Captain Queeg

Who remembers the USS Caine? Who remembers Captain Queeg? Who remembers the "strawberries" incident?

A relatively minor theft—the disappearance of strawberries intended for the officers' dessert—became the focus of an exhaustive investigation. Captain Queeg grew convinced that the crew was lying and conspiring against him, turning a small matter into a major inquiry. In The Caine Mutiny, that episode foreshadows larger questions about his judgment and leadership.

Now consider the episode involving Trump's repeated claims about a long "gash" in the White House reflecting pool—described at various times as 150 feet, then 200 feet, then 300 feet, allegedly made with a box cutter.

Is there possible any similarities there?

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I am not the only one drawing parrillas;

Trump Makes Bonkers Claim About Reflecting Pool Damage

The president keeps complaining about alleged vandals destroying the pool. But the evidence suggests a different cause.

Sarah Ewall-Wice

The Daily Beast

Jul. 17 2026 

President Donald Trump returned to ranting about alleged vandals destroying the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Friday, despite the mounting evidence that the issues were caused by errors made during his renovation attempt.

Hot off his rambling primetime address about “election integrity,” the president, 80, took to Truth Social on Friday morning to complain about the botched Reflecting Pool with further unsubstantiated claims.

“The Reflecting Pool, so badly damaged by Deranged Vandals, has been emptied as the massive slash gets repaired,” Trump wrote. “We got it through the great July Fourth Weekend. What kind of animals would do such a thing? We are looking for a Vandal Proof material, but such a thing should not have been necessary.”

The president went on to declare, “The Scum in Court will hopefully be prosecuted to the MAX.”

Captain Queeg?