On the eve of the 2026 midterm elections, President Donald Trump stood in front of the newly reopened Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., to deliver what was billed as his final pitch to voters. Instead, the speech quickly turned into a long defense of his $14 million renovation of the pool. An MS NOW anchor did not hold back, calling the moment deeply out of touch with what voters actually care about.
“Uh… does someone have those pictures for me?” Trump has now spent nearly 15 minutes rehashing debunked vandalism claims about the Reflecting Pool and making excuses for his botched renovation. Voters head to the polls tomorrow, and this is what he wants to talk about.
— American Bridge 21st Century (@ab21.bsky.social) November 3, 2026 at 12:47 AM
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Trump Spends First 20 Minutes on Pool, Not the Midterms
The speech took place on Monday, November 2, 2026, less than 24 hours before polls opened across the country. According to MS NOW’s live coverage, Trump began with a joke about renaming the historic site after himself. From there, he launched into a detailed show-and-tell about the pool’s plumbing, algae problems, and new coating.
MS NOW correspondent Kyle Griffin noted on X and BlueSky that more than 10 minutes into the speech, Trump was still talking about the pool. Griffin later posted that 20 minutes had passed and Trump had still not mentioned the midterms. The network’s coverage pointed out that the president did not turn to the election until roughly 20 to 24 minutes into his remarks.
The speech captured the moment an MS NOW anchor delivered a blunt on-screen message: “How much more out of touch could you possibly be?” Internet personality and political journalist Aaron Rupar called it an “A+ chyron” in a post on X.
The $14 Million Renovation That Kept Running Into Trouble
Trump first announced the reflecting pool renovation in April 2026. He said the project would take one to two weeks and cost about $1.5 million. The final price tag was far higher. Federal contract records and reporting from NBC News showed the government spent at least $14 million on the project.
The renovation was completed and the pool reopened in June 2026, but problems appeared almost immediately. An algae bloom turned the water green, and the blue coating began to peel within weeks. Trump blamed the issues on vandals, but his administration did not provide sufficient evidence to support that claim. A case against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn was later dropped after the Justice Department acknowledged that damage to the pool was caused by a flawed installation rather than vandalism.
During his election eve speech, Trump held up photographs of corroded pipes and old joints, blaming previous administrations for the pool’s condition. He took credit for fixing the plumbing and getting rid of what he called “tremendous algae.” At one point, he joked that he was considering renaming the landmark the “Trump Reflecting Pool” before saying he was only kidding.
MS NOW Anchor’s Reaction Sparks Social Media Reaction
The MS NOW anchor’s “out of touch” line quickly spread across social media. The Alternet report on the speech noted that even conservative commentators criticized the president’s focus. Semafor’s Dave Weigel posted that Republicans given anonymity to speak candidly would not like a closing message that seemed to be about algae.
Pod Save America host Jon Favreau summed up the moment with a post: “From A—— to Algae: Donald Trump’s Closing Argument.” Conservative commentator Bill Kristol compared the scene to “Trump as Narcissus speaking at the Reflecting Pool.” Author and organizer Amanda Litman posted a simple reaction: “He doesn’t want to win!”
The speech itself was notably low-energy compared to Trump’s usual rallies. The Associated Press reported that Trump stood silently while triumphant music played as he held up a poster showing the algae-clogged pool. Only several dozen people and members of the press were in attendance.
What Trump Said When He Finally Turned to the Election
When Trump eventually addressed the midterms, he called the November 3 balloting “the most important midterm, I believe, in our lifetime.” He warned against electing Democrats, describing the opposing slate as “the most extreme and dangerous slate of candidates in American history.” He also repeated a claim that the sitting president’s party usually does not win midterms, before adding: “But we gave this a very strong shot.”
The speech came at a difficult moment for Republicans. Gas prices had climbed above $4 a gallon nationwide, with AAA putting the national average at $4.17 on the day before the election. The Washington Post noted that was the highest Election Day average on record. Trump spent the final day of the campaign not in a battleground state alongside a Senate candidate, but in front of a construction project in Washington that had become a symbol of his focus on personal interests over voter concerns.
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MS NOW’s Nicolle Wallace also weighed in on the speech during her program, calling it “meandering” and “at times nonsensical.” The network’s coverage highlighted that the president’s closing argument had been overtaken by a topic far removed from the kitchen-table issues driving the election.
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