Trump is reportedly the planner-in-chief of D.C.'s Fourth of July bash. The result is a spectacular mess.

(Image credit: REUTERS/Gary Cameron)

published 1 July 2019

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.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

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.

Explore More

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox