President Donald Trump, in front of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, stands next to enlarged photos showing the pool’s renovations, on Nov. 2, 2026. (Screenshot from C-SPAN)
WASHINGTON — One day before his party is forecast to lose control of the U.S. House, and possibly the Senate, President Donald Trump gathered guests and press at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to tout the “magnificent” renovation of the monument — a monthslong project plagued by algae, reclosure and false accusations of vandalism.
Trump spoke for roughly 45 minutes, bouncing from topic to topic. His remarks included but were not limited to unfounded allegations of “unprecedented” vandalism to the pool’s lining, accusations that former FBI Director James Comey is a “dirty cop,” a mention of “rave reviews” for the new White House helipad, and assertions that “we got Greenland on an unlimited basis” and “we won” the war with Iran that moments later he said is “not a war.”
The president did not mention the midterm elections until 23 minutes into his delivery, when he said Democrats are running the “most dangerous candidates ever put up,” including “jihadists and Muslim Brotherhood members.”
The remark is a continuation of the president’s persistent verbal attacks, called racist by critics, on Michigan’s Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, Abdul El-Sayed, an Arab American. The candidate, who is leading in the latest New York Times/Siena poll, has denounced accusations that he could be connected to extremist Islamists.
Trump could lose GOP trifecta control
The midterms are slated to be the most expensive on record, and depending on the forecast, Democrats stand a chance to gain Senate seats in reliably Republican states.
Trump’s party is expected to lose roughly 15 to 25 seats in the U.S. House, according to the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter.
Trump’s approval ratings have sunk to record lows in the months leading up to the election, as Americans face high gas prices and inflation largely due to global oil market disruptions caused by the Iran war, and the president’s steep tariffs.
The Democrats, Trump said, “are all committed to the same radical agenda,” which he defined as raising taxes by “trillions of dollars, taking away your guns, transgender mutilation of your children, abolishing oil and natural gas,” among other claims.
He also repeated his promise to give voters cash if Republicans retain control of Congress.
“Every adult is going to get $5,000. But you have to spend it in the United States of America,” he said.
The plan would cost $1.2 trillion, and ultimately Congress would need to appropriate the money.
“The Democrats want to blow all of this up by electing communist jihadists, and the United States Congress will not allow that to happen. Got some big races tomorrow. I guess some of the voting has already gone on, but tomorrow is Election Day, more traditional, and we can’t let that happen,” he said.
Voting breaks records
Midterm voting is well underway, with more than 57 million Americans having already cast early ballots in person or by mail as of 4 p.m. Eastern Monday. The early turnout smashed the all-time high-water mark for early midterm voting, which crested at 46 million in 2022.
Trump’s Monday appearance on the National Mall followed a whirlwind month of campaigning in mostly Republican stronghold states, where he delivered lengthy speeches, veering off script and repeatedly mentioning Ohio Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted’s backside.
The president wrapped up his campaign travel this past weekend with two final rally appearances in Kansas and Iowa. During his last in-person midterm campaign stop in Dubuque, Trump trailed off during his endorsement of Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ashley Hinson and began discussing her weight and physique.
According to his official schedule, Trump had already appeared at two telerallies Monday prior to his visit to the Reflecting Pool. He was scheduled to do seven more telerallies through the evening.
Reflecting Pool saga
In his final in-person appearance before the midterm culmination, the president dredged up his political grievances, listed his administration’s projects in the nation’s capital and repeated false claims that vandalism was the culprit for the lengthy Reflecting Pool repairs.
Trump’s own hand-picked U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, dropped the government’s case against a former Olympian canoeist who had been accused of damaging the pool’s lining. Pirro dismissed the charges after finding the grand jury was not provided with all the evidence, namely that the damage had occurred because of “contractor error.”
“The pipes have just been changed. The whole thing is in great shape, and we’re going to make sure nobody vandalizes it,” Trump said Monday, intermittently holding up enlarged photos of pipes and surfacing for the crowd to see.
“And I’m going to ask the Park Police, the people, to really watch cause a lot of people are sort of watching as this group of people slashed the hell out of it,” he said, trailing off to say “a weird feeling came upon them, and they didn’t, didn’t get it. But we learned a lot.”
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum also spoke during the event, which wrapped up in just under an hour.