Trump closes campaign touting DC makeover, accused of misreading mood of Americans

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Washington: President Donald Trump closed out the Republicans’ midterm election campaign by touting his makeover of the United States capital and holding up photographs of a controversial renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

As polls showed Democrats on track to win control of Congress, Trump’s decision to return to the site of the botched pool revamp the day before election day compounded criticism from some strategists that he lacked focus on bread-and-butter issues facing Americans.

Donald Trump inspected the re-restored Reflecting Pool at the Lincoln Memorial for his final midterm election push.AP Photo/Alex BrandonThe president said he wanted to speak at the Reflecting Pool “to show how beautiful it is” now works were completed. He repeated claims that the water feature had been vandalised, even though the government’s own court submissions conceded the damage was caused by the contractors, not vandals.

Trump showed pictures of the pool’s pipes, joints and granite borders, and spoke at length about deficiencies with the pool’s construction and upkeep before the refurbishment.

He also plugged his planned “Triumphal Arch”, a new promenade along the Potomac River and the divisive redevelopment of a nearby public golf course into a championship course.

The president brandished photographs of damage to the pool, and spoke at length about the intricacies of the repair.AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein“We have a lot of great things planned for Washington – and I could get into the nation, but for that, you don’t have enough time,” he said.

At the start, Trump joked about renaming the memorial to the “Trump Reflecting Pool”, before clarifying: “I’m only kidding.”

In a short section of his speech dedicated to the election, Trump noted the price of oil had tumbled on Monday (US time) amid renewed talk of a deal to end the war in Iran.

Negotiations mediated by Qatar have continued for days, though there has been no breakthrough. Trump had pledged not to restart major combat operations against Iran before the midterms, intensifying speculation it could recommence as soon as this week.

The US executed strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island on Monday, and Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported that five explosions were heard in quick succession. US officials characterised the strikes as limited and The Wall Street Journal reported that similar operations have been carried out secretly for weeks.

On Sunday, Trump held what may be his final-ever campaign rallies, in the Midwest states of Iowa and Kansas, where Republicans are battling to hold seats in the US Senate amid widespread concerns about affordability, particularly the rising cost of diesel.

The final polls of the campaign point to a significant “blue wave” for the Democrats. Polling by Siena and The New York Times had Democrats ahead in all seven of the tightest Senate contests, with Abdul El-Sayed ahead of Mike Rogers in Michigan by 53 per cent to 42 per cent.

In Texas, the same poll showed Democrat James Talarico beating Republican Ken Paxton by 50 per cent to 43 per cent – well outside the margin of error. The closest races were in Alaska and Iowa, where Democrats led by two and one percentage points respectively, both within the margin of error.

If those findings are accurate, they point to a Democratic sweep of both chambers, giving the party control of Congress and the power to launch investigations into alleged corruption, the Trump family and the Iran war.

Trump says the polls are “rigged”, but has frequently signalled that Republicans may lose midterms, noting that they almost always favour the party that does not occupy the White House.

He gave an interview to The New York Post’s Miranda Devine – an Australian-American journalist who was once a columnist for this masthead – in which he suggested he could ultimately work with a Democratic-controlled Congress.

“I guess I’ll become ‘Mr Veto’, and then at some point we’ll probably make deals,” Trump said on the podcast. “Eventually, after a month or two of getting all vetoed, they come over, and you make a deal.”

Doug Heye, a Republican strategist and long-time party operative who served in the Bush administration, said Monday’s speech at the Reflecting Pool capped a dismal campaign strategy that had barely touched on the major concerns of voters.

“It was insane,” he said. “The closing message from the president essentially telling voters, ‘I don’t know what’s important to you, here’s what’s important to me’. It’s a terrible message.

“If you’re an undecided voter in any of the targeted states or districts, how does this help you decide, ‘Yeah, I’m going to vote for that Republican?’ It wasn’t designed to.”

Robert Shapiro, a political scientist at Columbia University in New York, said it was a bizarre way to end the campaign.“We’re talking about a presidential administration whose poor performance is basically dominating current electoral politics,” he said.

Texas Attorney-General Ken Paxton, who is in a tough battle for the Senate seat in that state.AP Photo/Mark Felix“The best he can do is point to ridiculous cosmetic changes he’s trying to make. It speaks badly for the president, and it speaks badly for a party that supports such as president.”

Heye was not impressed by Trump’s rally speeches over the past month, which became known for spontaneous asides about people’s appearances rather than any policy or political substance.

“He called Ken Paxton a pain in the ass,” Heye said, referring to the Republican candidate for the US Senate in Texas. “He talked about [Iowa candidate] Ashley Hinson’s weight. He talked about [Ohio candidate] Jon Husted’s ass. He talked about how his sister’s really attractive but he didn’t want to date her.

“How are those comments designed to help any Republican candidate on the ballot? The best thing he could have done if his goal was to help Republicans in the ballot was to raise money, spend money and stay at home.”

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