Donald Trump makes himself center of attention at July 4 celebration

WASHINGTON: Fighter jets and military tanks will set the scene for an Independence Day speech by Donald Trump on the National Mall as the president puts himself at the center of areimagined July 4 celebration. Trump will speak from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Thursday evening in what's billed as an apolitical event that comes as the 2020 presidential campaign is heating up.

The “Salute to America,” as Trump calls it, will feature flyovers and an expanded fireworks show that will briefly ground commercial flights.

“The Pentagon & our great Military Leaders are thrilled to be doing this & showing to the American people, among other things, the strongest and most advanced Military anywhere in the World,” Trump wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. “Incredible Flyovers & biggest ever Fireworks!”


But the show won't go entirely Trump's way. Protesters have a permit to display an inflatable version of the president that depicts him as a baby in adiaper with small hands. A similar blimp has greeted Trump on trips to London, but the Washington version won't be allowed to leave the ground.

Trump is effectively rebranding a celebration that attracts thousands of families to watch the fireworks but almost never includes presidential speeches on the Mall. Critics say his revisions risk turning Washington's July 4th into a de facto Trump rally that's likely to draw counter-protests.

Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat who represents the District of Columbia in Congress, said Trump's plans “look like a political event” and predicted a light turnout for his speech.

“I think the president is in for another flop, and he's going to have to explain a flop that he set up,” Norton said. “He's still smarting from the thin crowds at his inauguration. All I can say is: You ain't seen nothing yet.”

The White House rejected the idea that the celebration would be political. Trump told reporters on Monday that the event will be “about this county and it's a salute to America.” He said he hoped for a large turnout.