U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest campaign speech, delivered beside the recently renovated Reflecting Pool at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington ahead of today’s midterm elections, is among the leading topics in a number of American publications, which are focusing mainly on the location of the speech, BTA reported.
Trump delivered his closing message while focusing primarily on landscaping, The New York Times writes in its report on the subject.
On the eve of the elections, the president launched into detailed reflections on columns, drainage pipes and granite beside the recently refilled Reflecting Pool. “For some reason,” he said as the Washington Monument was reflected in the water behind him, “the incumbent president does not win the midterm elections. But we made a serious effort.” The president then focused on the renovation. “The pipes have now been completely renewed,” Trump said, beside a sign reading “It’s back – more beautiful than ever!”.
“The brand-new pipes are very important when it comes to algae and other things. The work is completely finished and we are very proud of it,” he added. The newspaper notes that almost none of the topics Trump touched on had any connection to the issues shaping these elections. At a time when voters are clearly showing that they are most concerned about high fuel and grocery prices, as well as the new war in the Middle East, Trump used his last public appearance before Americans went to the polls to talk about drainage pipes, topsoil, limestone, fountains and his favorite type of columns.
Trump presented his closing arguments against the backdrop of the turbulent Reflecting Pool, The Washington Post writes. The president spoke at the historic pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial, about six months after he began rushed renovations whose execution quickly went awry. Donald Trump concluded his speech with an incomparable closing argument: “Look what I did with the Reflecting Pool.” The longtime real estate developer insisted that the project showed how Washington could be renovated – including one of its iconic monuments. The publication notes that the president concluded his efforts ahead of the midterm elections by presenting a project he considers successful, while for Democrats it is emblematic of his inappropriate personal projects.
President Trump had planned to visit Michigan on Monday for a final rally before the midterm elections, but instead decided to deliver an unconventional speech beside the pool in Washington, The New York Post writes. A Trump aide told the publication that he had “grown bored” with the usual speeches after 29 visits supporting his fellow Republicans – prompting the former reality-TV producer to devise a more creative and impressive ending to the campaign season. Thus, in his final speech before the elections, Trump presented ambitious plans: building a triumphal arch over the Potomac River, adding a waterfront promenade to the Lincoln Memorial and redeveloping a golf course in Washington. At the same time, he highlighted the new helicopter landing pad at the White House, the replacement of the lawn and the renovation of Lafayette Park.
Trump surprised the Republican Party on the eve of the elections with a speech about the Reflecting Pool, The Wall Street Journal writes, noting that the president focused mainly on rusty pipes and grass in the park of the American capital. The president’s nearly hour-long speech – which some White House officials had expected to be the culmination of a series of campaign rallies before the midterm elections – was devoted mainly to the numerous construction projects and renovations carried out during Trump’s second term.
In private conversations with the publication, dissatisfied members of Trump’s Republican Party expressed irritation that on the eve of the elections he had missed the opportunity to use such a significant speech to focus entirely on the economic issues that voters consider the most important. “He has never been known for sticking strictly to the subject at hand,” commented Republican Congressman Don Bacon of Nebraska. The politician noted that he had hoped Trump would place greater emphasis on Republican achievements – such as tax cuts and border security – issues the president touched on only briefly in his speech. Bacon nevertheless noted that the situation could have been even worse: “At least he didn’t mention the rear end.”
During the first 20 minutes of his speech, the president did not mention the elections at all, instead describing how construction crews had repaired the granite and cleaned algae from the pool, Los Angeles Times notes. His focus on the renovation attracted the attention of Democrats, who argue that his message is at odds with what American voters want from their leaders now. At the same time, even as voters say they are struggling with the cost of living, Trump insists that the economy is thriving and dismisses higher fuel prices as “a very small price” for the war in Iran.
Donald Trump is frequently accused of prioritizing his construction projects instead of addressing voters’ concerns about the economy and rising prices on the eve of the 2026 midterm elections, Washington Examiner notes. In a style typical of him, in a speech presented as a closing address to voters – and probably his last public appearance before the polling stations close – he stood in front of one of his most controversial projects, the Reflecting Pool at the Lincoln Memorial, devoting more than half of his remarks to its condition.