Storms, heat and white supremacist march overshadow Trump's 250th Independence Day celebration
Severe storms forced an evacuation of the National Mall, delaying President Trump's speech until nearly midnight, while hundreds of white supremacists marched through Washington on the 250th anniversary of US independence.
Weather chaos and evacuation
Washington D.C. recorded its hottest July 4 on record at 102°F, leading to cancelled parades and later start times at the Great American State Fair. By 7 p.m., severe storms prompted an emergency evacuation of the National Mall, sending confused crowds searching for shelter in museums and restaurants. Remaining flyovers were cancelled. Emergency officials assisted 96 people on site and transported 40; George Washington University Hospital treated nearly 290 people from the Mall.
I paid thousands of dollars to come use a porta-potty for the first time in my life.
A group sheltering at a Department of Agriculture building broke into the National Anthem while waiting out the storm.
Trump's late-night speech
President Trump finally took the stage around 11 p.m. and spoke for roughly 40 minutes. He championed American military might, referenced actions in Venezuela and Iran, and framed the Democratic left as a communist threat ahead of the November midterms. The speech echoed an address he had given the day before at Mount Rushmore.
We wiped out their military.
America will never be a communist country. Communism is a loser. Our military fought communism everywhere not to see it rear its ugly head in the US itself. Communism is like cancer, you must cut it out immediately.
He also struck a unifying note, saying the rights in the Constitution extend to citizens of every race, religion, colour and creed, and that Americans are one people, one family with one flag.
White supremacist march
Earlier that day, several hundred members of the white supremacist group Patriot Front marched through Capitol Hill. Masked and wearing blue shirts with khaki pants, they carried Confederate flags and upside-down American flags, chanting "Reclaim America." The Trump administration did not condemn the march. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, asked about it on CNN, cited free speech.
There is none of the positions they defend with which I could agree. But one of the founding principles of the United States, and what makes democracy messy, is freedom of speech.
A counter-protest by Refuse Fascism took place near the White House.
Fireworks and aftermath
The fireworks display, billed as a world-record attempt with 850,000 individual pyrotechnics, began just before midnight. The smoke grew so thick that many spectators could not see the finale. Trump appeared to doze off on stage during the show. By July 5, the District of Columbia was under a "very unhealthy" air pollution alert.
- Hundreds of Patriot Front white supremacists march through Capitol Hill.
- Temperature hits 102°F, hottest July 4 on record in D.C.; parades cancelled.
- Severe storms force evacuation of National Mall; flyovers cancelled.
- Trump takes stage, delivers 40-minute speech attacking communism and praising military.
- Record 850,000-firework show begins; smoke obscures view for many.
- D.C. under 'very unhealthy' air pollution alert.
