A record-breaking firework show in Washington, D.C., will be delayed as President Donald Trump turns the July 4 celebration into a campaign-like rally.
More than 850,000 pyrotechnic effects will be launched over the National Mall that night, according to Freedom 250, the White House-backed, public-private group tasked with organizing celebrations for the 250th anniversary of American independence.
Not only will it be the biggest July 4 fireworks show in D.C., but the longest. It will last about 40 minutes, about twice as long as usual, according to event organizers.
While the show is bound to be awe-inspiring for those attending the event, D.C. residents with crying babies and scared pets may see it more as headache-inducing — the event is scheduled to start nearly two hours later than usual, thanks to what the president called the “most spectacular” Trump rally.
“On July 4th, at The Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument, in beautiful and safe Washington D.C., we are going to host the most spectacular TRUMP RALLY of them all, a ‘TRIBUTE TO AMERICA,’” the president wrote on Truth Social earlier this month.
Trump said his rally — which will likely feature his familiar talking points, including boasts about his various renovation projects around D.C. and his gripes with his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden — is set to start at 7 p.m. ET.
“To conclude the program, and commemorate this Historic Occasion, I will be launching, what will be, the LARGEST FIREWORKS SHOW IN HISTORY, right here in our Nation's Capital. Do not miss it,” Trump added in his June 15 post.
Hundreds of thousands of fireworks shells will be launched from eight Potomac River barges and West Potomac Park — as well as on the banks of the newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
The pool — which gained unfavorable attention after turning green from algae and chipping blue paint days after Trump’s multi-million-dollar renovation project was completed — has been fenced off in preparation for the celebration.
A bright orange sign on the fence reads “Coming to you on July 4th.”
The fireworks show, which usually starts at around 9 p.m., is set to begin around 10:30 p.m., according to Freedom 250.
But D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters on Monday that local officials expect the display to start around 11 p.m.
Bowser said she expects families with young children to watch the fireworks show on TV instead of staying late at the National Mall.
Even White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has yet to decide whether she and her husband, Nicholas Riccio, will keep their young son and newborn daughter awake to see the display.
“It’s a family discussion we have to have — if it’s worth keeping two very young children up that late and then ruining July 5. But I think it’s going to be worth it,” Leavitt told Fox News’ Peter Doocy on Sunday while attending Freedom 250’s Great American State Fair.
Doocy then chimed in: “Even if you don’t keep them up on purpose, they’ll be up. They’ll hear it.”
“I think they’re gonna hear it no matter what,” she said. “The whole city is going to hear it.”
Trump said in his June 15 post that his rally “will honor our Country's People, Spirit, Strength, Resolve, and Triumphs.”
The president also spoke at a rally kicking off the weeks-long Great American State Fair on the National Mall Wednesday night, after almost every artist who was scheduled to perform at Freedom 250’s concert series — including Martini McBride, The Commodores and Bret Michaels — dropped out over concerns that the series had become political and divisive.
Trump called on his supporters at last week’s rally to attend his July 4 speech and the fireworks show, which he claimed would be “10 times larger than any that we've ever done in Washington or in the United States.”
“On July 4, we will have the greatest show of all on the National Mall,” he said. “Your favorite president will be speaking, so please show up, because if we have two empty seats, you know what's going to happen. The fake news is going to say, ‘He didn't fill out the arena.’”
The “Salute To America” event will begin at 1 p.m. with musical performances and military flyovers.
The Joint Armed Forces Orchestra will also perform at the nighttime program that begins at 7 p.m.
In his post, Trump wrote: “More than 300 Members of our strong and talented Military Bands, Orchestras, and Ceremonial Units, will perform Patriotic Melodies and American Classics, and my Playlist (We will have none of those people that put you to sleep and constantly complain!), as we celebrate our Country, and Rally into the next 250 years.”
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