WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump makes his closing speech for the mid-term elections in Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Poolpushing its slow, expensive and problem-plagued system efforts to repair it back in the spotlight on the eve of Election Day.
In comments to reporters as he disembarked from Air Force One for a rally Sunday in Iowa, Trump said his speech at the venue would “show how beautiful it is.”
“We could organize it tomorrow or something,” the president added, without giving details. Hours later, the White House officially announced that he would deliver a speech there Monday afternoon.
Rather than using Monday to visit key states and try to energize his “Make America Great Again” supporters as his Republican Party attempts to maintain control of Congress, Trump opted for an event as part of a Washington renovation project that has proven embarrassing and controversial.
The unusual move marks a departure from Trump’s monthslong run of holding more than 25 rallies in largely conservative areas, hoping the Republican Party can overcome its own fate. low approval rates and polls predict that Iranian War, high energy prices And the cost of living is increasing could a strong election night for the Democrats.
Trump wrote on his social media site that his Sunday night rally in Kansas — which followed his visit to Iowa — was “my last stop.”
The president spent a lot of time at these rallies talking about the emphasis he would place in his second term on shaping the White House and government. the surrounding national capital in his own image. He filled the Oval Office with gold bloomsdemolishing the East Wing build a vast ballroomtransforming the Rose Garden into a terrace area which recalls his Mar-a-Lago estate and erect a vast helipad on South Lawn.
Trump also closed the Kennedy Center after failed attempts to add his name to the buildingplanned an imposing arch just outside of town and is working to renovate a century-old public golf course.
He bristled at criticism from former President Barack Obama and other Democrats that he spent too much time focused on construction projects — insisting that renovations relax him and that he gets them done quickly and without requiring too much planning time.
Trump said Reflecting Pool fix would be quick and inexpensive
His Reflecting Pool saga began in April when Trump said he wanted to change its color and would use contractors he knew to repair the monument. a few days and for around 1.5 million dollars before Independence Day.
The repairs were completed almost three months late and the budget ballooned to more than 10 times That’s Trump’s first estimate — and it assumes no additional work will be needed in the future.
Trump initially said the work was finished in June. But after the redesign was unveiled, the pool was soon blocked by algae bloomsand its “American flag blue” lining began to peel off in sections. The pool was quickly emptied again for repair in mid-July.
Trump has repeatedly blamed vandals, but the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia – former Fox News host and longtime Trump ally Jeanine Pirro — said the problems were caused by poor quality work.
In his comments Sunday, Trump continued to insist that the Reflecting Pool “had been severely vandalized.” He said security cameras have since been added to prevent this.
Yet a particularly ignominious moment occurred when the Justice Department indicted former Olympian David Hearn by intentionally damaging the Reflecting pool – SO abruptly abandoned the matter this summer – determining that he was not responsible.
A judge later definitely rejected it.
This prompted Trump to rant that Pirro was “choking” and that he was “disappointed in Jeanine Pirro, really disappointed.” “She folded like an umbrella” – although he didn’t fire her.
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