WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump used a speech on the eve of midterm elections that will shape his final two years in office to tout his months-long renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Located hundreds of miles from the site of many battleground House and Senate races, the pool was an unusual place for the president to make his closing argument that his fellow Republicans should keep control of Congress.

Trump, sporting a white baseball cap with the letters “USA,” on Monday appeared at the iconic site where he ordered a costly remodel that’s been plagued by engineering problems and algae blooms.

To critics, the project has symbolized how the president has become distracted from voters’ top concerns, including the cost of living, corruption and artificial intelligence. But to Trump and his supporters, it’s a celebration of his push to revitalize a capital — and a nation — that they see as having fallen into disrepair.

Under overcast skies, the president spoke in front of a poster with an aerial photograph of the pool. Trump also held up giant photos of rusted pipes that he replaced and declared the pool now “looks better than it ever looked.”

“This project should be a project that unites all Americans,” he said. The president also repeated his unfounded claims of “unprecedented” vandalism that was to blame for the problems.

After more than 20 minutes of speaking about the pool, as well as grass replacement, his new White House helipad and crime-fighting efforts in Washington, Trump finally pivoted to attack Democratic congressional contenders as “the most extreme and dangerous slate of candidates in American history.”

He singled out Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed as a “jihadist” and labeled other Democrats as “communist.”

But later, he returned to speak about other controversial projects, including a planned triumphal arch and an effort to transform a municipal golf facility into a championship-level course.

“We have a lot of great things planned for Washington, and I could get into the nation, but for that you don’t have enough time,” the president said.

Which message resonates more will help decide the outcome of Tuesday’s vote.

If Republicans defy the polls and historic voting trends by keeping their congressional majorities, it would validate Trump’s unorthodox campaign approach. But heavy GOP losses will prompt questions about whether he could have been more disciplined in his approach and spent his time more productively.

Before Monday, Trump spent weeks traveling to traditionally red states across the country to encourage his supporters to back Republican candidates despite his own deep unpopularity and concerns about persistent inflation and the war against Iran.

The president has said his rallies have made a difference in the midterms. But on the eve of the Nov. 3 election, he instead chose to highlight a place that has personal significance to him and his envisioned legacy.

Earlier this year, Trump sought to renovate the pool, only to have the protective coating crack and peel off — an embarrassing display for what he had hailed as thrifty but effective work carried out by top-notch contractors. Trump blamed vandals for the disrepair rather than what critics said was shoddy, rushed workmanship.

The episode underscored the president’s hyperfocus on construction projects in the capital, including a White House ballroom, paved-over Rose Garden and gold-laden refurbishment of the Oval Office, that detractors say has taken his attention away from issues that are more important to the average voter, such as the high cost of living.

Trump, a real estate developer for much of his life, rejects those claims and describes the projects as relaxing. Tuesday’s vote is expected to hinge on economic issues and Trump in his speeches has amplified his party’s messaging, touting tax relief for voters and investment pledges to boost domestic manufacturing.

“For some reason, the sitting president doesn’t win the midterms. But we gave this a very strong shot,” Trump said.

Despite voter anger over high costs wrought in part by his decision to wage war on Iran, which he launched despite his campaign-trail pledge to not start new overseas conflicts, the president said he has “actually kept far more promises than I made.”

Trump has long been prone to tangents about his construction projects on the stump, helping to fuel criticism they are a higher priority for him than other domestic and foreign policy concerns.

The president is aiming to keep Congress in Republican hands after the midterm election. If one or both chambers flip to Democrats, that will lead to a slew of investigations into Trump, his cabinet and his family, who have largely eschewed congressional oversight during the first two years of his second term.

While Trump was in Washington, Vice President JD Vance campaigned in upstate New York and Ohio, highlighting how Republicans are on the defensive. Vance stumped in New York’s 21st Congressional District, where there is a closer-than-expected race for a seat retiring GOP Representative Elise Stefanik won by 24 percentage points two years ago. Ohio, which Trump won in all three presidential races, hosts competitive gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races.

Polls show rival Democrats in strong position to gain the three House seats needed for control of that chamber. They’ve also grown more optimistic about their prospects for taking the Senate, with several races going down to the wire.

—With assistance from Josh Wingrove.

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