Monday event follows pool repair delays and conflicting damage accounts
The White House formally announced Monday afternoon that Trump would deliver his closing midterm pitch at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Speaking Sunday as he deplaned from Air Force One in Iowa, Trump said the appearance would “show how beautiful it is.” He also floated the possibility of moving the event, saying, “We might hold it tomorrow or something,” before the White House set the schedule.
Instead of traveling to key states on Monday, Trump chose the Washington renovation project for a closing pre-Election Day campaign event. The unusual itinerary marked a departure from his month-long race to stage more than 25 rallies in largely conservative areas. The rallies were intended to energize his “Make America Great Again” supporters and help the Republican Party maintain control of Congress. In a post about his Sunday evening rally in Kansas, Trump called it “my last stop.”
The Associated Press reported that polls were predicting the Iran war, high energy prices and cost-of-living increases could spell a strong election night for Democrats. Trump was also seeking to overcome his low approval ratings as the Republican Party tried to maintain control of Congress.
At the rallies, Trump spent much of his time on his second-term focus on molding the White House and the surrounding capital in his own image. He filled the Oval Office with gold flourishes, demolished the East Wing to build a sprawling ballroom, converted the Rose Garden into a patio space reminiscent of his Mar-a-Lago estate and erected a sprawling South Lawn helipad.
His construction agenda reached beyond the White House grounds. Trump closed the Kennedy Center after failed attempts to add his name to the building, has planned a towering arch just outside the city and is pushing to revamp a century-old public golf course.
The Reflecting Pool project began in April, when Trump said he wanted to change its color and use contractors he knew. He said the monument could be fixed in mere days for about $1.5 million before Independence Day.
The repairs wrapped up nearly three months behind schedule, and the budget ballooned to more than 10 times Trump’s early estimate, assuming no more additional work would need to be done.
Trump initially declared the work complete in June. Soon after the unveiling, algae blooms choked the pool and sections of its “American-flag blue” liner began peeling off. The pool was drained again for repairs in mid-July.
Trump repeatedly blamed vandals. The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, led by Jeanine Pirro, said the problems were caused by shoddy workmanship. Trump continued to insist Sunday that the pool “was vandalized badly” and said security cameras had since been added to stop vandalism.
The Justice Department briefly charged former Olympian David Hearn with intentionally damaging the Reflecting Pool, then dropped the case this summer after determining he was not responsible. A judge later permanently dismissed it. Trump said Pirro “choked” and that he was disappointed in her. He also said, “She folded like an umbrella,” while stopping short of firing her.
Trump has bristled at criticism from former President Barack Obama and other Democrats that he has spent too much time focused on construction projects. He insists the renovations relax him and that he completes them quickly and without much planning time. The Reflecting Pool speech will place those claims beside a project that ran nearly three months late, had a budget more than 10 times his estimate and drew conflicting accounts of whether vandalism or shoddy workmanship caused the damage.