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U.S. President Donald Trump's motorcade drove through the newly painted and sealed Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Rating:Trump's motorcade passed through the empty pool on May 7, 2026, after it was painted and sealed and before it was refilled with water as part of a renovation project.
As Washington, D.C., prepared to celebrated the 250th anniversary of the U.S., a rumor spread online that President Donald Trump's motorcade had driven through the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after it was painted and sealed as part of a $14.6 million renovation project.
The rumor circulated as the U.S. National Park Service struggled to maintain the appearance of the landmark after Trump ordered it to be repainted to "American flag blue" for the anniversary.
Examples of the claim appeared on Facebook and X. One X post shared a video of a police car and several black SUVs driving through the landmark. The post claimed "Trump made his motorcade drive down the reflecting pool before it was sealed" and suggested the motorcade caused the paint to peel off later (archived):
Several Snopes readers also emailed us and searched our website to verify the veracity of the story.
In short, the claim is true and the images are authentic. In early May 2026, after the pool was repainted dark blue and before the NPS began to refill it with water, a White House official posted a video showing Trump's motorcade driving though the landmark.
Snopes contacted the White House to ask about the purpose of the drive across the pool. We will update this article if we receive a response.
Claims that the official cars had driven though the pool surfaced as early as May 7, 2026 (archived):
Various X posts credited the above video to White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, who posted it earlier that day (archived):
"They see me rolling," Cheung's post reads, referencing rapper Chamillionaire's 2005 song "Ridin'." Cheung added, "President Trump rides in the Reflecting Pool at the Lincoln Memorial!"
That day and the next, multiple news outlets reported on the motorcade crossing the hallowed site, including CNN, The New York Post, NBC, Washington, D.C., CBS affiliate WUSA9, ABC7 News and Forbes.
CNN said Trump "was there to tour the site and see the new color."
NBC showed footage of the cars crossing a seemingly wet patch of paint, leaving tire marks behind. Forbes showed the same clip.
It is unclear whether the motorcade may have contributed to the paint peeling off a month later.
For further reading, Snopes debunked a rumor that the Trump Organization was selling pieces of peeling paint from the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
