President Donald Trump’s Fourth of July celebration could include an Air Force One flyover, a sign that he may finally get his long desired military parade.
Democrats have accused the president of hijacking the annual celebration held on the National Mall after he announced in February he would be delivering a speech from the Lincoln Memorial.
The speech location also comes with the caveat of moving the firework display – historically launched from the Washington Monument – to West Potomac Park behind the Lincoln Memorial.
Seemingly the only change in the parade, that marches down Constitution Avenue every year, could be a potential flyover from the President’s baby blue plane.
President Donald Trump’s Fourth of July celebration could include a National Mall flyover of a baby blue aircraft commonly used as Air Force One
Air Force One is any U.S. Air Force aircraft that transports the president. If the president is not on board, the plane does not use the call sign Air Force One
The move is another step toward a potential military parade, which Trump has wanted since 2017. Democrats have accused the president of hijacking Washington D.C.’s Fourth of July celebration
Three people briefed on the day’s festivities told the Washington Post that one of the Boeing jetliners used for presidential travel could fly over the Mall during the patriotic celebration.
The current arrangement does not have the president on board the Boeing VC-25, a military version of the Boeing 747 airliner, according to people familiar with the plan, meaning it would not hold the call sign Air Force One.
Any U.S. Air Force aircraft that is transporting the president has the call sign Air Force One only when the president is on board.
The Independence Day festivities in Washington D.C. already include an annual parade with marching bands, floats, military units and drill teams.
Since Trump witnessed the Bastille Day celebration in France in 2017, he has desired a similar military demonstration.
The Interior Department released a schedule of events for the upcoming holiday, which confirmed the president’s speech and the firework display relocation. Presidents usually make appearances during the festivities, but it is not common for them to deliver remarks on the day of in the nation’s capital.
Many have spoken from different locations, including Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where the Declaration of Independence was signed, and Mount Vernon, Virginia.
In February, Trump announced he would be making a speech from the Lincoln Memorial on July 4, 2019. Usually presidents do not remarks on the holiday in the nation’s capital, but some have made appearances at the day’s festivities
Trump told a crowd of thousands at a rally in Orland, Florida Tuesday night to come to D.C. for the celebration and told them to bring American flags with them to the patriotic demonstration
The alterations in Fourth of July pomp and circumstance also comes with change in location for the annual fireworks display. Due to the president’s speech, the firework launch site will switch from the Washington Monument to West Potomac Park behind the Lincoln Memorial
During the president’s rally in Orlando, Florida on Tuesday night, he told thousands of supporters in the Amway Center arena to come to the Fourth of July celebration in D.C. and bring American flags.
‘On July 4th, in Washington, D.C., come on down, we’re going have a big day. Bring your flags, bring those flags,’ Trump said during his speech officially announcing he was running for reelection in 2020.
‘Bring those American flags, July 4th, we’re going to have hundreds of thousands of people, we’re going to celebrate America. Sounds good, right?’ he continued promoting to a cheering crowd. ‘July 4th, celebrate America.’
He issued the invitation while promoting the 2020 presidential elections as a ‘verdict’ on the un-American conduct of Democrats.
‘This election is not merely a verdict on the amazing progress we’ve made. It’s a verdict on the un-American conduct of those who tried to undermine our great democracy, and undermine you,’ he lamented.
‘This election is a verdict on whether we want to live in a country where the people who lose an election refuse to concede and spend the next two years trying to shred our Constitution and rip your country apart.’