ABC News summed up President Trump's November 2 Reflecting Pool event this way: "On the eve of the high-stakes midterm election, Pres. Trump focused on his renovations to the Reflecting Pool in his closing message to voters." The Associated Press previewed it as a pitch at a "problem-plagued" pool that the administration drained this summer. FOX 5 DC posted the full video at 3:31 p.m. EST on November 2, and The Singju Post published a transcript. Both show the President did talk about pipes and paint, but they also show a pitch on public safety and a Cabinet secretary tying the day to food, timber and energy.
The President marked the official reopening of the renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, according to the transcript. He said the pool had struggled with leaks and algae since it was built, that former President Obama and presidents before him had worked on it, and that his team fixed the leaks and resurfaced the bottom in a very dark blue to give the water its reflection. He said the administration was giving serious thought to renaming it the Trump Reflecting Pool and would announce a decision the next day. He also showed what he called the low-quality material his administration inherited under the surface.
Then he moved past plumbing. The President said the vandalism the pool suffered was unprecedented, that new grass had been torn up and replaced, and that cameras were now in place that should have been there before, according to the transcript. He closed that section by saying the administration is making the capital "safe and beautiful again." The Associated Press reported that the administration had charged people with vandalism and that the President said on Sunday the pool was badly vandalized.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum followed and praised the U.S. Park Police and the National Park Service, the transcript shows. He said the safety statistics the President cited would not exist without the executive order President Trump signed, and he described the pool as a symbol of that work. He then said the President's policies were bringing the country back to food security, more grazing, more timber production for affordable homes, and more oil and gas to push energy prices down.
The Associated Press framed the day as a choice. It reported the President chose the Washington event over travel to key states after a month of more than 25 rallies, and it called the renovation slow, expensive and problem-plagued, noting algae and liner problems after the summer draining and a $2.7 million federal award to a company to fix the algae. It also reported that the saga began in April, when the President said contractors he knew would fix the pool in days for about $1.5 million before Independence Day. The AP said he has bristled at criticism from former President Obama and other Democrats that he spends too much time on construction projects.
