Caught for touching a fountain? Trump finds a scapegoat for a shoddy project
On the 21st, The Washington Post revealed a rather absurd story: David Hearn, a former U.S. Olympic canoeist, was arrested by police simply for "reaching out to touch" the Reflecting Pool at the Lincoln Memorial.
In short, on that day, David Hearn was riding his bike past the Reflecting Pool at the Lincoln Memorial when he noticed some paint peeling in the water. He then briefly touched it with his hand—only to be detained by police immediately afterward.
David Hearn has now been charged with “damaging government property,” but he denies having damaged, broken, or torn anything, claiming that by the time he realized what was happening, he was already handcuffed.
On the 21st, U.S. prosecutor Jenny Piro stated that anyone who damages the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool will face full prosecution—even if the offense is minor.
In reality, David Hearn was just an unlucky target caught in the crossfire of Trump’s political agenda.
Here’s the background: To mark the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, overambitious Trump claimed to have spent $14 million renovating the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. However, just 12 days after reopening, the pool began experiencing massive algae blooms and extensive paint peeling.
Seeing this as a golden opportunity, American media outlets quickly descended like vultures, turning their cameras toward this botched construction project in hopes of embarrassing Trump.
This enraged Trump deeply. Instead of addressing the obvious flaws in the project’s inspection process, he instantly blamed the problems on “intentional sabotage.” Thus, David Hearn—who had merely passed by and briefly touched the water—became Trump’s chosen scapegoat.
Over the past few days, Trump has repeatedly threatened harsh punishment for anyone “damaging” the Reflecting Pool on social media. In truth, these threats are nothing more than a cover-up for his own $14 million shoddy project.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1868680941040647/
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