Trump blames vandals for National Mall grass damage after July 4 event

Donald Trump said vandals damaged the National Mall grass near the World War II Memorial. The claim drew scrutiny because the same lawn hosted his July 4 event and is absent from the latest case documents.

In Short

• Charging papers in the memorial case did not mention the damaged lawn
• Webcam and agency photos showed staging structures covering nearly the entire stretch
• Workers later removed the event setup, exposing brown and visibly worn grass

US President Donald Trump on Sunday blamed vandals for large patches of dead grass on the National Mall near the World War II Memorial, the same area where a stage was built and crowds gathered for his July 4 event. He made the claim in a social media post but did not say why he believed the damage was caused by vandals rather than by turf being trampled during the Independence Day celebrations.

Trump shared a photograph showing patchy brown grass across a large stretch of lawn by the memorial. His remarks came days after authorities announced an arrest in a separate vandalism case at the World War II Memorial, though charging documents in that case did not mention the grassy area he referred to.

“Look what VANDALS did to the grass connecting the vandalised World War II Monument and the vandalised Reflecting Pool, which will be opened again, and better than ever, shortly,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Anybody who thinks the Reflecting Pool wasn't vandalised should go back to Law School!” he added.

Trump has repeatedly blamed vandals for damage to his renovation projects in Washington, often without evidence and at times despite differing accounts from his own officials. Earlier this month, he lashed out at US Attorney Jeanine Pirro after her office said damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was caused by poor construction and not vandalism, as Trump had claimed.

Authorities on Friday announced an arrest in connection with vandalism at the World War II Memorial after the words “Clean hands dirty $” were found painted on the monument and bubbles filled a fountain. Pirro said felony charges were being brought against Melissa L Farris.

Charging documents in that case do not mention the grassy area highlighted by Trump. Authorities said Farris had previously been arrested for camping on federal property a few blocks from the World War II Memorial, but not in the area cited by Trump.

That stretch of lawn was where a large stage was built and crowds gathered to hear Trump and watch fireworks at a July 4 event marking the nation’s 250th anniversary. Trump claimed, without providing evidence, that more than 400,000 people attended before a storm hit the area and delayed his remarks.

Photographs taken at the time by a streaming webcam atop the Washington Monument showed a large bandstand and seating areas covering nearly the entire lawn that Trump now says was vandalised. Associated Press photographs from the following days showed workers removing the structures and revealing brown, damaged grass underneath.

On August 1, Trump posted another photograph of the same area that appeared to show the numbers “86 47” on the grass, which federal officials have said amounts to a threat against Trump. He cited that image as evidence against Pirro’s conclusion and wrote, “There may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by VANDALS!”

Those numbers were not visible in the photograph Trump posted on Sunday. In his latest remarks, Trump again attributed damage around the National Mall memorial area to vandals, while the lawn he pointed to was also the site of his July 4 event and was not mentioned in the latest memorial vandalism case.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends