Trump Threatens to Sue ABC Over Reflecting Pool Cost Reporting

President Donald Trump threatened to sue ABC News over its reporting on the cost of repairing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, calling the coverage false and saying he wants the network's money directed to the U.S. Treasury.

"I like their money, which will be given to the U.S. Treasury," Trump wrote on Truth Social, also referencing the $16 million 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.

Trump claimed ABC "failed to report that their close 'friends,' Dumocrats Obama and Biden, spent over 100 Million Dollars on the Reflecting Pool, and it never worked." He did not provide evidence for the $100 million figure. Prior reporting by PBS indicated the Obama administration spent about $35 million on repairs. No major repairs to the pool are known to have been carried out during the Biden administration.

ABC reported last week that the cost to repaint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool had risen to more than $14.65 million. That exceeded the original estimate on the no-bid contract by more than $4 million, according to federal contract data. The broadcaster also highlighted a $1.74 million contract awarded to Green Water Solutions, an Ohio company, to install a "nano bubble" system to kill algae using a similar no-bid process. Those two contracts would bring the total project cost to more than $16 million.

Trump also claimed the damage was caused by vandalism, though the White House has not provided evidence that the pool was intentionally damaged. Trump told reporters Monday that a "350-foot slit" was cut with a "box-cutter or a knife of some kind." NBC News reported at least five people have been arrested in connection with the alleged vandalism.

The latest legal threat comes as ABC faces two investigations from the Federal Communications Commission, led by Trump appointee Brendan Carr. The FCC demanded ABC submit early renewal applications for eight local broadcasting licenses. The stations were not scheduled to apply for renewal until 2028 at the earliest. That move came after comedian Jimmy Kimmel made a joke about First Lady Melania Trump, and Trump called for Kimmel's firing.

On Monday, ABC launched 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, Reuters reported.