CNN's Kasie Hunt Takes Brutal Swipe at Trump After He Spends 22 Minutes Talking About the Reflecting Pool

CNN anchor Kasie Hunt aimed President Donald Trump's final message before the 2026 midterm elections after he spent more than 20 minutes of his election-eve speech discussing the troubled renovation of Washington's Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Hunt later compared Trump's poolside appearance to a famous scene from the romantic comedy "Notting Hill."

Trump delivered the roughly hour-long address Monday, November 2, from the Reflecting Pool. He did not mention the midterm elections until after the 22-minute mark, according to a transcript of the speech.

After airing footage from Trump's remarks on "The Arena," Hunt questioned whether viewers had heard the political message they expected from a president speaking one day before Election Day.

"Did you catch the midterm message there?" Hunt asked. She noted that Trump had spent the first 22 minutes talking about "a massive piece of pool and grass and pipes and columns."

Hunt also pointed to the setting of Trump's appearance, noting that he was not campaigning alongside a Senate candidate or speaking at a large rally.

"Instead, it was just a man, he's in there somewhere, standing in front of a pool, asking you to love it," she said.

The CNN anchor's line echoed Julia Roberts' character in "Notting Hill," who famously says, "I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her."

Trump opened by announcing the Reflecting Pool's reopening and joking about renaming it the Trump Reflecting Pool before immediately saying he was kidding.

He then spent much of the opening portion detailing leaks, algae, old pipes, joints, coating, and previous repair efforts.

Trump claimed former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden had spent more than $144 million trying to fix and renovate the pool. He also said the administration had installed about 330,000 square feet of coating and replaced nearly all of the pool's joints.

The president repeatedly praised the finished project, saying the pool was "better and more beautiful than it's ever been before."

The renovation has remained controversial after algae returned and the new blue liner began peeling. The project also grew well beyond Trump's initial estimate of roughly $1.5 million, ultimately costing $14.7 million, according to Reuters.

Trump has blamed vandalism for the damage. However, contractor findings reported by Reuters said flaws in the repair work and plan contributed to the liner failing, including insufficient primer and chemically incompatible coating layers.

The Justice Department later dropped its case against former Olympian David Hearn after determining that contractor workmanship was responsible for the damage.

Trump eventually shifted to the election, calling the midterms "the most important midterm I believe in our lifetime" and urging voters to support Republicans.

He attacked Democratic candidates and discussed his administration's record before acknowledging the historical difficulties facing a president's party in midterm elections.

Trump ultimately said Republicans had "given this a very strong shot." Hunt immediately seized on the wording.

"Well, there's the closing message, 'We gave it a shot,'" she said.