Lincoln Memorial Defaced With Taunting Message for Trump
Donald Trump’s prized Washington, D.C., facelift just got hit with a message tailor-made to set him off.
Authorities are scrambling after vandals spray-painted “86 47” across the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool—an ultra-specific taunt that critics and allies alike have been battling over for months.
The roughly 15-by-30-foot graffiti appeared early Friday morning, according to U.S. Park Police, who told The Daily Beast they were alerted at around 7 a.m. by the National Park Service. The message was quickly covered up with a tarp as crews coordinated the cleanup.
The message itself carries a loaded meaning for MAGA. “86” is widely used in restaurant slang to mean “get rid of,” while “47” refers to Trump’s status as the 47th president. Some Republicans have increasingly pushed a darker interpretation—arguing the phrase amounts to a coded threat against the 79-year-old, who has survived multiple high-profile assassination scares.
The reflecting pool has become something of a pet project for Trump, who previously blasted it as “filthy” and neglected under former President Joe Biden. His administration has since poured $1.5 million into a makeover, including plans to install a blue-toned base designed to evoke the American flag.
Park Police didn’t mince words, calling the vandalism “unacceptable” and vowing it “will not be tolerated on federal lands.” Officials said an “active investigation is underway” and promised those responsible would be “held fully accountable.”
Observers also noted that the nearby “Thank you, President Trump” construction signs had been quietly removed as investigators combed the area.
The graffiti appears to echo a controversy involving former FBI Director James Comey, 65, who was indicted this week after posting a photo last year of seashells arranged to read “86 47” during a beach walk in North Carolina.
Comey had captioned the image innocuously—“Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”
Nearly a year later, Trump is still not over it.
In a midnight Truth Social rant, he accused Comey of issuing a veiled threat, claiming “86” is “a mob term for ‘kill him.’” He blasted Comey as a “dirty cop” and suggested the former FBI chief knew exactly what he was doing.
The outrage has since escalated into a criminal case against Comey, now overseen by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who replaced Pam Bondi after she was reportedly ousted for not moving aggressively enough against Trump’s political enemies.
The aggressive legal push against Comey is already drawing backlash, even from within Trump’s own party.
Sen. Don Bacon said in an interview with CNN on Wednesday that he doesn’t “defend Director Comey” for the post but slammed the probe as “foolish” and an “overreach.”
He predicted the case wouldn’t get very far, saying he doesn’t see a jury delivering a guilty verdict “for a picture like that on social media,” and adding that he expects the prosecution will be “short-lived.”
Former Justice Department officials have also reportedly torched the case behind the scenes, with one describing it as “the worst case DOJ has filed in my lifetime.”
