{"id":574680,"date":"2026-08-04T16:54:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T16:54:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/574680\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T16:54:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T16:54:10","slug":"jimmy-fallon-revels-in-trump-defeat-after-reflecting-pool-vandals-story-falls-apart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/574680\/","title":{"rendered":"Jimmy Fallon revels in Trump defeat after reflecting pool \u2018vandals\u2019 story falls apart"},"content":{"rendered":"

Your support helps us to tell the story<\/p>\n

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n

Your support makes all the difference.Read more<\/p>\n

Jimmy Fallon spent a portion of Monday\u2019s Tonight Show celebrating Trump\u2019s defeat<\/a> in the ongoing Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool <\/a>saga. <\/p>\n

The shallow pool was recently refurbished with a shade of dark blue and outfitted with \u201cadvanced nanobubbler technology\u201d to tackle algae blooms that have long plagued the landmark \u2014 but algae returned shortly after the multi-million-dollar renovations were complete, and the new sealant started to peel off in chunks that bubbled to the surface.<\/p>\n

Late last week, Washington, D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro<\/a> moved to dismiss criminal charges<\/a> against former Olympian David Hearn \u2014 one of several people arrested on suspicion of vandalizing the monument \u2014 after the Trump administration admitted that the damage to the recently installed blue liner was \u201cthe result of flawed installation by the contractor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fallon<\/a>, 51, weighed in on the president\u2019s defeat, saying, \u201cTrump is upset because his own Justice Department admitted the reflecting pool damage wasn\u2019t caused by vandalism, like he said. It was just a result of shoddy construction work.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrump claimed someone used a knife to quickly cut the pool liner the length of three football fields. I can barely use a knife to cut open my Amazon box,\u201d the late night host<\/a> quipped.<\/p>\n

\"JimmyJimmy Fallon mocked Donald Trump over the reflecting pool drama on \u2018The Tonight Show\u2019 (Getty\/Reuters)<\/p>\n

Fallon then joked that Trump might now look to draining the monument, \u201ccovering it in green felt and turning it into a reflecting pool table.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe might be asking too much of Trump to reopen the Strait of Hormuz when he can\u2019t even reopen the pool in his backyard,\u201d Fallon added.<\/p>\n

Trump initially said a refurbishing project for the 2,030-foot pool could be done quickly for $1.5 million in time for White House-backed Fourth of July celebrations. His administration has now spent nearly $14.7 million<\/a>, with all funds directed to Atlantic Industrial Coatings LLC, Virginia, according to federal spending records.<\/p>\n

The pool has been closed and drained \u2014 again \u2014 for more repairs.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has been shut for more repairs (Reuters)<\/p>\n

Hearn, a two-time whitewater racing world champion who competed in the canoe slalom at three Olympic Games, was in the middle of a 52-mile bike ride on June 19 when he stopped to visit the pool.<\/p>\n

\u201cI reached in there, and I was able to grab the end of that flapping piece, the already peeling piece. It was still attached to the bottom. I didn\u2019t remove anything,\u201d he told The Washington Post last month.<\/p>\n

That weekend, Trump claimed an unnamed \u201cvandal\u201d had \u201cdone everything possible to hurt the inside surface that was just installed\u201d in an attempt to \u201cdestroy and demean our beautiful work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hearn pleaded not guilty<\/a> to one felony count of destruction of property earlier this month in the reflecting pool case. He was facing up to 10 years behind bars if convicted.<\/p>\n

Trump has since lashed out at Pirro\u2019s handling of the case<\/a>, saying she \u201cfolded like an umbrella.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":574681,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[27749,146,85,46,411],"class_list":["post-574680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-domestic-politics","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/574680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=574680"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/574680\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/574681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=574680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=574680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=574680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}