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Freedom 250 Fallout
President Donald Trump has billed his July Fourth rally on the National Mall as a culmination of the “most unforgettable birthday party any country has ever seen,” while CNN reports White House officials are bracing for an underwhelming showing after “the lackluster attendance for Trump’s speech on the mall last week.”
“President Donald Trump has billed his July Fourth rally on the National Mall as a culmination of the “most unforgettable birthday party any country has ever seen”
CNN says the June 24 state fair setbacks included scattered crowds and “triple-digit heat,” and it quotes a White House official venting, “I do not understand why we are doing this so late.”
The New Republic reports that White House staff are concerned Trump’s Saturday rally is “a recipe for disaster,” and it says temperatures in Washington are forecast to reach a stifling 100 degrees.
In the same CNN account, Trump grew livid after seeing an aerial photo showing “acres of sparsely populated fields beyond the audience,” and a White House official replied to questions with “This is fake news!”
Controversy and Quotes
EL PAÍS frames the controversy around Trump’s prominence, saying the prominence given to President Donald Trump threatens to turn the event into a political act, with critics pointing to the decision to present the anniversary “explicitly as an act associated with his political figure.”
EL PAÍS also reports that on Sunday, coinciding with his 80th birthday, the White House hosted a UFC evening presented as part of the Freedom 250 program celebrations, and it describes fighter Josh Hokit stating in a subsequent interview that former first lady Michelle Obama is a man.
In that same EL PAÍS account, Fox News columnist David Marcus wrote, “This bothers me. Do you want to drop these nonsense at a rally? Fine. But not at an official Freedom 250 event. It’s embarrassing.”
CNN, meanwhile, quotes White House spokesman Davis Ingle calling the fair and other events an effort to “feature a renewal of patriotism and national pride under this President’s leadership,” as internal finger-pointing follows the sparse crowds at the fair.
What Comes Next
The New Republic says Trump’s Fourth of July rally is scheduled to take place outside on the National Mall, with a massive fireworks display currently scheduled to begin at 11 p.m., and it adds that attendees will not be able to bring coolers to help beat the heat.
CNN reports that for Trump’s July Fourth address, one source said the viewing section directly in front of the stage will be ticketed to ensure it is filled, while another official familiar with the event noted there is likely to be huge swaths of people who sign up to secure a spot but ultimately don’t show.
San Francisco Chronicle says the Great American State Fair is a 16-day event scheduled through July 10, with organizers saying it features booths representing all 56 states and territories, federal agency displays, a Ferris wheel, military events and nightly entertainment between the U.S. Capitol and the Washington Monument.
New York Magazine describes the fair as a 16-day event on the National Mall and says it kicked off on June 24 and ends on July 10, while it quotes Trump’s Truth Social replacement announcement for canceled acts as “the Number One Attraction anywhere in the World, the man who gets much larger audiences than Elvis in his prime.”
