'Communist jihadists': Trump closes midterm campaign at Reflecting Pool with attack on Democrats

President Donald Trump gave his closing address of the midterm campaign on Monday 2 November at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, a speech scheduled for 19:00 GMT, USA Today reported. He said Democrats were “communist jihadists”.

Trump spoke from a platform at the edge of the pool with the Washington Monument behind him. USA Today reported that he spent more than 15 minutes on the pool’s renovation, including “We’ve now fixed all the piping, it’s in great shape” and “Tremendous algae problem”, while showing a photograph of the pool before it was closed for work. About 22 minutes in, he turned to Tuesday’s elections.

According to USA Today, Trump said Democrats want to stop the progress made during his administration. “We can’t let that happen,” he said. “We have to keep our Congress strong, free.”

Trump also joked that he was renaming the site after himself. “We’ll announce that some time tomorrow,” he said, adding that Interior Secretary Doug Burgum “will have a lot of fun in announcing that.” He went on: “Now I’m only kidding. I’m only kidding. Please don’t report it.”

USA Today reported that the pool’s renovation ran into problems, which Trump blamed on vandals, and that Washington’s top federal prosecutor later attributed them to a “botched installation”. It also reported that Democrats have accused Trump of focusing on Washington capital projects, including a White House ballroom, rather than Americans’ concerns about the cost of living.

Earlier on Monday, at 15:57 GMT, Trump described Patrick Halpin, the opponent of Republican Rep. Andrew Garbarino in New York, as “a Radical Left Dumocrat” in a Truth Social endorsement.

All 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats are on the ballot on Tuesday. USA Today cited the New York Times poll tracker, which put Trump’s approval at 36%.