Actor Kelsey Grammer told Fox News on Tuesday that critics of President Trump’s renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool have been gripped by a destructive hatred — remarks that came as the administration continued to grapple with the high-profile project’s widely publicized troubles.

Mr. Grammer, best known for his role as the title character in the long-running sitcom “Frasier,” appeared on “Jesse Watters Primetime” alongside host Jesse Watters, who opened the segment with a pointed monologue framing the pool as a national symbol.

“That pool is America’s mirror,” Mr. Watters said. “We look in it, and we love what we see. We are looking at ourselves, our history, our heritage. The Left hates everything they see. They want it broken and murky. They don’t want it to reflect the greatness of the nation.”

Mr. Grammer then pushed back against those who have seized on the pool’s algae bloom and peeling paint as fodder for criticism of the president.

“There is a virus that has infected a very small number of people, I think, who just want to tear things down,” Mr. Grammer said when asked why Americans cannot have nice things. “They’ve been consumed by hatred. And, of course, hatred ends up basically destroying you. So, they’re welcome to it.”

The actor added a note of Christian charity toward the pool’s detractors.

“I pray for them,” he said. “I pray for everyone to find a decent sentiment in their hearts about this country and about the people who run it these days and about those who love it. Because it’s worth loving.”

Mr. Grammer also invoked the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup, arguing that foreign visitors were offering a fresh perspective on American greatness.

“It’s great that we’ve been given this chance to see it in the eyes of so many of our European fellows and South American fellows,” he said, adding that the country’s diversity is unified by a shared aspiration — that “everybody’s worth reaching for the moon, and America will help you do it.”

The actor’s comments come as the administration has struggled to explain the pool’s condition in the days following a renovation that cost more than $16 million, according to ABC News — roughly $4 million over the original estimate. The project was intended to present the iconic Washington landmark in its best light ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary on July 4. But within days of the pool’s early-June reopening, algae returned and the pool’s custom blue paint — painted in a shade the administration designated “American Flag Blue” — began peeling from the bottom.

Mr. Trump has attributed the problems to deliberate sabotage. At least five people had been arrested for alleged vandalism as of Saturday night, with five additional federal citations issued, a Trump administration official told ABC News. Among those detained was David Hearn, 67, a three-time U.S. Olympian from Bethesda, Maryland, who said he was arrested after touching a piece of the detached pool lining during a bike ride and denied causing any damage.

Mr. Grammer said he plans to mark the nation’s semiquincentennial in Washington alongside his family.