Trump showing unusual new signs of exhaustion: White House veteran

As he scales back his rally efforts and chooses a questionable venue for his final address before the midterms, President Donald Trump seems to be showing signs of exhaustion and depleted stamina that he never did before, according to one veteran White House correspondent.

During a Monday MS NOW broadcast, the network's new chief White House correspondent, Paula Reid — who previously covered the White House for CBS News from the start of Trump's presidency — spoke with host Peter Alexander and the president's closing argument on the eve of the midterms. Noting that both she and Alexander had considerable experience covering Trump, Reid said that there was a notable shift in his energy, as his considerable well of stamina appears to have dried up.

"Peter, you and I have covered the president for a long time," Reid said. "This is a man that, despite his age, despite the demands of his job, he has a lot of stamina. So, surprising to hear him complain over the past few days about his voice, about how tired he was, about having to do all this travel."

Reid noted further that this exhaustion most likely explains Trump's decision to hold his final address prior to the midterms at the Lincoln Memorial, near the Reflecting Pool.

"So I guess it's not surprising that he would be here," Reid said. "But it's got to be disappointing to his party...even [with] conservative strongholds like Texas hanging in the balance. I think, Peter, we know that there are no voters in the state of Michigan who are going to cast their ballot based on the condition of the grass at the Reflecting Pool."

Elsewhere in the segment, Alexander noted to Reid that it was a questionable choice of venue to pitch voters on his ongoing agenda, given how the botched renovation of the Reflecting Pool had become a symbol for Trump's wasteful spending and incompetence. Reid suggested that the decision was likely done, in part, to help Trump escape to a "safe space."

"This is, how do you say, not in line with American priorities. What is the thinking behind the scenes?" Alexander asked.

"Arguably it's not in line with his own priorities, right?" Reid said. "He has so much at stake this week. He has governed largely unchecked by Congress. And depending on how this election goes, he has an administration, his allies, his own family, [who] could face significant oversight. So, it is odd he is choosing to spend this, the last day before tomorrow, at the Reflecting Pool. He went on in that Q&A with reporters to talk quite extensively about the grass and how much it has improved... We have seen the president repeatedly sort of retreat to this space renovation and construction when things aren't going well. That's sort of his safe space. This is the identity he had, of course, before he went into politics."