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Fireworks after President Trump's campaign rally in Panama City Beach, Florida on Wednesday. (Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty Images)
President Trump actually took charge of the celebration of the US Prime Minister in Washington, moving the gigantic fireworks from his usual location on the mall to the Potomac River, and providing tentative plans to deal with the nation since the footsteps of the Lincoln Memorial, according to senior officials of the administration.
The president's main role could transform what has long been a non-partisan celebration of the founding of the country into another version of the Trump campaign rally. Officials said the cost of the changes was unclear, but the plans have already sounded the alarm among city officials and some lawmakers about the potential impact of such major changes on a well-organized and well-established summer tradition. .
Art fires on the mall, orchestrated by the National Parks Service for more than half a century, attract hundreds of thousands of Americans each year and are one of the highlights of the tourist season in the city. The event has been broadcast live on television since 1947 and, since 1981, is accompanied by a free concert on the western lawn of the US Capitol, featuring renowned musicians and a performance of the National Symphony Orchestra.
The new event, titled "A Salute to America," will move the fire to West Potomac Park, less than one kilometer southwest of its usual location, near the Washington Monument. In addition to a possible Trump address, the location could include a second stage of entertainment outside of the performers on Capitol Hill, officials said.
The revised Independence Day celebration is the culmination of two years of Trump's attempts to create a major patriotic event centered on him and his followers, including unsuccessful attempts to mount a military parade inspired by the July 14 celebration. The new event has become a top priority for the new Secretary of the Interior, David Bernhardt, whom Trump charged with the task three months ago, officials said.
[[[[Trump's "Truth Orders" at the Pentagon: Plan a Major Military Parade]
The Chair has held regular briefings on Oval Office efforts and has been involved in every detail of planning. He even discussed whether the fireworks should be fired from a barge in the Potomac River, officials said. The president has expressed interest in the case where he would often not show other priorities of the administration, added the collaborators.
"I think the president is excited about this idea, and we are working hard on it, and I think it could be very, very meaningful," Bernhardt said in an interview. "The president likes the idea, as probably all Americans, to celebrate America on July 4 or so."
Representative Betty McCollum (D-Min.), Who chairs the House subcommittee on the interior, environment and related agencies, said in an interview that she was concerned that Trump can polarize what is typically a unifying event for Americans.
A fireworks display illuminates the mall on the occasion of Independence Day in Washington on July 4, 2018. (Calla Kessler / The Washington Post)
"It's not about a particular president. That's the way our country was created, thanks to a group of brave men and women, "said McCollum. "It's not a question of anyone, but of" We, the people. "And if the president decides to do it, I think he will find the American public disappointed and upset."
Muriel E. Bowser (D), mayor of the CdC, said federal officials had informed the city government of potential changes to the July 4 celebration, but that the logistics and cost of the modified format would not change. had not been finalized yet.
The manager, who requested anonymity to discuss frankly the preparations for this event, said the city was concerned about the movement of fireworks and the logistics of the president going to the mall to deal with the crowds, which could interrupt the flow of visitors to and from nearby subway stations.
"We have a lot of people coming to the 4th of July. Logistically, over the years, the problems have been solved, "said the manager. "We do not want to get rid of what already works."
President Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron at a parade on July 14 at the Champs-Elysees in Paris on July 14, 2017. (Carolyn Kaster / AP)
The president's idea of celebrating July 4 under Trump's influence began a few hours after attending a lavish July 14 parade in Paris in 2017, former aides said. Before Air Force One took off from France, Trump went to the back of the staff cabin and presented details of a proposed military parade to Washington, specifying the types of tanks he wanted in the streets and the type of plane. he wanted to fly over.
[[[["KEEP THE DATE!" Trump Announces Independence Day Celebration]
The idea was then turned into a parade related to Veterans Day, before collapsing completely last August, while the costs of the event eventually exploded. Trump accused the local authorities of canceling the event.
Then, last February, Trump announced on Twitter that Americans should "KEEP THE DATE!" July 4 for a "big fireworks, entertainment and an address by your favorite president, me!"
Since then, no public announcement has been announced, but federal officials are working hard to adjust plans for an event that has hardly changed for at least two decades.
It is unclear whether changes to the shopping center celebration will increase costs for taxpayers. The launch of fireworks last year cost about $ 250,000, a figure that does not include the cost of security, portable toilets and fences. The head of the CD said the city would expect the federal government to bear the new costs of the changes to the celebration.
To justify the changes brought by Trump, Interior officials have argued that the removal of the fireworks launch site on the north and south sides of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool – where it has been for at least 18 years – West Potomac Park would increase the number of visitors.
National Parks Service spokesman Mike Litterst said the agency usually had to close an area around the Reflecting Pool for about 10 days before the event, cutting access to one of the most popular shopping center.
Bernhardt said that by modifying the launch site, "it will be a significant expansion of the space available to watch the fireworks of the mall".
"And we could even have a lot more surprises in store for the public, very soon," added the secretary.
Trump has occasionally featured fireworks during his political events, including at a campaign rally this week in Panama City, Florida. The Trump government is also taking steps to expand fireworks celebrations elsewhere in the United States.
[Trump loves a military parade — it’s one reason he’s heading to Paris]
On Tuesday, Bernhardt and South Dakota Governor Kristi L. Noem (right) announced the conclusion of an agreement authorizing the Parks Service to resume the launch of fireworks at Mount Rushmore in 2020. This practice, which began in 1998, had stopped in 2009 Service officials determined that a pine beetle infestation had increased the risk of forest fire in the region.
"I'm happy to report that THE BIG FIREWORKS, after many unsuccessful years, is returning to beautiful Mount Rushmore, South Dakota. Excellent work @GovKristiNoem and @SecBernhardt! #MAGA, "said Trump on Tuesday.
Fireworks occur when President Trump finishes his speech at a rally in Panama City Beach, Florida on Wednesday. (Gerald Herbert / AP)
Trump's attention to Independence Day reflects a more general tendency to focus on the details of important projects for him personally. He became obsessed, for example, with the renovation of the FBI headquarters in Washington, asking for building specifications, floor plans and even furniture and carpet projects, current and former collaborators said.
"He wanted to be the project leader," said a former senior administration official who requested anonymity to describe Oval Office meetings.
No president attended a July 4th celebration on the recent memory shopping mall, usually celebrating in place of the White House. President Ronald Reagan participated in a "Starry Salvation in America" at the Jefferson Memorial on July 3, 1987, which featured an economic announcement, but the regular celebration of the fireworks was held the following day, as was D & C. # 39; habit.
Reagan's unveiling of a "Charter of Economic Rights" took place at 10:00 am in the presence of the Vice President, the Secretary of State and other members of the administration. The White House's official newspaper estimated the crowd's size at 10,000, although Reagan said it was half. He then stated that he "did not remember having ever been hotter than me on this platform in the sun".
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