US President Donald Trump is threatening to take ABC News (the US one) to court over its reporting on the cost of renovating the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington DC, accusing the network of “false reporting” while conveniently leaving out, in his view, what previous administrations spent on the same landmark.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden had spent “over 100 Million Dollars on the Reflecting Pool, and it never worked.” He didn’t back that up with evidence.
Fact-checking by PBS found the Obama administration spent around $35 million on repairs; there’s no record of major works under Biden.
The post on Truth Social
So what did ABC actually report? Last week, the network revealed that the cost of repainting the Reflecting Pool had blown out to more than AU$22.96 million – more than AU$6.27million over the original estimate on a contract that wasn’t put to competitive tender. ABC also flagged a separate AU$2.73 million no-bid contract for an Ohio company to install an algae-killing “nano bubble” system, pushing the total project cost past AU$25.08 million.
Trump says the job was bigger than originally scoped, covering outer areas and sidewalks, and insists the damage was caused by vandalism – claiming a “350-foot slit” was cut with a box cutter.
At least five people have been arrested in connection with the alleged incident, according to NBC News. The White House has not provided formal evidence of deliberate damage.
READ MORE: ‘The View’ is being investigated amid crackdown on equal time for politicians
READ MORE: Court date set for Trump’s defamation case against the BBC
‘I like their money’
Trump made clear in his Truth Social post what he’s after. “We are preparing lawsuits against ABC for false reporting. I like their money, which will be given to the US Treasury,” he wrote – a nod to the AU$25.08 million ABC paid to settle a previous defamation case he brought in 2024.
Of that, AU$23.51 million went to his presidential library and AU$1.57 million to legal fees.
It is far from the only media lawsuit on Trump’s docket. He has filed a AU$15.67 billion suit against the BBC, alleging that a documentary about the 6 January 2021 Capitol riot edited his speech in a misleading way.
Another AU$15.67 billion action targets The Wall Street Journal over its reporting connected to Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump has also threatened The New York Times with legal action and previously sued the publication over the release of his tax records. CBS and its parent company, Paramount Global, settled a separate defamation suit out of court.
ABC under pressure from multiple directions
The threat of a lawsuit is only part of what ABC is dealing with.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) – led by Trump appointee Brendan Carr – has launched two investigations into the network and ordered eight of its local TV stations to file for licence renewal ahead of schedule.
Those stations weren’t due to apply until 2028 at the earliest.
The order came after Trump publicly called for the firing of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel following a joke Kimmel made about first lady Melania Trump.
READ MORE: Trump takes aim at Kimmel – but this time, it’s Melania
READ MORE: Kimmel tells Melania to ‘have a conversation’ with Trump
ABC’s daytime talk show The View is also the subject of a separate federal investigation for political “equal time” violations. In response to the mounting pressure, the network launched an on-air campaign on Monday asking viewers to publicly back it.