Storms Briefly Evacuate National Mall Before Trump July 4 Speech and Fireworks

Storms prompted a roughly two-hour evacuation of the National Mall on July 4. President Trump spoke afterward and honored veterans, including several from World War II and one of the first Black officers to lead a Special Forces team in combat in Vietnam. Flags displayed included one draped over Abraham Lincoln’s casket and one that flew on the plane piloted by the Wright Brothers.

Fortune reported that Trump advocated for the SAVE America Act, expressed support for the Second Amendment, and denounced communism. He said, “We will always be on top. ” The speech came ahead of a fireworks show.

Event organizers aligned with the White House supplanted a bipartisan organization launched by Congress a decade ago. Severe weather canceled celebrations in Hartford, Connecticut, and in Harrisburg and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Spectators at Boston’s fireworks were told to seek shelter briefly before events resumed.

An evacuation was ordered in Philadelphia, while New York and Pittsburgh shifted fireworks timing. Crowds gathered in museums, subway stations, and federal buildings near the Mall. At the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, people waited in chairs and sat on the floor to cool off.

Tina Hale, 58, of Cohoes, New York, watched three of her grandchildren dip their hands into a pool of water near a museum as three military jets flew overhead. David Koshko, 42, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a commercial driver and Marine Corps reserves veteran, attended a Pittsburgh Pirates win over the Washington Nationals before planning to watch fireworks.

” In Philadelphia, fireworks began as early as midday near Independence Hall, where hundreds gathered in sweltering heat during a France-Paraguay World Cup match.