Even conservatives are bashing 'out of touch' Trump’s bizarre closing speech

President Donald Trump delivers remarks ahead of the midterm elections at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, after being reopened following months of repairs, on the National Mall in Washington, DC, US, November 2, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ern

President Donald Trump delivered his closing message on the eve of the midterms to a meager crowd in front of the Lincoln Memorial, and was promptly raked over the coals for an "incredibly unfocused" address dominated by rehashing old grievances and algae.

On Tuesday afternoon, less than 24 hours before the start of voting on Election Day, Trump held an address in Washington, D.C., intended to be his closing statement on the midterms after a series of rallies across predominantly red states. The decision to hold the event in full view of the Reflecting Poll drew confusion and criticism from the start, given how much the landmark's botched renovation has become a symbol of Trump's incompetence and focus on wasteful vanity projects, at a time when voters are most concerned with the economy and the administration's chaos.

The address itself did little to allay those messaging concerns, with MS NOW's Kyle Griffin noting on X and BlueSky that the first 10 minutes were dominated by Trump rehashing his defenses of the pool's renovation and repeating debunked claims about its troubles being the result of vandalism.

"More than 10+ minutes into his midterms 'closing argument' speech at the Reflecting Pool, Trump has just... been talking about the pool," Griffin posted.

He added later: "It's been 20 minutes and Trump has still not talked about the midterms."

Trump's overwhelming focus on the Reflecting Pool and other personal pet grievances quickly became the subject of mockery online, with several observers and pundits suggesting that it was a poor pivot heading into Election Day.

"The Republicans given anonymity to speak candidly are not going to like this Trump 'closing message,' which so far seems to be about algae," Semafor's Dave Weigel posted to X.

Some also noted with amusement how the focus on the Reflecting Pool's trouble followed Trump's strange fixation with touting the physiques of male GOP candidates at recent rallies.

"The pivot to algae comes amid waning voter sentiment over John Husted's a——," political researcher Rob Pyers posted in response to Weigel.

"From A—— to Algae: Donald Trump's Closing Argument," Pod Save America host Jon Favreau quipped.

"Laser-focused on infrastructure improvements," journalist Kirk A. Bado sarcastically suggested.

"He doesn't want to win!" author and political organizer Amanda Litman posted.

"Scriptwriters outdoing themselves with a 2026 election finale culminating in Trump as Narcissus speaking at the Reflecting Pool," conservative commentator Bill Kristol posted.

"Holy shnikes. He's showing pictures of the pipes in the Reflecting Pool," Tom Nichols, another anti-Trump conservative pundit, added in his own post. "His party is facing a tsunami, and he's talking about the pool like a homeowner b—— about how the last owners didn't do the right maintenance."

"Last night, I overheard a swing-state family at a Saddam Hussein Cheesecake Factory saying they were deciding their vote tomorrow on beautifying the reflecting pool," James Singer, a staffer for Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, posted.

Some users also noted that Trump's algae argument, claiming that reports of the issue were overstated based on how it currently looks, was misleading, given that algae thrives in hot seasons like the summer and would naturally be less of a problem in the fall.

The official account for the Democratic group, House Majority PAC, shared a photoshopped image of Trump holding up a photo during the address, altered to show CNN pollster Harry Enten's prediction that Democrats have a 92 percent chance of retaking the House.

"Day before the midterms and Trump is standing at the Reflecting Pool holding up photos of old pipes like it’s show-and-tell," Catholic podcast host Kacee Allen posted. "Algae, leaks, dark blue paint for 'reflectivity.' They couldn’t be [any more] out of touch.

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