Dear Everybody:
The big news today was Trump’s misbegotten July 4th extravaganza:
--The day started out with the Patriot Front, a Nazi group, marching into town wearing masks and carrying Confederate flags and terrorizing the locals. There’s one awful photo of a small Black woman on the Metro, surrounded by these yahoos. (What a lovely image for the Fourth of July!)
They marched around town for a while, chanting "Reclaim America!", then got back on the Metro and left, and I hope they were suffocating in their masks.
--Scott McFarlane: "There was a lack of joy and unity for parts of the day, in Washington, DC on July 4th 23026...There was disunity, underscored by the Patriot Front marching out of Washington’s Union Station, some with Confederate flags, which had all the echoes of January 6, where there were multiple Confederate flags, including one that stormed the Capitol."
--SottoVoce: "These cowardly, racist, cosplaying tough guys (the same ilk who refused to wear masks during Covid because they limited their freedom) brought their poison to the event."
--When asked to condemn them, Republicans refused, muttering some garbage about the First Amendment. (Note: The First Amendment does NOT prevent you from condemning things. In fact, it does the opposite.)
--Interior Secretary Doug Burgum: "Certainly what they stand for is nothing I could possibly agree with, but one of the foundational principles of the US which makes democracy messy is free speech."
--Patric Reynolds: "’Yeah, they’re a bunch of masked white supremacists marching through our capitol on our country’s 250th birthday, but whaddya gonna do?’ isn’t an awesome answer."
--Manish: "Free speech unless you are Renee Good or Alex Pretti."
--rhapsodybooks: "Free speech? Then how come an Air Force officer was arrested last week after calling for Trump’s impeachment after criticizing Trump’s actions in Iran and Venezuela, as well as his immigration policies? ‘FREE’ seems to depend on what is said, ie, for or against Trump."
--Laura Ingraham took the opposite tack, claiming the whole thing was fake and they were really Antifa dressed up to make the right look bad.
--Adam Kinzinger: "Yes, of course. Fake. That’s the only defense you have to this? How about condemning it?"
In late afternoon, severe weather hit:
--The parade planned for the day was canceled due to the heat, then the thunderheads rolled in.
--Everyone was told to leave the fairgrounds and take shelter, which caused a stampede. Not only that, but MAGA being MAGA, a lot of them refused to go and they had to bring in police to make them leave. There was apparently a stampede, and some people fell down.
--People took shelter in the museums surrounding the Mall, but many of them exceeded their capacity, so a bunch of MAGA had to take shelter in the African American History Museum. (I love irony.)
--harbor.pete: "Getting bumped by Mother Nature. Climate change induced extreme weather derails (Trump’s) lackluster and tacky plans for a self-aggrandizing event. Could the irony be any sweeter?’
--Meanwhile Fox continued reporting from something they called the "Fox News Freedom Bunker," eliciting all sorts of merriment and Hitler references from the internet.
--Patrick Chovanec: "What is a ‘Fox News Freedom Bunker’ and do I get out of it alive without taking cyanide?"
--After the storms finally passed, they let people back in for the evening’s events, but of course they had to go through security again, which meant standing in line for long periods of time in hot and now totally muggy conditions.
--The fact that the weather refused to cooperate infuriated Trump, who demanded that the show go on, no matter how late it went. That means he spoke at midnight (well past his sun-downing bedtime) and then did his fireworks extravaganza after that.
--Trump: "I’m not going to let some rain stop our 250th. I’m leaving the White House soon. God Bless America."
--Dog Parent: "Some of you may die, but that’s a risk I’m willing to take."
--Trump: "We will wait it out, I don’t care if it’s 2 in the morning, or one hour from now. Looks like it’s going to pass, they always do. I will be there no matter what...it’s Saturday night, LET’S HAVE SOME FUN, even if we are out late tonight. Our great veterans, especially the old timers, many of whom are there, went through hellfire, and it didn’t stop them. I’m not going to stop us either! I’m not going to let some rain stop our 250th. They say 11:00 O’Clock for the speech. Who cares???"
--Fox News proclaimed Trump a hero for insisting on delivering the speech. Aaron Rupar: "Rachel Campos-Duffy compares Trump delivering a pointless speech in severe weather to American troops storming the beaches of Normandy on D-Day."
--Bradley P. Moss: "Stand aside, Iwo Jima. Move over there, Battle of the Bulge. Get out of the way, Gettysburg. This will be our Nation’s finest moment."
Trump’s speech only lasted an hour, but that was more than long enough:
--The speech, which we ALSO paid for, was NOT an Independence Day speech. It was one of his political rallies, full of talk about Communists and the stock market and how great he is.
--He glitched badly from the very beginning and all the way through, saying "immortible" and "the Congressial Medal of Honor."
--Trump: "All voters must show voter ID. All motorsssss muss--all voters."
--He couldn’t remember the names of the Artemis astronauts and had to settle for, "You know the crew, everybody."
--Aaron Rupar: "We’re just a minute into Trump’s speech and he’s already short circuiting."
--Trump on the Civil War: "It was a very big, big deal at the time."
--Trump on a decorated veteran: "Think of it, 107--that’s up there, but hopefully he’s got 20 good years yet."
--Trump: "We rebuilt our military in my first term. We use it a little in our--actually, I should say third term, but I won’t do that, because I don’t want any controversy." (Note: This is a new trick he’s been using a lot lately, saying he wanted to say something but didn’t, which means he gets to say the thing and also get credit for not saying it.)
--He called Democrats Communists over and over again, though it’s not at all clear what the word "communists" means. Trump: "We don’t want communists in our country."
--Trump: "The Stars and Stripes cast the hammer and sickle into oblivion before and we will do it again if necessary."
--Trump: "Terrible tyrants, they came and went. But after two and a half centuries this American republic still stands strong and tall and we love each other. That showed tonight. You heard it was over and what happened? You came back?" (Translation: This country is great because you came to see me!)
--Trump: "We have equal justice under the law--although I wasn’t treated that well, but we don’t get into that."
--The worst thing he said was about the Declaration of Independence: "And as our Declaration of Independence tells us, we are all made in the image of one almighty God." And a communist will never say that." (The Declaration doesn’t say that. The only mention of God is that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights." Which is not the same thing.)
--Matthew Brody: "America in 2026: its president misquotes the Declaration of Independence."
--He claimed at least 150,000 people (or 375,000 people) watched his speech. No official numbers yet, but estimates are closer to 1000 to 5000.
The fireworks didn’t start till just before midnight:
--The fireworks, which had proclaimed would be the biggest in the world, supposedly had 850,000 separate fireworks in it, but that didn’t work either because there were simply too many of them. The smoke from all the previous ones, combined with the stifling humidity, created a thick cloud of smoke that obscured all the fancy fireworks (which we the taxpayers paid for.) Trump promptly fell asleep watching them.
--Park officials had warned about the effect of the fireworks in advance, telling nearby residents to "wear an N95 mask when outdoors and remain indoors as much as possible during and after the show."
--Weather officials issued an air quality alert for Washington, DC this morning, citing "residual holiday firework smoke" as a contributing factor. "Hazardous firework-induced smog continues to hover over Washington, DC this morning. The air is so filled that it’s potentially harmful to exert oneself outside. CODE PURPLE alert in effect."
--Commentator Joanne Carducci: "Poisoning the air to own the libs after napalming our Capitol to ‘prove’ how ‘patriotic’ you are."
--Author Joyce Carol Oates; "Fireworks, like much in life, loses its aesthetic value the more there is of it; beyond a point even the becomes bored. Presumably (Trump) wanted the ‘biggest, best’ fireworks in all of DC history without regard for air quality or anyone with respiratory problems."
--duckpuddler: "And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that the moron’s still there."
--By contrast, the fireworks in Boston and New York were gorgeous, and at an hour that kids could still be up to enjoy them.
In Reflecting Pool news:
--Republicans continue to undermine their own case against David Heard. Reporter: "Trump has repeatedly claimed vandals cut a 350 foot gash. That claim is echoed in a legal filing by your department. What evidence do you have?" Interior Secretary Doug Burgum: "Ah, well, we have the actual cuts that were made." Reporter: "There’s a 350-foot gash?" Burgum: "Well, it’s multiple gashes that add up to 350 feet."
--David Lurie: "Death by 1,000 fictional cuts."
--Reporter: "He (Trump) promised it would be fixed for under $2 million. It’s already cost more than $15 million. The pool is going to be drained and you’re putting out solicitations for new bids. So the pool is not fixed right now, is it?" Burgum: "It’s fixed in the sense that it’s no longer leaking 45 thousand gallons a day."
--Burgum said the pool is perfect. Reporter: "But it peeled off. Why did that happen?" Burgum: "It didn’t peel off. There was vandalism. There was box cutters. There have been 7 arrests." Reporter: "There are photographs of people cutting a 350-foot gash in the Reflecting Pool?" Burgum: "Dana, I’m not sure why you keep questioning it."
--Steven Tender: "Because it’s bullshit."
--(Note: There were reports the pool was damaged in mid-June and the National Park Service issued a $461,000 repair order to the pool contractor, well before David Heard went to the pool.)
--Heather Delaney Reese: "The truth about the Reflecting Pool is not that vandals destroyed it. The truth is that the Trump administration rushed a vanity project, ignored the experts, and hired the wrong company to do the job. And instead of admitting the failure, Trump blamed ‘SICK DERANGED PEOPLE’ for vandalizing the pool. "
In really interesting news:
--We are now finding out that when Mitch McConnell was taken to the hospital several weeks ago, he was found unresponsive by EMTs, who had to administer CPR.
--Dr. Hillary Booco: "Mitch McConnell has been hospitalized for almost three weeks at this point with very little information that has come out about his condition. Now, it does sound like he is alive--on life support? I don’t know. Someone within his staff has said that he is improving--what that means we don’t know. But here’s what we do know: even if he is alive, he is unfit to serve and he should not be finishing out his term through January."
--It’s thought that the Republicans are keeping his condition secret for political reasons. Commentator Adam Cochran: "In Kentucky, a special election to replace a Senator will NOT be called if it’s closer than 3 months till the next election. If McConnell’s condition is clearly unfit for office, they’ll hide that to avoid being forced to submit a resignation letter until after that date. So all they have to do is drag their feet until (the second Tuesday in August), then tell you that he didn’t make it. And in turn block (Thomas) Massie from disrupting an otherwise safe seat."
--Journalist David Morris: "Mitch McConnell remaining technically alive for an extra three weeks because of a manipulative procedural maneuver is exactly how he would have wanted to go out."
--Several days after the event, his wife Elaine Chao secretly went to China to meet with China’s vice-president, Han Zheng.
--Stay tuned...
In historical news:
--"Crap! That’s due TOMORROW?" Thomas Jefferson, July 3, 1776.
`In other news:
--The judge in the E. Jean Carroll case denied Trump’s request for more time. Todd Blanche’s brief arguing why he shouldn’t release the $5.8 million dollars to E. Jean Carroll right now remains due this Tuesday.
--Ken Paxton, Trump’s endorsed candidate for senator in Texas and who is already embroiled in multiple scandals, including divorce proceedings for "biblical reasons" which his wife just canceled (I think for political reasons) was caught visiting Iceland with a young blonde woman, obviously not his wife.
--I told you yesterday that Trump had hired a former Oklahoma state trooper, Lance Schroyer, to head ICE. Well, apparently ICE is in open revolt over their new boss.
In good news:
--Since Todd Blanche and the DOJ refused to present signed proof that Trump’s slush fund for the January 6th insurrectionists and his other buddies was dead, a federal judge ruled that the lawsuit against the slush fund can proceed.
--The DOJ lost its tenth bid to obtain state voter roles.
Best meme of the day: "Republicans don’t own the Fourth of July. They own the Sixth of January."
Best question of the day, from Julia Duffy: "So every 250 years we have to defeat a mad king?"
Best editorial of the day, from the Daily Montanan: "Americans are not happy that our nation’s birthday has been hijacked and degraded. We are not happy with being intentionally divided instead of united in celebration of our history. We are not happy that those who fought and died to establish this nation and all those who have struggled to keep democracy alive since then have been shoved to the side by a gilded grifter."
Best comment of the day, from Jeff Tiedrich: "Here’s to you on this July 4th, America, you great big beautiful fucked up country!"
Keep calm and carry on,
Connie Willis