Trump to Deliver Final Midterm Pitch at Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington on Sept. 17, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times
WASHINGTON—President Trump will deliver remarks at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Nov. 2, a day before the midterms, according to a White House official.
The address is expected to serve as Trump’s final campaign message, aiming to help Republicans retain control of Congress.
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was among the renovation projects Trump initiated this year. The pool reopened on June 9 but was closed after July 4th celebrations due to damage. It reopened again on Oct. 29.
“It’s been finished. It was vandalized badly. We have cameras all over the place now for the vandals,” Trump told reporters on Sunday.
“It looks beautiful—hasn’t worked since 1922. It’s always leaked terribly, and it works really well now,” he said.
Originally constructed in the 1920s, the reflecting pool stretches nearly 2,030 feet between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. Over the years, the pool has faced problems such as leaks, cracks, algae growth, and pollution by trash and goose droppings.
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In June, Trump told reporters that the project involved an extensive cleanup and restoration effort. As part of the restoration, crews applied an industrial-grade swimming pool coating, replacing the original gray stone bottom. The basin was painted in what Trump called “American flag blue.”
Several organizations have criticized the renovation project for not including enough public input or being transparent. For example, the Cultural Landscape Foundation, a Washington-based nonprofit, filed a lawsuit in May against the Department of the Interior, claiming that applying blue paint to the pool basin violated federal law.
The Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, a nonprofit advocacy group, has also questioned the diversion of National Park Service funds to these projects instead of addressing urgent repairs in other parks.
Shortly after the pool reopened, the newly applied coating began to peel. Trump claimed that vandals had used knives and razors to damage the pool, later announcing on June 23 that several individuals had been arrested in connection with the incident. On June 29, he stated via Truth Social that the pool would be drained after the July 4th celebrations to undergo repairs.
In the final stretch before the elections, Trump scheduled two consecutive rallies in Kansas and Iowa on Sunday to support Republican midterm candidates, along with nearly 20 tele-rallies.
Since Oct. 1, Trump has held about two dozen rallies across 19 states, sometimes multiple events in a single day.
National polls and many analysts predict significant losses for Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections.
Nearly all states offer early in-person voting or mail-in ballots before Election Day. Early turnout in many states has already exceeded 2022 levels, suggesting strong voter engagement for the upcoming midterms.
Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Alaska, Ohio, and Texas have emerged as key Senate battlegrounds in the 2026 midterms. On Sunday, Michigan Congresswoman Haley Stevens, a Democrat, endorsed Republican Mike Rogers in the state’s Senate race. Rogers is running against Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, who defeated Stevens in the primary in early August.
Jack Phillips and Lawrence Wilson contributed to this report.
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