Weather emergencies disrupt Trump’s Fourth of July plans

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump insisted his much-touted July Fourth show on the National Mall would go on despite severe weather that threw the event into chaos.

It was supposed to be the largest Fourth of July celebration in recent history, featuring a record-breaking fireworks display and a speech by Trump himself.

But despite the president’s high expectations, the weather stymied his plans, forcing thousands of spectators to evacuate as lightning and dark clouds rolled over the White House toward the celebration area surrounding the Washington Monument.

Still, Trump was determined to continue with his plans. Organizers reopened the gates to the “Salute to America” event several hours after the evacuation, with Trump taking the stage shortly after 11 p.m.

Trump opened his speech by thanking the crowd for returning after the evacuation and noting that some could not make it back into the space in time for his speech.

“I feel so badly about some people,” Trump said. “They left it, they couldn’t get back, but you’re very special people, and we have a very special country.”

As Trump addressed the crowd, hordes of people were still in line in the crush of people trying to get through the security checkpoints. A large group of people watched the president much further back by the Washington Monument, which is lit up with “freedom” in all caps and Stars and Stripes.

One visitor stuck in line told NBC News that “if I had known it was gonna take this long, I wouldn’t have came.”

During his roughly 40-minute address, Trump recalled America’s independence and the country’s founding in 1776 before highlighting the nation’s economy and wading into contemporary politics.

“Ever since, the entire world has been on notice that America will never let anyone take our freedom away,” Trump said.

Trump’s speech portrayed the country in a “golden age,” featuring a highlight reel of famous Americans and the nation’s accomplishments over its 250 years.

But the speech also focused on modern politics, with the president saying that he wanted to “keep American great” by Congress passing the SAVE America Act, a controversial election security bill that has stalled in the Capitol and caused a rift between GOP leadership and the White House.

Trump several times branded his opponents on the left as “communists,” similar to his remarks at Mount Rushmore the day before, saying that “they haven’t got a chance” to take Americans’ freedoms away.

“Our warriors did not fight communism on battlefields across the world only to have that menace rear its ugly head right back here in America,” Trump said.

As the National Anthem played, attendees filed out of the venue toward less crowded parts of the Mall. The fireworks show, billed as the largest ever, kicked off as Trump returned to his seat in the VIP area.

Tons of applause broke out as fireworks lit up the sky, filling the air with thick smoke. As the show continued, rain began to trickle down. Many people began to head for the exits after a very long day.

Earlier in the day, shortly after the main program had been set to begin, organizers announced that spectators needed to evacuate. Saturday’s evacuation was the latest instance of weather emergencies forcing officials to alter or cancel long-planned programming to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Thousands of attendees, many of whom waited for hours in the searing heat, were directed to seek shelter in buildings near the National Mall, including the African American History Museum and the Ronald Reagan Building. Many appeared reluctant to leave until security officials urged them to evacuate.

As attendees streamed toward the exits, jets completed flyovers overhead.

As the gates reopened, crowds of people attempted to return to the event area, bottlenecking security entrances as rain continued to fall. What played out was a scene of confusion as frustrated attendees pushed forward and National Guard members funneled the crowd back onto the National Mall.

Some attendees were as determined as Trump to move ahead with the event. Karen Perry of Raleigh, North Carolina, said she passed out earlier in the day because of the heat, but still planned on seeing the festivities.

“They gave me two liters of IV. I said, ‘I’m not leaving here until I see this,'” Perry said.

In the hours before the program was set to kick off, spectators reckoned with a triple-digit heat index, with multiple people telling NBC News they witnessed others pass out or experience medical issues.

Richard Doyle, dressed as Uncle Sam, said he traveled to D.C. from Florida for the Fourth of July celebration.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I figured, you know what, why not?” he said inside the Reagan Building.

Doyle said he was “super excited” to attend, but the program closed before he had a chance to enter. Still, he remained optimistic that the show would go on.

“It’s a little somber, but, you know, everybody’s hot and tired,” he said. “But as soon as the festivities begin again, it’s going to be an amazing event.”

Brian Ragusa, who traveled from California, said despite the weather issues, “we’re having a good time.”

“Everybody’s hot and a little bit miserable at times because of the heat, but it doesn’t kill the joy,” he said. “Not at all.”

Seventeen-year-old Conly Jackson of Fayetteville, Arkansas said that she waited for about two hours to enter the program, adding, “I completely understand” the event being postponed.

“I think that we’re still going to stay and try and get as much out of the experience as possible,” she said from inside the Reagan Building. “My mom and my friend are leaving tomorrow, so we still want to be able to see all the fireworks, because I heard they’re supposed to be super big and super amazing.”

Even before the storm forced the evacuation, attendees reckoned with soaring temperatures, which prompted officials earlier this week to urge people to limit time outdoors. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser activated an extreme heat alert through the weekend.

Attendee Justin Hamm recalled witnessing people experience health emergencies while waiting in the soaring heat ahead of the program for about two hours.

“National Guard people were coming through and helping out people,” he said. “Everybody was helping each other out. A lot of people calling, they said, ‘medic, medic’ for people who were fainting, and so that went on for a little while.”

As attendees waited for word on the program from inside the Reagan Building, some broke out in a spontaneous rendition of the National Anthem. Dozens of people joined in, standing up and removing their hats as the room grew silent except for the singing. When it concluded, people cheered and chanted “U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A.!”

The Fourth of July programming comes amid a weekslong celebration on the National Mall, which was hit with spiking temperatures that forced officials to temporarily shut down the Great American State Fair. Health officials had more than four dozen patient contacts at the program, according to the D.C. Fire Department.

The Fourth of July event is spearheaded by Freedom 250, the public-private partnership established by the Trump administration. Another group, America250, is a nonprofit established a decade ago to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. but is not affiliated with the Freedom 250 Fourth of July program.

Freedom 250 and the National Park Service had planned to launch about 850,000 fireworks across several D.C.-area locations, which would have set a new record for the largest fireworks display. The previous Guinness World Record was set in 2016 in the Philippines, where 811,000 fireworks were launched at a megachurch.

The fireworks had been expected to dwarf typical July 4 shows, which usually consist of about 33,000 fireworks during a 20-minute show. Saturday’s show was expected to feature more than 25 times the typical number of fireworks.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com