Trump Eyes Reflecting Pool for Final Pitch; Sen. Murphy Recovering

President Donald Trump signaled Sunday that he plans to deliver his closing pitch of the 2026 midterm elections at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., according to The Associated Press on KCBS Radio. Meanwhile on Capitol Hill, Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy was hospitalized at Johns Hopkins Hospital after experiencing a stroke on Saturday and is "awake and alert" as he responds to treatment, his office announced Sunday via The Associated Press on KCBS Radio.

Trump Signals Monday Closing Event at Renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool

Speaking to reporters as he deplaned from Air Force One for a Sunday rally in Iowa ahead of a Sunday evening rally in Kansas — capping a month-long sprint of more than 25 rallies — Trump said speaking at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool "might hold it tomorrow or something" and would "show how beautiful it is."

Trump launched the Reflecting Pool project in April, initially stating that contractors would change the pool's color and complete repairs before Independence Day for about $1.5 million. After Trump declared the work finished in June, the pool experienced algae blooms and sections of its "American-flag blue" liner peeled off, requiring the basin to be drained again in mid-July. The repairs ultimately finished nearly 3 months behind schedule at a cost of more than 10 times Trump's initial $1.5 million estimate.

While Trump reiterated Sunday that the pool "was vandalized badly" and noted that security cameras have been installed, the office of U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro concluded the problems resulted from shoddy workmanship, and a federal judge permanently dismissed a Justice Department case that had briefly charged former Olympian David Hearn this summer.

Sen. Chris Murphy “Awake and Alert” at Johns Hopkins After Saturday Stroke

In Washington, Allison Herwitt, chief of staff to 53-year-old Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), said in a Sunday statement that Murphy "started experiencing numbness in his arm while at his son's hockey game" on Saturday. After a local hospital determined he had experienced a stroke, Murphy was transferred to Johns Hopkins Hospital for monitoring, where doctors are encouraged by his progress and optimistic he will make a full recovery.

First elected to the U.S. House in 2006 and the Senate in 2012, Murphy serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee and is not on the ballot Tuesday, though he campaigned Friday in Connecticut for Gov. Ned Lamont and last week in Minnesota with Democratic Senate nominee Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan following an early-October diplomatic trip to the Middle East (including a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman) and his 4-day, 70-mile walk across Connecticut in early September.

Three other Senate Democrats — Sens. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania — suffered strokes in 2022 and returned to the Senate. Fetterman, Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, and President Trump all expressed support for Murphy's recovery on Sunday.