The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has become too big a problem for Donald Trump to tackle on his own — and he no longer has to with a key staffer back on the clock.
The $14 million beautification project tops the president’s list of priorities and is dominating the news cycle with its algae-filled water and peeling paint issues.
Trump, 80, wants the public to buy into the idea that “vandals” are to blame for the memorial’s renovations coming undone weeks after crews labored over its fresh paint job and the installation of new sealant.
His threat that the captured ruffian would face jail time was mocked on social media, and his hyperbolic claim that a knife was used to cut a 350-foot gash into the pool’s blue-coated basin stirred laughter instead of praise.
The administration scrambled for days to issue statements and even enlisted the Department of the Interior to defend Trump.
The stinging rebuttals lacked the conviction that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has shown over the past 18 months.
She previously described the estimated $600 million White House ballroom as “critical for our national security.”
His “superstar” staffer also downplayed the time he told a female reporter to “quiet, piggy” as part of his “frank” and “honest” dealings with the “fake news media.”
Leavitt, 28, was on maternity leave when the monument chaos erupted. She and her husband, Nicholas Riccio, 60, welcomed a daughter named Vivian on May 1. They are also parents to toddler son Niko.
We took a family trip to the Lincoln Monument tonight to check out the new reflecting pool.
— Karoline Leavitt (@karolineleavitt) June 6, 2026
Absolutely stunning. DC is so beautiful again, just in time for our Nation’s 250th.
Thank you, President Trump!! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/57A6s0bj3P
Leavitt worked through late April, and she famously only had three days of leave after her first birth before resuming work.
She was not missed by Trump’s detractors, who openly dreaded her eventual return this time around.
Leavitt teased that she never really clocked out by making appearances in the Capitol and firing off tweets to support the administration.
She and her family visited the reflecting pool at the top of June. The mom of two tweeted that it was “absolutely stunning” and “DC is so beautiful again, just in time for our nation’s 250th.” She and Riccio also attended the South Lawn UFC 250 fight on her boss’ birthday.
The fast-talker also showed off her postpartum transformation in photos that left critics suggesting she get back to caring for her newborn.
However, Leavitt proved that she was in proximity to work during her recovery, and now the public is certain she was never out of the loop. The press secretary was officially back in the office on June 23; her first act was to push Trump’s claims of sabotage.
“It’s unbelievable to see these people, these deranged leftists in algae costumes with algae on their backs,” Leavitt told Fox News during a live TV interview.
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She continued, “What does that even mean? Only the Democrats could hate beautifying our nation’s capital and making it a symbol of pride again. But this is what the American people elected President Trump to do. He made this promise to them on the campaign trail.”
A critic immediately responded on X with “Imagine how desperate they must be to pull this one from maternity leave to help amplify their lie.”
“You know things are bad when they scrap the bottom of the barrel and come up with BS Barbie to save the day,” an IG Threads user remarked. A third individual wondered, “Can we go back to not hearing or seeing her talk? She can have the longest maternity leave ever honestly.”
Leavitt’s work day also included boarding Air Force One for a Trump rally in Pennsylvania.
