Reflecting Pool vs the state of the economy: Trump and Dems clash in closing messages

WASHINGTON (AP) — Less than 24 hours before polls opened across America, Democrats on Monday fought to stay focused on the economy and move past intraparty infighting in the Midwest, while President Donald Trump promoted construction projects in Washington and cast his Democratic opponents as dangerous radicals.

The dueling closing messages came as the nation’s two major parties battled for control of Congress and key governors’ offices. The outcome could fundamentally reshape Trump’s final two years in the White House — and the level of power that comes with it.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s request to sideline thousands of disputed California mail ballots, and the president separately raised the prospect of voter fraud in Alaska.

Overall, Democrats expressed overwhelming optimism about their party’s chances Tuesday, while Trump, who has struggled to control rising prices as the war in Iran continues, acknowledged that the midterm election may not go well for him or his party.

“For some reason, the sitting president doesn’t win the midterms, but we gave this a very strong shot,” Trump said in remarks at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, where he talked extensively about new grass, rusty pipes and algae. “We have a lot of great things planned for Washington, and I could get into (more about) the nation, but for that you don’t have enough time.”

The speech at the National Mall marked Trump’s final scheduled public remarks before Tuesday. The Republican president was also scheduled to participate in nine telerallies for Republican midterm candidates.

Emboldened Democrats, meanwhile, spent election eve pressing their economic message in places like Iowa, Ohio, Kansas and Texas — red states that have emerged as a central front in the 2026 midterms given Trump’s unpopularity. In the Midwest, however, Democrats worked to contain the fallout from a messy intraparty fight a day after Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens stunned her party by endorsing Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed ‘s Republican opponent, Mike Rogers.

El-Sayed made no mention of the controversy at an event Monday at Eastern Michigan University, instead emphasizing that his campaign was about voters, not himself. Asked afterward what he would tell supporters nervous about the impact of Stevens’ endorsement on the race, El-Sayed had a simple message: “Go vote.”

Trump focuses on Washington renovations as voters worry about the economy

Trump, in his final speech before polls open, delivered rambling remarks Monday afternoon at the Reflecting Pool, where he repeated false statements that the project was sabotaged by vandals. The Justice Department has acknowledged in court that the new blue liner he had installed on the pool surface peeled and detached because of a rushed repair job.

He said little about the national economy, which voters say is their chief concern, aside from insisting it was “great.”

“Our country is doing great. I think it’s the greatest we’ve ever done,” Trump declared. “We had a great first term in terms of the economy. We had the best term ever. We had the most successful economy.”

The president spent the majority of his remarks focused on the Reflecting Pool renovation, reflecting on the challenge of removing algae and installing new grass, among other things. He also promoted new Washington-area construction projects, including a golf course and a “promenade” that would let people walk from the Lincoln Memorial to the Potomac River.

“It’s a great architectural concept, simple and beautiful and white stone,” Trump said.

Tuesday’s elections were largely an afterthought in the president’s speech. He did, however, briefly portray his political rivals as extremists, claiming that Democrats had “nominated the most extreme and dangerous slate of candidates in American history.”

The president’s message in the midterms’ closing days was similarly detached from voters’ concerns about the high cost of living. He’s called affordability a “hoax” along with repeatedly praising the physiques of the GOP’s nominees.

Vice President JD Vance stuck closer to the party message while campaigning Monday in Rome, New York. He touted Trump’s moves to end taxes on tips and overtime and secure the border while branding Democrats as “lunatics” who have contempt for American voters.

Democrats try to flip Republican-favored seats while grappling with fractures

Democratic candidates were working to capitalize on widespread disaffection over high prices, the fallout from Trump’s war with Iran and historical trends that typically favor the party out of power in midterm elections.

In places like Iowa, where voters have not elected a Democratic governor in two decades, Democrat Rob Sand was asking canvassers knocking on doors to help break that streak.

“This is it,” said Sand, who faces Republican Zach Lahn. “We have 30-whatever hours to change the direction of the state of Iowa.”

He was appearing with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, seen as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, who cited his own races as proof that a Democrat can win over Trump-backed candidates in states like his own and Iowa.

And in Virginia, Democrat Shannon Taylor, a prosecutor seeking to oust longtime GOP Rep. Rob Wittman in Virginia’s 1st Congressional District, said that voters are fired up and demanding change.

“People are mad, and people want to see change,” said Taylor, who has run on an anti-corruption platform and focused on the cost of living.

In Michigan, Democrats deal with fallout from a dramatic split

Democrats in Michigan — a key state in their efforts to try to retake the Senate — were trying to keep their coalition together after a shock on Sunday when Stevens announced she would back the GOP candidate instead of her party’s nominee, appearing at a church service with Rogers.

Stevens — who lost in the primary to Abdul El-Sayed — is a staunch supporter of Israel, while El-Sayed is a fierce critic of the U.S. ally. He has also been criticized for past remarks regarding a Michigan synagogue attack and for appearances with controversial streamer Hasan Piker.

El-Sayed tried to ignore the controversy on Monday, simply encouraging his supporters to go vote.

“There’s only one thing we can do to control the outcome,” he said as he campaigned with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and his grandparents, who greeted the crowd.

With over 2.3 million Michigan voters having already cast their ballots as of Monday, the question is whether the extraordinary political drama will matter to those who have yet to vote. Nearly 4.5 million people voted in the 2022 midterms. The state’s regular early in-person voting period ended Sunday, with polls reopening statewide Tuesday.

“Well, around half of people have already voted,” said Lori Goldman, a longtime Democratic organizer in Oakland County, a party stronghold near Detroit. “But for the rest, it could matter a hell of a lot.”

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Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim in Washington, Hannah Fingerhut in Ankeny, Iowa, Mike Householder in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Virginia, and Mike Catalini and Moriah Balingit in Washington contributed to this report.