{"id":166404,"date":"2026-08-17T14:41:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T17:41:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/trump-blames-vandals-for-damaged-grass-where-he-held-july-4-celebration\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T14:41:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T17:41:45","slug":"trump-blames-vandals-for-damaged-grass-where-he-held-july-4-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/trump-blames-vandals-for-damaged-grass-where-he-held-july-4-celebration\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump blames vandals for damaged grass where he held July 4 celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"

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WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump says vandals are to blame for large swaths of dead grass on the National Mall near the World War II Memorial \u2014 in the spot where he had a stage built and hosted crowds for his July 4 celebration<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Trump made the accusation in a social media post on Sunday without saying why he believes it\u2019s the work of vandals instead of trampled turf from the Independence Day festivities. The Republican president posted a photo showing a once-grassy area by the World War II Memorial, now patchy and brown across much of the sprawling turf.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook what VANDALS did to the grass connecting the vandalized World War II Monument and the vandalized Reflecting Pool, which will be opened again, and better than ever, shortly,\u201d Trump said on his Truth Social platform.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnybody who thinks the Reflecting Pool wasn\u2019t vandalized should go back to Law School!\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Trump has repeatedly blamed vandals for damage to his renovation projects in the nation\u2019s capital, often without evidence and sometimes despite opposing accounts from his officials. Trump lashed out at U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro<\/a><\/span> this month after her office concluded that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was the result of poor construction and not the work of vandals, as Trump claimed.<\/p>\n

Authorities on Friday announced an arrest in connection with vandalism at the World War II Memorial<\/a><\/span>, after the words \u201cClean hands dirty $\u201d were found painted on the monument and bubbles filled a fountain. Pirro said felony charges were being brought against Melissa L. Farris, who was in custody and couldn\u2019t be reached for comment.<\/p>\n

A woman identified on her Facebook page as Melissa Lovewell on Thursday posted a video in which she is seen taking cans of spray paint from her bag and then painting the monument. \u201cI will wait here to be arrested for spraying our veterans\u2019 fountain,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was me. I\u2019m doing it. It\u2019s on camera.\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman was identified by her Kentucky driver\u2019s license as Melissa L. Farris, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, an arrest warrant says.<\/p>\n

Charging documents in that case make no mention of the grassy area Trump is highlighting in his new claims. Authorities said Farris had previously been arrested for camping on federal property a few blocks from the World War II Memorial, but not the area cited by Trump.<\/p>\n

That stretch of lawn is instead where a large stage was built and crowds gathered to hear from Trump and watch fireworks at a July 4 event celebrating the nation\u2019s 250th anniversary. Trump claimed without providing evidence that more than 400,000 people attended the event before a storm hit the area and delayed his remarks.<\/p>\n

Photos from the time, taken by a streaming webcam atop the Washington Monument, show a large bandstand and seating areas covering nearly the entire lawn Trump now says has been vandalized. Associated Press photos from the days that followed showed workers removing the structures, revealing brown, damaged grass underneath.<\/p>\n

On Aug. 1, Trump posted a different photo of the same area that appears to show the numbers \u201c86 47\u201d \u2014 which federal officials have said constitutes a threat against Trump, the 47th president \u2014 emblazoned into the grass. He cited it as evidence refuting Pirro\u2019s conclusion, calling it \u201ca pure case of VANDALISM, that included the grass.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by VANDALS!\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

Those numbers are not visible in the photo Trump posted to social media on Sunday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n