Undeterred by severe heat and a thunderstorm warning, President Donald Trump spoke at the America 250 celebration on the evening of July 4th. He took the stage before a crowd of over 150,000 people and delivered his address a little after 11 p.m. Trump’s remarks focused on greatness and the progress of America over the past 250 years, including a focus on military strength and many revolutionary innovations. During the speech, he spent much time honoring veterans who fought in various wars.
Earlier in the day, 375,000 people had gathered around the National Mall for the Great American State Fair, but due to extreme heat and predicted storms, many attendees were forced to evacuate, and some were unable to return. Around 150,000 remained to hear Trump give his address, in which he recognized the delay and thanked everyone for their patience. He said some officials told him they could reschedule everything for next week, but he refused. “If we have to speak in front of one person at four o’clock in the morning, I’m going to be here. There’s no way we can be deterred … It doesn’t work next week, this is the big day.”
In his speech, Trump praised America as “the crowning achievement of human history.” He stated, “This country is the home of freedom, this is the land of liberty, and this is a flag that is the banner of the most extraordinary, most exceptional, most incredible nation ever to exist on the face of the earth.” The president also noted that other forms of tyrannical government have no place in our nation, “We don’t want communists in our country. Never worked and never will work.”
The American flag was a prominent symbol throughout Trump’s address. There were numerous historical flags displayed at the ceremony. This included one of the oldest flags still intact from 1777, which flew at the victory of the battle of Saratoga and at Yorktown in the Revolutionary War. Also displayed was the flag draped over President Abraham Lincoln’s casket, and flags from D-Day, Iwo Jima, and Pearl Harbor.
Trump claimed America’s military victories are one of the greatest hallmarks of our nation. “From the beginning, we were a nation that lived by the motto, victory or death, and live free or die. One out of every 100 Americans gave their lives in the fight for Independence to remind us of who these heroes were and what they gave us,” the president stated.
Before honoring numerous war veterans and other American heroes, Trump recounted a famous story of a soldier who defended Old Glory in the Civil War. Sergeant William Carney, an escaped slave who fought for the Union Army. During the battle, Carney courageously dove to the ground to save a U.S. flag from falling in the mud. Then he was shot four times but kept moving, holding the flag. Back at camp, he told his fellow soldiers, “Boys, the old flag never touched the ground.” Later, Carney became the first black man to receive a Congressional Medal of Honor.
Among the veterans honored by Trump were Colonel Paris Davis, who fought in Vietnam, Captain Ken Schubbring, who saw combat at Pearl Harbor, and Navy Lieutenant Arthur Rose, who commanded 36 landing crafts on D-Day. Trump also recognized Marine Corporal Don Graves, who served on Iwo Jima, and Korean War veterans Corporal Pat Finn and Private First Class Rudy Meakins.
Trump then brought the Artemis II crew on stage to honor them for their recent successful mission around the moon. The crew saluted a flag flown from the Wright Brothers’ airplane on stage, and Trump gifted them with a special flag to be placed on the moon on the next mission.
As the speech came to a close, Trump said: “At 250 years old, we may be the oldest constitutional republic on Earth, but our country is just getting started because the best is yet to come.” Afterwards, a huge display of fireworks began, using over 860,000 shells launched from 10 different locations near the National Mall. They lasted around 40 minutes.
