Trump’s closing act before Election Day

On 2 November, the eve of the US midterm elections, President Donald Trump delivered his final scheduled public remarks beside the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington. He spent much of the speech describing repairs to the pool and his administration’s work on the capital, while also urging support for Republicans and criticising Democratic candidates. The setting was an unusual choice for a closing election message: the vote would determine control of Congress, and the pool’s renovation had itself faced delays and criticism.

Trump had campaigned for Republican candidates in the preceding weeks and was also due to join telephone rallies on election eve. Democrats, meanwhile, focused their closing appeals on economic concerns. The contrast drew attention to whether Trump’s emphasis on a Washington landmark would help his party’s candidates reach voters worried about everyday costs. The effect of the speech on voting cannot be established from the event itself.