It Literally Rained On Trump's Parade For Fourth Of July
He promised tanks, 'Aircraft One' and fireworks -- but huge storm dampened Donald Trump's big Independence Day party.
Trump had promised a "one-of-a-kind music and air power experience" for the Fourth of July celebrations on the National Mall in Washington D.C., spruiking the event over Twitter in recent days. He told followers of a military parade that would celebrate "America's birthday", with tanks, fighter jet flyovers, and more.
Thousands of supporters lined the city's famous stretch, along with the reflecting pool between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, where Trump was to give a signature long, rambling speech. But hours before he was to take the stage, it began raining.
Like, really raining.
What's more, the much-vaunted tanks weren't even visible to the general public -- they could only be seen in the special VIP area for Trump's invited guests.
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Oh yes, the president kept a special VIP section on America's national day, giving them special treatment, while the regular citizens -- of which, to be fair, there were many thousands -- had to brave the elements and crane their necks to catch a glimpse of what was going on.
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But everyone was treated to jet flyovers! Everyone could see the big appearance of Aircraft One!
Wait, that's not right.
Yep, the president even got the name of his own plane wrong, posting then quickly deleting a tweet where he forgot the name 'Air Force One'.
Other jet flyovers were delayed due to -- you guessed it -- the rain.
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They eventually took to the skies!
Jets passed over at points during Trump's speech, which he delivered from behind bulletproof glass, as is standard -- but the raindrops made the screen even more prominent than usual, making it look like he was stuck inside a box.
He made a usual Trump-ian speech, talking about putting the American flag on Mars and how nobody but Americans could have ever imagined the concept of building tall skyscrapers. The president, who dodged going to war himself, encouraged young people to join the military and "and make a great statement in life".
But more of the action was happening elsewhere, with protests and counter-protests. The famous Trump baby balloon flew in the skies, not far from where its real-life inspiration would speak.
Nearby, the Proud Boys group clashed with anti-fascist demonstrators -- American flags were burned, fights broke out, and police had to break things up.
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All in all, another great day in the USA! Trump's fans loved it.
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It's not the only controversy Trump has been caught up in recently, with people pointing out that a new ad running for his 2020 re-election campaign -- purportedly showing fans -- is made up of stock footage from foreign countries.
Investigations found paid actors in the ad from the Trump Make America Great Again Committee. Footage from stock image agencies is played over audio of people endorsing the president as if the people shown on film are saying those words -- but it's been found that some of the footage comes from as far afield as Brazil and France.
Happy Fourth of July!
