Far from the campaign trail, Trump promotes his Reflecting Pool makeover before Election Day

In a puzzling move before the crucial midterms, U.S. President Donald Trump drew attention to the algae-infested Reflecting Pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial during his final major address. The speech, far removed from the campaign trail where Republicans sought to persuade voters to maintain their grip on Congress, was a stark contrast to the traditional election-day strategy.

Commenting on the peculiar timing, Republican strategist Doug Heye remarked, "It starts just with the setting being bizarre and being very self-focused," adding that the posters and images displayed during the speech offered no assistance to undecided voters in deciding to support the Republican Party. Heye, a former Republican National Committee communications director, deemed Trump's Reflecting Pool speech as the "last thing" that Republican candidates required.