President Donald Trump began his last scheduled in-person address before Election Day on Tuesday with a lengthy line of questioning about efforts to renovate the Lincoln Memorial’s reflecting pool and other sites in Washington.
“Today, I’m thrilled to announce the official opening of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool,” President Trump said Monday afternoon in front of the pool, which had been fenced off for months amid troubled renovations ordered by the president.
The speech, which lasted nearly an hour, was expected to serve as Trump’s “closing argument” in the midterm elections before millions of voters head to the polls to decide which party will control the House and Senate in the next Congress.
But Trump began his remarks with more than 20 minutes of commentary, mainly focusing on the pool and his administration’s efforts to renovate other monuments in the Washington area and crack down on crime in the nation’s capital.
“The pool has never been better, more beautiful, and we’re very proud of it,” Trump said, repeating baseless claims that vandals were to blame for damaging the pool and delaying its repair.
Janine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said in court on July 31 that the damage was caused by a contractor’s installation error. President Trump has lashed out at Pirro over the admission and continues to blame vandalism.
President Trump’s first explicit reference to the midterm elections came around the 23rd minute.
“As you know, today is the last day before the midterm elections, and I believe this is the most important midterm election of our lifetime,” Trump said.
“Democrats have nominated the most extreme and dangerous candidate in American history.”
He touted his administration’s record and lambasted some Democratic candidates by name, including Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. He also reiterated his controversial claim that if Republicans win, “everyone will get $5,000.”
“We must keep Congress strong and free,” President Trump said. “America is ready. They’re ready to vote. I hope they’re ready to do the right thing.”
But President Trump, along with other recent statements, seems to acknowledge that Democrats have an advantage, at least when looking at past trends that show the president’s party tends to underperform in midterm elections.
“For some reason, sitting presidents don’t win midterm elections. But we had a very strong shot at this,” he said.
Later in his speech, Trump continued to talk about pools, his push to build a giant Arc de Triomphe in Washington, and his plans to build a promenade along the Potomac River.
He also said the government plans to build a “National Garden of American Heroes” consisting of “statues of 250 to 500 great American heroes.” He also spoke about continued efforts to renovate Washington’s public golf courses, which are the subject of legal challenges.
