Trump Blames Algae and Fox News After Midterm Losses
The president issued a space proclamation and cut Israeli aid on election day, then posted on social media that Democrats caused the Republican defeat.
By Kaito Sokolov ·
Donald Trump stood at the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool on Monday afternoon to deliver his final message before the midterm elections. He focused on the water quality as a key issue for voters heading to the polls the next day.
The president held a press conference to discuss the $14 million renovation of the landmark. He displayed a large photograph of the pool covered in green algae. Trump stated that the condition of the water was a problem inherited from the previous administration. He said, “This was in the Biden era … They just spend money after money after money.”
He described the algae as brutal and noted that it forms easily. Trump claimed that for years, the public only saw dirt, filth, and paper in the water. This project had become an international topic of conversation earlier this year after his promise to make the water “American flag blue” resulted in a green bloom.
Polls indicated that Americans were not pleased with the president's focus on renovation projects. A Wall Street Journal report noted that Trump viewed the “beautification of Washington” as a strong legacy. Aides had advised him to focus on other matters, but he continued to push the narrative.
Trump claimed he had achieved more in two years than any other administration in history. He stated, “I’ve kept every single promise I made, except far more.” He added that he had actually kept more promises than he had made.
On Tuesday, the day polls opened, Trump announced he would end military aid to Israel at the end of the year. He said on a phone appearance with Fox News that the United States was giving them $4 billion. He declared that the funding would be cut off at year's end. A Quinnipiac poll from September found that nearly half of Americans believed the US was too supportive of Israel.
Trump identified Abdul El-Sayed, the Senate candidate in Michigan, as a key critic on the issue. He said he was tired of Democrats using the $4 billion figure as a “signal of unfairness.” He argued that they should not suffer criticism from what he called “lunatics like El-Sayed” when the aid was not needed.
By Tuesday evening, results showed major Democratic wins in Georgia, New Hampshire, and North Carolina. Trump posted on Truth Social at 6:36 pm to criticize the Fox News Poll. He called the questions insulting and said every answer was “BULLSHIT!”
Twenty minutes later, he posted again to explain that Fox News ratings had dropped by 27%. He blamed the network for spending too much time covering the “Trump Deranged Dumocrats.” He stated that his own numbers were better than they had ever been.
As the bad news for Republicans continued, Trump issued a short statement to shift blame. He wrote on Truth Social, “I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!” He concluded the post by thanking people for their attention to the matter.
