Trump plans midterm closing pitch at Reflecting Pool

President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at 2 p.m. ET Monday at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, the day before midterm elections that decide control of Congress. A White House official called it his closing midterm message on administration and Republican congressional accomplishments and restoring the capital. Trump told reporters he wants to "show how beautiful it is," saying the pool "hasn't worked since 1922," "always leaked terribly," and now "works really well," though "it was vandalized." He called his Sunday Kansas rally his "last stop" after Iowa and Kansas stops and more than 25 rallies in the past month in largely conservative areas. The renovation, announced in April at about $1.5 million for an Independence Day finish, came in nearly three months late with a budget more than 10 times the initial estimate. Trump declared it complete in June; algae blooms and a peeling "American-flag blue" liner followed, and the pool was drained again in mid-July. The Justice Department charged former Olympic canoeist David Hearn with intentionally damaging the pool, then dropped the case; a judge permanently dismissed it after prosecutors said faulty installation caused the damage. Trump publicly criticized U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro over the drop. Trump says vandals damaged the pool and cameras were added; prosecutors cited shoddy workmanship.