President Donald Trump said Monday that he plans to bring back his unprecedented Fourth of July celebration in 2020 and “for the foreseeable future.”
Trump boasted that “big, beautiful crowds” weathered heavy rain for his first “Salute to America” ceremony last Thursday, which featured military flyovers, music and a speech from the President. While the event drew considerable scrutiny over exorbitant spendingand potential politicization of the military, Trump called it a “tremendous success.”
“We’re making the decision — and I think we can say that we’ve made the decision — to do it again next year,” Trump said during a White House address about his administration’s handling of environmental issues.
The President paid tribute to America’s armed forces during his address on Independence Day.
“We must go forward as a nation with that same unity of purpose,” Trump told the crowd on the National Mall. “As long as we stay true to our course, as long as we remember our great history, as long as we never, ever stop fighting for a better future, then there will be nothing that America cannot do.”
Trump’s event strayed from traditional celebrations in Washington. The holiday is usually marked with a picnic for service members and their families on the White House South Lawn, followed by a viewing of fireworks over the Washington Monument.
Presidents haven’t traditionally delivered public remarks, and the day hasn’t been marked by such overtly militaristic displays.
