Trump's Closing Argument Was a Fixed Pool — and That Is Exactly the Point

On the last day before the midterms, the President stood at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and made the case that this government finishes what it starts. Voters should hear it.

By Clara Hughes

Every campaign ends with a closing argument. Most are a blur of slogans in a hotel ballroom. President Trump chose a different stage on Monday: the long stretch of water between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, a national symbol that, by his account, "hasn't worked since 1922." "This is the last day before the midterm elections — the most important midterm, I believe, in our lifetime," the President said, according to NBC News. Then he spent much of his remarks — nearly 20 minutes on the pool and on crime in the capital, Forbes reported — talking about something the Washington press corps treats as a punchline: plumbing, lights, statues and graffiti. They missed the message. It was about whether government can still fix things. Keep reading with Altas Premium. Below: what the President actually claimed at the Reflecting Pool, the honest setbacks he did not hide from, and why a repaired monument is a fair test to carry into the voting booth on Tuesday. [Subscribe to Altas World News →] What