federal citations. Authorities are also investigating reports that corrosive chemicals were introduced into the water, alongside a separate incident in which the numbers “86 47” were allegedly burned into nearby grass.

Burgum closed by accusing the national media of obsessing over temporary cosmetic issues while overlooking broader crime and vandalism affecting the nation’s capital.

“I’m not sure why you and others in the media think that you want to keep trying to question whether or not things happened,” Burgum told Bash. “The real scandal is about the fact that the state of our capital was in such total disrepair.”

He also criticized news outlets for giving comparatively little attention to pro-Hamas graffiti that defaced nearby federal monuments during recent demonstrations, arguing that coverage has focused more on algae in the Reflecting Pool than on acts of vandalism against national landmarks.

Watch the clip below:

🚨 HOLY CRAP! CNN’s Dana Bash just got OBLITERATED for trying to say leftists didn’t vandalize Lincoln Reflecting Pool

SEC. DOUG BURGUM: We CAN prove it!

BASH: People cutting a 350 foot gash in the reflecting pool?!

BURGUM: “Dana, I’m not SURE WHY YOU and others in the media… pic.twitter.com/yKNx7j1im0

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 5, 2026