'Will you tell Trump to stop spreading preposterous lies?': Former CNN newsman hits back at Fox News

Former CNN White House correspondent John Harwood hit back at Fox News host Laura Ingraham after she asked whether Democrats would condemn the vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The 69-year-old's response was swift: "Will any Fox anchor urge Trump to stop telling preposterous lies so dumb that a third-grader could spot them?" In a separate post, he argued that President Donald Trump was "losing it" after blaming vandals for the pool's problems since its public opening following a controversial $16 million renovation.

Ingraham's questioning of Democrats came in the wake of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt asserting that the vandalism at the pool was real, citing 17 police reports filed within days and six arrests. "These deranged—many of them long-time donors to the Democrat Party, to Barack Obama, to ActBlue—have been vandalizing and desecrating our federal monument," she told Fox News host Sean Hannity, adding that Trump intended to go through with the prosecution of the arrested individuals.

Leavitt also rejected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's characterization of the vandalism as an imaginary problem. "Only the Democrats could hate beautifying our nation's capital," she said. The pool's opening was beset with multiple snags: sweltering heat triggered an algae bloom that turned the water green rather than the intended blue, and sections of the coating that lent the pool its color began to peel within days.

Trump has been under pressure to explain the botched restoration, which began in April and was completed in June ahead of America's 250th anniversary celebrations. He has remained defiant, insisting the problems are the result of a 350-foot gash without substantiation. "It is actually numerous slashes over a very long 350-foot length. It was purposefully and criminally done, and somebody had to work very hard, probably in the dark of night, to create such a condition," he wrote on Truth Social.

President Trump has not released any evidence of vandalism but has claimed to have photos. When asked whether he would release them to the press, he said: "Yeah, at the right time you'll see it. You'll see it in court. But all you have to do is call the Parks Department, call the Department of Interior, and I don't know if their lawyers will allow you to speak to them, because you write fake news."

The narrative has struggled to hold up under scrutiny. The New York Times reported on Tuesday that administration officials were aware of the damage after National Park Service workers discovered holes, cracks, and peeling caulking in parts of the pool, along with cuts in sections of the foam, in the first week of June, when the pool opened officially. CBS News further undermined the account, reporting it could not find a gash despite a thorough examination of the pool.