Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the algae in the Reflecting Pool was “in the pipes” and is now all gone despite President Donald Trump’s insistence that vandals had introduced the organisms to the pool.
Appearing on CNN the day after the U.S. celebrated its 250th birthday, the conversation quickly switched to drama around the Reflecting Pool after a single question about fireworks, to Burgum’s chagrin. When asked by host Dana Bash what went wrong, the interior secretary touted the progress that had been made.
“Well, the algae is all gone. I mean, that was a momentary thing. As it was being refilled, there was algae in the pipes, but the new technology, the nanobubblers that have been installed — if you go down there today and look at it, it is completely clean and clear,” Burgum said.
“And so for the first time, there’s an actual solution that involves making sure that we‘ve got an algae-free pond,” he added, then turning to claims that paint was peeling off.
“It keeps being reported that this was paint. It was not paint. This was an industrial liner that was put into the pool for the very first time, multiple layers fixing 2 1/2 miles of expansion,” Burgum continued.
His reply drew attention for blaming the presence of algae on problems with the pipes before the renovation rather than vandals, as Trump had done, with the president even suggesting vandals had introduced fertilizer to foster the algae’s growth. Burgum still blamed vandals for the industrial lining peeling off, however.
Also in the interview, Burgum denied that Trump’s motorcade driving over the pool damaged it and said the same contractors who refitted the pool would do the repairs, as they did a “fantastic job.”
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When asked about David Hearn, the former Olympian who was indicted by a grand jury over his alleged vandalism of the Reflecting Pool, which he denies, Burgum was dismissive.
“You can be a former governor — just because you were a former something doesn’t exclude you from the law today,” he said.