Trump Blames Vandals for Damaged Grass After July 4 Celebration

Following a July 4 event that marked the nation’s 250th anniversary, a large stage and seating were erected on the National Mall near the World War II Memorial. After the structures were removed, the grass in the area appeared brown and patchy. President Donald Trump posted a photograph of the lawn on his Truth Social platform and asserted that “vandals” were responsible for the damage, despite the lack of visual evidence of graffiti or spray-paint on the turf.

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President Trump framed the condition of the grass as a “pure case of VANDALISM,” linking it to recent graffiti on the World II Memorial and a threat he said was painted into the grass. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office, however, concluded that damage to the nearby Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool resulted from construction deficiencies, not vandalism. Federal authorities announced an arrest of Melissa L. Farris of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, after she was recorded admitting to spray-painting the World II Memorial. Charging documents do not reference the grassy area highlighted by the president.

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John Kaminski, a turf professor at Penn State University, said the photograph “does not clearly indicate vandalism” and cautioned that attributing the brown lawn to malicious acts is a “large leap.” Freelance journalist and golf-course consultant Bradley S.

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Trump claimed that more than 400,000 people attended the July 4 celebration before a storm delayed his remarks. A webcam atop the Washington Monument captured a bandstand and seating covering nearly the entire lawn. Subsequent Associated Press images showed workers removing the structures and exposing the damaged grass. In early August, the president posted a second photograph that appeared to show the numbers “86 47” in the grass, which federal officials said could be interpreted as a threat against the 47th president.

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• “Look 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,” — Donald Trump, president

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