President Donald Trump used the opening stretch of his final scheduled in-person speech before Tuesday's midterm elections to discuss renovations in Washington, putting the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool at the center of remarks expected to deliver his closing election message. Speaking beside the pool on Monday afternoon, he announced its official opening following months of fencing and a troubled renovation he had ordered.
The address lasted nearly an hour, with its first 20 minutes largely devoted to the pool, improvements to other monuments in the Washington area and his administration's crackdown on crime in the capital. The setting and emphasis gave those projects a prominent place in Trump's last scheduled public appearance in person before voters decide control of the next House and Senate.
Trump praised the pool's appearance and again alleged, without foundation, that vandals had damaged it and held up repairs. That account contradicted what Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, told a court on July 31. Pirro attributed the damage to a contractor's faulty installation. Trump criticized her over that admission and has continued to blame vandalism.
He did not explicitly turn to the midterm elections until about 23 minutes into the speech. Describing the vote as the most important midterm election of his lifetime, Trump attacked the Democratic field, saying the party had selected candidates he characterized as extreme and dangerous.
Trump then promoted his administration's record and singled out several Democratic candidates for criticism, including Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed. He also repeated his controversial assertion that a Republican victory would mean that "everybody is going to get $5,000." He urged voters to support Republicans and spoke of keeping Congress strong.
At the same time, Trump appeared to recognize the historical difficulty facing the party occupying the White House during midterm elections. He noted that sitting presidents tend to fare poorly in those contests, adding, "But we gave this a very strong shot."
Later, Trump returned to the pool and other construction proposals. He discussed his effort to erect a massive triumphal arch in Washington and plans for a promenade beside the Potomac River. He also described a planned National Garden of American Heroes featuring between 250 and 500 statues of American heroes, and addressed ongoing renovations to a Washington public golf course that face legal challenges.
