Trump veers into unusual territory during 250th anniversary speech

Severe storms weren’t enough to stop US President Donald Trump from railing against political opponents and delivering partisan messages along with patriotic appeals on the 250th anniversary of American independence, a moment he declared “one of the most joyous and glorious milestones of all time”.

Speaking in Washington after storms prompted a roughly two-hour evacuation of the National Mall, Trump honoured veterans, including several from World War II and one of the first Black officers to lead a Special Forces team in combat in Vietnam.

They appeared before flags that symbolised some of the most significant and challenging moments in American history, from the one that was draped over Abraham Lincoln’s casket to the one that flew on the plane piloted by the Wright Brothers.

Yet Trump also leaned into partisan territory unusual for an Independence Day address, which presidents typically use as a moment to unify the country.

Instead, he stumped again for the SAVE America Act, an elections bill that’s encountering challenges even from Trump’s fellow Republicans in Congress.

He highlighted his support for the Second Amendment and revived denunciations of communism, which are becoming an increasingly central part of Trump’s message ahead of the November midterm elections that are threatening to sever the Republicans’ control over Congress.

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The speech capped a holiday that Trump has gone to great lengths to shape to his own tastes. He was introduced by two musical performers who often appear at his trademark rallies, including Lee Greenwood, who performed God Bless the USA.

The event organisers were largely aligned with the White House, supplanting a bipartisan organisation that was launched by Congress a decade ago.

“We will always be on top,” Trump said.

“We will never let our country fall. We will always be the best.”

Trump didn’t talk about himself as much as he does during his normal rally speeches. Still, he still found time to include a joke about seeking a third presidential term and about World War II’s “greatest generation”.

“They are the greatest generation,” Trump said. “I hate to admit that, but they are.”

Anticipation for the milestone holiday has been building for much of the year, serving as an opportunity for Americans to reflect on their complicated history as onetime colonists of an empire who became a superpower of their own.

Organisers of celebrations months in the making had to adjust or cancel activities entirely as much of the East Coast sweltered under oppressive heat.

Before Trump’s speech, event organisers were forced to order an evacuation of the National Mall due to the wild storms.

However, the president had promised events would go ahead as planned regardless of the weather.

“We will wait it out, I don’t care if it’s 2:00 O’Clock in the morning, or in one hour from now. Looks like it is going to pass, they always do,” he posted on social media.

He said rain was not going to stop his speech on the notable anniversary.

“It’s Saturday night, LETS HAVE SOME FUN, even if we are out late tonight. They say 11:00 O’Clock for the speech. Who cares???” he said.

“I’m not going to let some rain stop our 250th,” saying he was about to leave the White House.

He earlier praised crowds who had gathered throughout the day for the rally.

Trump insisted crowds gathering in Washington D.C. were “incredible”, despite the impact of the weather throughout the day.

“Despite the heat, which isn’t as bad as predicted, the crowds in D.C. are INCREDIBLE! The love of our Country has never been stronger!” the president said.

“Our Country is Stronger than EVER!!!”

The president was in South Dakota at Mount Rushmore on Friday (Saturday AEST), where he delivered a dark speech about the threat of communism in the US as the chiselled images of four of his most prominent predecessors loomed behind him.

Anticipation for the milestone holiday had been building for much of the year, serving as an opportunity for Americans to reflect on their complicated history as onetime colonists of an empire who became a superpower of their own. 

Celebrations months in the making had to adjust or cancel activities entirely as much of the East Coast sweltered under heat that approached and in many cases surpassed triple digits.

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An uneasy nation celebrates

The celebrations unfolded against the backdrop of a deep divide that has been expanding for years, visible in everything from political expression to cultural norms to age-old questions over race, class and immigration.

At Mount Rushmore on Friday, Trump spoke of communism as a “mortal threat to American liberty”.

“It is the greatest threat to our country, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor or even 9/11,” the Republican president said.

Without naming him, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat who is also a democratic socialist and recently backed several successful congressional candidates in their primaries, appeared to reference Trump during a speech Friday.

“Those ideals upon which our nation was built — they are strong enough to endure any authoritarian regime, but only if we reach for them,” he said.

To former Democratic president Bill Clinton, this anniversary milestone comes at a time of “renewed questions about America’s future and role in the world, and serious threats to our own institutions and to our democracy itself”. 

While critical of “the people in charge”, he said in a statement that “there is still nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what’s right with America”.

Ahead of the holiday, auto technician Joe Fuqua-Bejarano in Topeka, Kansas, sized up “what makes us awesome” as a people. It is clearly not the politics, in his view, but rather resilience.

“We’ve just all got to find unity somewhere, whether that’s in laughter or perseverance, and keep everybody cool,” he said from the fireworks stand where he is doing a booming business as a side hustle.

Heat is defining the big weekend in many places

Severe weather prompted the cancellation of celebrations in Hartford, Connecticut, along with Harrisburg and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Spectators at Boston’s fireworks and concert were told to briefly seek shelter before events later resumed.

An evacuation was also ordered in Philadelphia. New York and Pittsburgh moved forward with fireworks but shifted the time to accommodate the shifting weather.

The disruption was particularly acute in Washington, where signs at the Great American State Fair posted an alert encouraging participants to leave the area.

Crowds gathered in museums, subway stations and federal buildings near the Mall. At the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Centre they waited in chairs and sat on the floor to cool off in the air conditioning.

Crowds were building in the area several hours before the evacuation. Tina Hale, 58, of Cohoes, New York, watched three of her grandchildren children dip their hands into a pool of water near a museum.

Hale pointed toward the sky and urged them to look up as three military jets roared above the crowd.

“If that doesn’t make you proud to be an American,” she said.

David Koshko, 42, and his wife, Jennifer Koskho, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, came to Washington for a baseball game but planned to stay for the city’s fireworks show.

After baking in the heat for hours during the Pittsburgh Pirates’ win over the Washington Nationals, they took a break in the shade of an overpass near the National Mall to plot their next stop.

“Just to be a part of the 250 years (anniversary) is an amazing thing,” said David Koshko, a commercial driver and veteran of the Marine Corps reserves.

In Philadelphia, fireworks began to crack as early as midday in the birthplace of the nation near the site where the Declaration of Independence was adopted by delegates to the Second Continental Congress.

Hundreds of visitors were gathering at Independence Hall in the sweltering heat to await the celebrations coinciding with the France-Paraguay World Cup knockout game at Philadelphia Stadium, which began with commemorations of the holiday.

“It’s one big party in here,” Carlos Alban, who travelled to Philadelphia from Chicago to watch the match, said as he arrived at the stadium, adding that he spotted a fan in the parking lot dressed as one of the Founding Fathers.

In New York, tall ships, with their masts, rigging and white sails outlined against a blue sky, made a procession around the Statue of Liberty and up the Hudson River, recalling the fanfare around America’s 200th anniversary in 1976.

The 43 ships were followed by a display of aerial might with a stealth bomber and the Navy’s Blue Angels. Patrouille de France, the French Air Force’s acrobatic teams, flew over New York Harbor with their red, white and blue trails, evoking images of the American flag.

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“We got up early and just rode our bikes about a mile down here to come see the scene,” said Oona Moore, a Jersey City, New Jersey, resident who took in the New York festivities.

“We saw the tall ships and we saw the planes, you know, all different manner of military aircraft. I’ve never seen it so close and in the sky at the same time.”

At George Washington’s Mount Vernon, people took the Oath of Allegiance to become U.S. citizens. They stood with eyes closed and hands over hearts for the national anthem.

In Phoenix, Steven Dortch, 25, and his brother JayLn Dortch, 23, gathered at Granada Park to try to forge a new July 4 cookout tradition. JayLn Dortch said young people in the U.S. give him hope by thinking for themselves and not taking the words from older people at face value.

He said the country needs to keep in mind the everyday, hardworking people who “keep America going.”