President Donald Trump has threatened to sue broadcaster ABC for its reporting on the cost of repairing damage sustained by the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington DC, claiming the network failed to report costs incurred by previous administrations.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed that ABC “failed to report that their close ‘friends,’ Democrats Obama and Biden, spent over 100 Million Dollars on the Reflecting Pool, and it never worked.”
Trump did not give any evidence for the $100 million claim. Prior reporting by PBS indicated that former President Barack Obama’s administration spent around $35 million on repairs for the monument. No major repairs to the pool are known to have been carried out during the Biden administration.
The Reporting
Last week, ABC reported that the cost to repaint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool had ballooned to more than $14.65 million, exceeding the original estimated cost of the no-bid contract by more than $4 million. The broadcaster also highlighted a $1.74 million contract awarded to Green Water Solutions, an Ohio-based company, to install a “nano bubble” system to kill algae, also using a no-bid process. This would have brought the total cost to more than $16 million.
Trump claimed the damage to the monument was caused by vandalism, though no evidence that the Reflecting Pool was intentionally damaged has been provided by the White House. Trump told reporters that a “350-foot slit” was cut with a “box-cutter or a knife of some kind.” NBC News reported that at least five people have been arrested in connection with the alleged vandalism.
The Threat
“We are preparing lawsuits against ABC for false reporting. I like their money, which will be given to the U.S. Treasury,” Trump said, referencing the $16 million that ABC paid to settle a defamation case he filed in 2024. The network paid $15 million toward Trump’s presidential library and an additional $1 million in legal fees.
The latest action against ABC comes as the company faces two investigations from the Federal Communications Commission, led by Trump appointee Brendan Carr. The FCC also demanded that ABC submit early renewal applications for eight of its local broadcasting licenses. That move came soon after comedian Jimmy Kimmel made a joke about first lady Melania Trump, and Trump called for Kimmel’s firing. The stations were reportedly not scheduled to apply for renewal until 2028.
On Monday, ABC said it was launching an on-air campaign encouraging viewers to support the network after its daytime talk show “The View” was investigated under federal “equal time” rules for political candidates.
The Bottom Line
President Trump has threatened to sue ABC for its reporting on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington DC, claiming the network failed to report costs from previous administrations. ABC reported that the cost to repaint the pool had ballooned to more than $14.6 million. Trump claimed without evidence that the Obama and Biden administrations spent $100 million. The FCC is already investigating ABC, and Trump referenced a $16 million settlement from a previous lawsuit against the network.
