E-Paper
Fact check: Trump did not say three people died every week at the at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool before he fixed it
Donald Trump delivered a speech addressing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation project, crime and vandalism in Washington, D.C.
Prefer HTon Google
U.S. President Donald Trump announced the reopening of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Monday after more than six months of renovation work. He also delivered a roughly 20-minute speech addressing the renovation project, crime and vandalism in Washington, D.C., before turning his attention to the ongoing election.
However, one particular remark from his speech soon attracted considerable attention on social media, with users offering their own interpretations of what he meant.
While discussing a decline in deaths, Trump said, "We were losing on average to death 3 people a week. And now we don't have that."
Trump's viral comment sparks misinterpreted claims
The comment quickly circulated across social media platforms, with some users interpreting it as a reference to people drowning in the newly renovated Reflecting Pool.
Journalist Aaron Rupar shared the specific excerpt from Trump's speech on X. Sports and political commentator Keith Olbermann subsequently retweeted the post, mocking the president's remarks.
Keith Olbermann mocks Trump over viral remark
Olbermann suggested that Trump believed three people were drowning in the Reflecting Pool every week. He further pointed out that the structure's depth at its center is reportedly no more than 30 inches.
However, the interpretation circulating online was inaccurate. Trump was not referring to deaths caused by drowning in the Reflecting Pool. Instead, he was discussing what his administration described as a decline in crime-related deaths in Washington, D.C., following its crackdown on crime.
What Trump actually meant by declining deaths
The context of Trump's remarks makes it clear that he was addressing the city's crime situation rather than the safety of the Reflecting Pool.
At approximately the 17-minute mark the president discussed the National Guard's involvement in the administration's efforts to tackle crime in Washington, D.C.
He claimed that crime had declined significantly and described the city as one of the safest in the country, contrasting its current situation with what he characterized as its previously dangerous conditions.
What did Trump say
Donald Trump said: "Crime is down - could be 90 percent, 91 percent, and Washington, DC is one of the safest cities anywhere in the United States of America. It was one of the most dangerous. We were losing, on average, to death three people a week, and now we don't have that."
He went on to acknowledge the National Guard and military personnel involved in the crackdown, crediting their efforts with removing thousands of criminals from the streets.
"And I want to thank the National Guard and all the people from the military that came in, and they really worked very hard to make sure that some bad people had been taken out. We removed about 5,000 career criminals. A lot of them came through the open border from the previous administration."
His remarks were therefore part of a broader discussion about crime reduction and his administration's law enforcement efforts in Washington, D.C., rather than an account of drowning incidents at the Reflecting Pool.
The viral interpretation linking his statement to deaths in the renovated pool consequently misrepresented the context of his speech.
