President Trump planned to visit Michigan on Monday for a final rally before the midterm elections, but chose instead to make an unconventional speech at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and then host nine tele-rallies in close congressional contests.
Trump ended his own 2016, 2020 and 2024 presidential campaigns in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Although he didn’t close out the 2018 or 2022 midterms there, he had planned to stop by the Wolverine State Monday, a White House official told The Post last month.
Instead of giving a final in-person push for Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers over Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, Trump hosted an hourlong event at the Reflecting Pool, where El-Sayed was the only candidate he bashed by name, calling him a “jihadist” running against “apple pie.”
“The entire calendar was done in pencil, and especially late in the month,” a second senior White House official told The Post on Monday. “And for today, and some yesterday, the schedule moved around to include telerallies [because] he can cover so much more ground.”
A Rogers source added that the final presidential stop was never confirmed.
A different source close to Trump claimed he had become “bored” with ordinary speeches after 29 visits to boost fellow Republicans — prompting the former reality TV producer to devise a more creative and head-turning conclusion to the cycle.
The decision coincidentally allowed Michigan headlines to remain dominated by fallout from the shocking weekend twist of Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), who narrowly lost the Democratic Senate primary, endorsing the Republican candidate over El-Sayed.
Stevens cited El-Sayed’s association with radical anti-Israel commentator Hasan Piker, whom the candidate repeatedly refused to disavow.
The stakes of the election are high for Trump.
If Republicans lose the House, which is believed to be most at-risk, he will spend his remaining two years in office consumed in investigations and legislative gridlock.
If Democrats take the Senate, Trump will have a much harder time winning confirmation for nominees to administration and judicial roles — and will face even more investigations.
Trump’s Reflecting Pool speech offered a wide-ranging outline of his plans to build a triumphal arch on the Potomac, add a promenade to the Lincoln Memorial and redevelop a DC golf course — while touting his new White House helipad, new sod on the lawn and a refresh of Lafayette Park.
He also defended his addition of a swimming pool liner to the Reflecting Pool, repeating disputed allegations the material was vandalized when it tore after installation, and pronouncing that new bubblers would end algae blooms that plagued the shallow water this summer.
“From the beginning algae formed,” Trump said of the pool’s history, addressing images seized upon by Democrats as indicative of government dysfunction.
He also plugged steep declines in illegal immigration, strong economic data including low unemployment, new manufacturing plants, a sudden one-day drop in oil prices and increased national wealth that he attributed to tariffs.
“It’s the golden age of America. We have a country that we can be proud of again,” Trump said.
“For some reason, the sitting president doesn’t win the midterms, but we gave this a very strong shot.”
