Trump spends nearly half of his midterm closing pitch talking about Reflecting Pool renovations
President Donald Trump has frequently been accused this year of prioritizing pet construction projects rather than addressing voters’ concerns about the economy and rising prices ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. True to form, in a speech that had been billed as his closing argument to voters and, likely, his final public appearance before the […]
President Donald Trump has frequently been accused this year of prioritizing pet construction projects rather than addressing voters’ concerns about the economy and rising prices ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
True to form, in a speech that had been billed as his closing argument to voters and, likely, his final public appearance before the polls close on Tuesday, he stood in front of one of his most controversial projects, the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, and talked about its status for more than half the speech.
Wearing a dark suit and white “USA” hat, Trump opened Monday by joking that the administration was “giving serious thought to changing the name to the Trump Reflecting Pool” before telling the gathered press he was “only kidding.”
Nonetheless, the president then spent an additional 20 minutes showing the press photos of the Reflecting Pool prior to the restoration, in addition to discussing so-called “beautification” projects around the city.
President Donald Trump has been frequently accused this year of prioritizing pet construction projects around the District of Columbia over affordability concerns of voters, and he spent nearly the first half-hour of his 2026 midterm closeout speech doing just that. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Eventually, just before the half-hour mark on Monday, Trump turned back into campaign mode, bashing the “extreme and dangerous slate of candidates” nominated by Democrats.
“These are the most dangerous candidates ever put up,” he said. “There’s never been anything like what we’re seeing: jihadists and Muslim Brotherhood members and people that nobody can even believe what we’re looking at, and all committed to the same radical agenda,” he continued. “Open borders, raising your taxes by trillions of dollars, taking away your guns, transgender mutilation of your children, abolishing oil and natural gas, sending energy costs skyrocketing, and opening the floodgates to millions of migrants from all over the world, hoping to get them to be able to vote.”
The president claimed that his own economic agenda was driving historic job creation and soliciting foreign investments before defending his decision to launch the war in Iran, a key concern for voters on both sides of the aisle. Trump also suggested that his policies were responsible for drops in crime in cities like Washington, D.C. and Memphis, Tennessee.
“We’ve got some big races tomorrow. I guess some of the voting has already gone on, but tomorrow’s election day, more traditional, and we can’t let that happen,” he said. “We have to keep our Congress strong, free. A little bit of apple pie is something very nice about that.”
” data-large-file=”https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/trump-spends-nearly-half-of-his-midterm-closing-pitch-talking-about-reflecting-pool-renovations-1.webp” src=”https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/trump-spends-nearly-half-of-his-midterm-closing-pitch-talking-about-reflecting-pool-renovations-1.webp” alt=”President Donald Trump speaks in front of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and the Washington Monument, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, in Washington.” class=”wp-image-4788496″ srcset=”https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/trump-spends-nearly-half-of-his-midterm-closing-pitch-talking-about-reflecting-pool-renovations-2.webp 1024w, https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/trump-spends-nearly-half-of-his-midterm-closing-pitch-talking-about-reflecting-pool-renovations-2.webp?resize=300,169 300w, https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/trump-spends-nearly-half-of-his-midterm-closing-pitch-talking-about-reflecting-pool-renovations-2.webp?resize=768,432 768w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”>President Donald Trump speaks in front of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and the Washington Monument, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum spoke for roughly 10 minutes after the president, touting the work the administration has done to revitalize D.C. but also apparently acknowledging that Trump’s speech had missed the mark.
“The news can print whatever they want, but you can’t change the fact that this city is cleaner, safer than it ever has been, and it is a model for every American city,” he stated. “And we’re standing here today because President Trump asked us all to go do the work and deliver that for the American people. So one more time, thank you, President Trump, for all you’ve done.”
Immediately after Burgum concluded, Trump again took the microphone and began discussing the new Triumphal Arc Military Complex he is seeking to build in Washington, D.C., additional updates to the Lincoln Memorial, and the “world-class” redesign of the East Potomac Golf Course located near the city’s Tidal Basin.
“I think this is indeed, as I said before, it’s a golden age of America. We have a country that we can be proud of again,” he concluded. “We were laughed at all over the world for four years. We were laughed at like we were stupid people. We were laughed at by every ruler, every president, every prime minister, every king, every queen, but they don’t laugh anymore.”
Trump has spent the past month on the road, holding near-daily rallies in red states across the country in hopes of buoying Republican turnout and defending the GOP’s Congressional majorities in the face of the president’s underwater approval ratings, the war in Iran, and ongoing economic uncertainty.
The president has been drawing significant crowds on the campaign trail, giving the GOP hope that a blue wave could be avoided. Most are predicting Democrats will win control of the House, while the fate of the Senate is a little more up in the air.
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<p> ” data-large-file=”https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/trump-spends-nearly-half-of-his-midterm-closing-pitch-talking-about-reflecting-pool-renovations.webp” src=”https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/trump-spends-nearly-half-of-his-midterm-closing-pitch-talking-about-reflecting-pool-renovations.webp” alt=”President Donald Trump has been frequently accused this year of prioritizing pet construction projects around the District of Columbia over affordability concerns of voters, and he spent nearly the first half-hour of his 2026 midterm closeout speech doing just that. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)” class=”wp-image-4788499″ srcset=”https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/trump-spends-nearly-half-of-his-midterm-closing-pitch-talking-about-reflecting-pool-renovations.webp 1024w, https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/trump-spends-nearly-half-of-his-midterm-closing-pitch-talking-about-reflecting-pool-renovations.webp?resize=300,200 300w, https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/trump-spends-nearly-half-of-his-midterm-closing-pitch-talking-about-reflecting-pool-renovations.webp?resize=768,512 768w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”><figcaption class=)
President Donald Trump has been frequently accused this year of prioritizing pet construction projects around the District of Columbia over affordability concerns of voters, and he spent nearly the first half-hour of his 2026 midterm closeout speech doing just that. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
