Trump Delivers Final Midterms Pitch From Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Urges Turnout

Final pitch at Lincoln Memorial

Donald Trump delivered his final midterms pitch at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, urging supporters to turn out ahead of Election Day while he marked the reopening of the pool. Trump spent more than 20 minutes discussing renovations of the reflecting pool, including pipes, joints, caulking, granite resurfacing, algae and leaks, and he asked aides, “Does somebody have those pictures for me?” before sharing illustrations of the “miles of joints” that had been replaced. Trump also tied the campaign to a warning about Democrats, saying, “When you vote, remember: a party that hates America cannot be allowed to rule over the people who built our country.”

Pool renovation focus3 of 11 outlets reported it · not in Al Jazeera and 7 more▾

Trump’s remarks came as polls showed Democrats poised to seize the House of Representatives and within reach of the Senate in Tuesday’s vote, a shift that would impose tight political constraints on the president. Trump’s campaign framing also included an acknowledgement of the alternative, as he said in an interview released on Monday by the New York Post’s Pod Force One podcast, “I think we’re going to do great — but if we didn’t win, I veto everything.”

Veto threat if loss2 of 11 outlets reported it · not in Al Jazeera and 8 more▾

Reporting for this sectionDawn

Polls, approval, and voting

A Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Monday showed 46 percent of registered voters said they would vote for the Democrats, while 38 percent favored the Republicans, and the eight-point lead was smaller than last week when Democrats led by eleven points.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll also found about 50 percent of registered independent voters said their vote was aimed against the president, while 13 percent wanted to support Trump and 33 percent said the presidency played no role in their voting decision.

Trump’s approval ratings remained near a record low, with 32 percent of those surveyed approving of his work in the White House, unchanged from the previous week and just above the low of 31 percent two weeks ago.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a government emergency request from President Donald Trump to halt the counting of about 20,000 mail-in ballots in California for now, and the brief, one-sentence court order contained no justification.

California Governor Gavin Newsom called the decision “a reassuring sign for all Americans in light of the shocking and dangerous attacks by the federal government on our democracy.”

Reporting for this sectionDIE WELT

What a Democratic win changes

The stakes of Tuesday’s midterm vote centered on control of Congress, with polls showing Democrats favored to win the majority in the House of Representatives while control of the Senate remained uncertain.

The sources described how a Democratic House could give Democrats voting power over the federal budget and control of committees able to investigate alleged corruption under Trump, the Epstein files and other explosive issues.

A Democratic Senate could also block Trump’s lifetime appointments to the courts, including the Supreme Court, and the outcome would shape how much leverage Democrats could exert over the president’s agenda.

Trump’s closing message also framed the election as a referendum on his presidency, as he told voters, “For some reason, the sitting president doesn’t win the midterms. But we gave this a very strong shot.”

Midterms pattern claim6 of 11 outlets reported it · not in Al Jazeera and 4 more▾

Los Angeles Times reported that Trump warned that the alternative would be a “radical agenda” in Washington and said, “With your vote, we will decide if these extremists will be given power or not,” as he urged Republicans to hold on to Congress.

Reporting for this sectionDawnLos Angeles Times