A final pre-election appearance is a chance to set the closing argument, and this one dwelt on pipes and granite while the electorate's stated concerns are prices and a war.
Donald Trump used what is expected to be his final press conference before the midterm elections to unveil the delayed results of his $14m renovation of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool in Washington DC, according to The Guardian. Standing before the newly opened pool on Monday afternoon, the president discussed in detail changes to its pipe, the surrounding grass and granite. "This project should be a project that unites all Americans," he told reporters.
It has proven anything but. After Trump first revealed the makeover in June, a massive algae bloom turned the water green rather than the promised "American flag blue", and the coating began to peel away. The president alleged that vandals were to blame, though his administration failed to produce evidence to substantiate the claims, the paper reports. Former Olympic canoeist David Hearn was initially charged over alleged damage, but the office of US attorney Jeanine Pirro later dropped the case, infuriating the president. Hearn's attorneys said the dismissal "does not erase the abuse of government power in arresting and charging a patriotic American who did nothing wrong".
On Monday, Trump accused his Democratic predecessors, Joe Biden and Barack Obama, of overspending on earlier renovations, and again, without evidence, accused vandals of deliberately damaging his administration's work. Roughly twenty minutes into his remarks, less than a day before Americans head to the polls, he turned to Tuesday's elections, which he declared crucial. The party of a sitting president often loses seats at the midterms, he noted. "We gave this a very strong shot," he said.
The setting carried its own message. Polls cited by The Guardian indicate that most voters feel the president has grown too focused on building projects in the capital, and for weeks surveys have shown Democratic candidates narrowly ahead in key races, including competitive Senate contests in Texas, Alaska, Kansas, Iowa and Maine. Voters have expressed dissatisfaction with his handling of the economy and the cost of living. Gas and grocery prices have risen since the start of the year, and inflation has remained stubbornly high, largely, the report says, as a result of the war with Iran that Trump began at the end of February.
Why the occasion matters is less about the pool than about priorities. A final pre-election appearance is a chance to set the closing argument, and this one dwelt on pipes and granite while the electorate's stated concerns are prices and a war. That mismatch is the story the White House will hope fades quickly, and the one its opponents will amplify. What is not yet known is how much the episode shapes turnout, how the Senate races in the five named states resolve, and whether the administration offers any evidence for its vandalism claims. The Guardian's account gives no figures on the renovation's final cost beyond the $14m headline, and no indication of how voters received the remarks. Until the results arrive, the closing message stands as delivered: a defence of a reflecting pool, on the eve of a vote.
