Donald Trump’s unrelenting focus on the ‘beautification of Washington’ and Fox News ratings did not stop the Democrats’ decisive midterm election wins

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Standing at the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool on Monday afternoon, Donald Trump zeroed in on his closing message of the high-stakes midterm elections: it can take a long time to get rid of filth.

Less than 24 hours before Americans headed to the polls, the US president staged a bizarre press conference in which he touted his troubled $14m renovation of the Washington DC landmark and blamed his predecessors for the algae that once bloomed in its water.