United States President Donald Trump flooded his Truth Social platform with artificial intelligence (AI)-generated images late Friday, including a shirtless scene placing him and senior cabinet officials floating in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, hours after vandals spray-painted a taunting political message across the same site.
The post, shared at 11:03 p.m. local time without a caption, showed Trump reclining on a golden inflatable lounger and giving a thumbs-up, alongside Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. An unidentified AI-generated woman also appeared in the scene.
The timing was notable. Earlier that morning, U.S. Park Police were alerted at around 7 a.m. by the National Park Service to roughly 15-by-30-foot graffiti reading “86 47” spray-painted onto the pool, which had been drained for renovation. The affected area was covered with a tarp while cleanup was arranged, and an active investigation is under way. The code carries a loaded meaning: “86” is widely used to mean “get rid of,” while “47” refers to Trump’s status as the 47th president.
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is currently undergoing a renovation project ordered by Trump, with Burgum overseeing the work. The $1.5 million effort is focused on fixing leaks in the pool’s ageing granite foundation, with a new industrial-grade coating described as “American flag blue” being applied to seal and repair the structure.
Trump had previously attacked his predecessor over the pool’s condition. “Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and I are working on fixing the absolutely filthy Reflecting Pool between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument,” he wrote on Truth Social in April. “This work was supposed to be done by the Biden Administration, but Sleepy Joe doesn’t know what ‘CLEAN’ or proper maintenance is.”
The Friday night session extended to eleven posts over roughly 40 minutes, including an image of Trump’s face superimposed on Mount Rushmore and several before-and-after depictions of the pool attributed to his administration.
The posts reflect Trump’s broader pattern of using AI-generated imagery on social media to promote policy initiatives and attack predecessors, a strategy that has grown more frequent since his return to the White House.
The pool renovation is part of wider preparations for the United States’ 250th anniversary of independence on July 4, 2026. The administration has also proposed an arch monument modelled on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and a mixed martial arts event on the White House lawn as part of the celebrations.
