Yes, the Fourth of July is this Thursday.
That may have been obvious to anyone with a calendar, but President Trump apparently needed a reminder. That's because he's running Washington, D.C.'s Independence Day extravaganza, and he still has a lot of details left to figure out, The Washington Post reports.
When it comes time to plan big celebrations on the National Mall, the government typically hires an experienced producer. But for Thursday's event "the producer is the president himself," the Post reports. Trump isn't taking his event planning role lightly, insisting he has a say in "everything from how the pyrotechnics should be launched to how the military should be honored," the Post continues. And he's reportedly usurping the attention of both National Park Service acting director P. Daniel Smith and Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to do it.
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So far, Trump has reportedly transferred the location of the fireworks display to West Potomac Park, and is reviving his old demands for a display of military vehicles on the Mall. But while Trump has long called for a military parade, the Pentagon is only currently considering "static displays" on the Mall, per the Post. That leaves a parade still up in the air, along with the distribution of VIP tickets for watching Trump's Independence Day speech.
The White House declined to comment on its July Fourth plans, but Bernhardt said in a news release that it would contain "music, flyovers, a spectacular fireworks display, and an address by our Commander-in-Chief." Read more at The Washington Post.
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