Trump to Deliver Final Midterm Pitch at Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool at 2 p.m. Monday
President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Monday afternoon, closing a month of rallies a day before voters decide control of Congress, at the same landmark whose troubled renovation drew months of criticism.
President Donald Trump will deliver his closing midterm message at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington at 2 p.m. Eastern on Monday, according to the White House daily schedule for November 2. The speech comes one day before voters go to the polls in midterm elections that will decide control of Congress for the final two years of his term.
USA Today reported that Trump is set to speak at the Reflecting Pool on Monday afternoon, capping a run of last-minute appearances in states where Republicans face competitive challengers. The White House schedule also lists nine closed-press tele-rallies for Monday, at 11 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 4 p.m., 4:45 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6:15 p.m., 7 p.m., 7:45 p.m. and 8:15 p.m.
Trump first raised the Reflecting Pool idea on Sunday, after arriving in Iowa for a rally. He told reporters that speaking at the site would show how beautiful it is, and added, “We might hold it tomorrow or something,” according to AAP. The White House then formally announced the Monday afternoon speech, rather than a continuation of his campaign roadshow.
That announcement followed a change of plan over the weekend. AAP reported that Trump cancelled weekend rallies on Thursday and opted for tele-rallies, with the Republican National Committee saying that plan would let him reach voters in nearly 20 states in a 72-hour sprint. He then went ahead with rallies in Iowa and Kansas on Sunday, in states he has won comfortably in the past.
What voters will decide Tuesday
All 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats are on the ballot on Tuesday, November 3. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate and a narrow edge in the House, according to AAP. Losing either chamber would let Democrats block much of Trump’s agenda for his final two years in office and open investigations into his administration.
More than 52 million people have already voted in person or by mail, according to the University of Florida’s Election Lab, a record for a midterm and up from nearly 46 million before Election Day in 2022, AAP reported. Trump’s month-long campaign run has included more than 25 rallies in largely conservative areas, as voters, including past supporters, question the economic effects of his tariffs and the war in Iran, according to AAP.
A renovation
that drew criticism
The choice of venue puts a troubled renovation project back in view. AAP reported that Trump’s Reflecting Pool work began in April, when he said he wanted to change its color and would use contractors he knew to fix the monument in days, for about $1.5 million, ahead of Independence Day. The work finished nearly three months behind schedule, and the cost rose to more than 10 times his early estimate.
Algae blooms soon appeared in the pool, sections of its blue liner began peeling, and the pool was drained for new repairs in mid-July, according to AAP. Trump has repeatedly blamed vandals, AAP reported, while the office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia previously put the problems down to shoddy workmanship. The Justice Department charged former Olympian David Hearn with intentionally damaging the Reflecting Pool, then dropped the case, and a judge later dismissed the charge permanently, according to AAP.
Reporting based on coverage by AAP, USA Today, and the White House daily guidance.
