U.S. President Donald Trump addressed crowds on Washington's National Mall on Saturday night after severe weather delayed his appearance at celebrations marking the United States' 250th independence anniversary.
The event was briefly halted when thunderstorms forced thousands of people to leave the open field near the Washington Monument and take shelter in nearby museums and government buildings. Once the weather cleared, spectators were allowed back in before Trump took to the stage.
"There’s no way we can be deterred," Trump told the crowd, adding that he would have been prepared to wait longer if needed.
Many visitors had spent hours queuing to enter the event, facing tight security and temperatures of up to 39°C. The intense heat also led to several parades and other outdoor celebrations being cancelled across the capital.
Trump lauded American achievements such as war victories, the lunar landing and the Wright brothers' pioneering flight, as well as the U.S. system of government in general. But he also urged Congress to pass stalled legislation that would limit mail ballots and require proof of citizenship to register to vote, said he had "wiped out" Iran's military and cautioned against a rise of communism in the United States.
"We like to stop a threat like that immediately and before it begins. It's like a cancer – you've got to cut it out and you got to cut it out fast," he said.
The Republican president has in the past repeatedly referred to left-wing Democratic candidates who have won a string of primary elections as "communists," though he did not explicitly do so on Saturday.
The anniversary celebrations have taken on a distinctly political tone under Trump's administration.
Before Trump, presidents generally avoided in-person appearances at 4 July celebrations, but he has blurred the line between official commemoration and campaign-style politics. Aside from a similar address that Trump gave in 2019, no U.S. president has delivered a 4 July speech on the Mall since 1951.
The Trump administration's Freedom 250 group has largely sidelined a nonpartisan body set up in 2016 to handle the 250th anniversary and has fenced off much of the 1.5-mile (2.4-km) Mall for a "Great American State Fair" featuring attractions such as a Ferris wheel alongside displays by conservative groups and defense contractors.
Freedom 250 says the fair aims to showcase the people and innovations that make the U.S. "the greatest nation on Earth."
However, the approach has drawn criticism from opponents, who argue the celebrations have become too partisan. Several Democratic-led states chose not to send official delegations, while a number of performers withdrew from the programme.
A Reuters Ipsos poll found that most Americans believe the country's 250th anniversary celebrations have become too political, including large majorities of Democrats and around half of Republicans.
The event also drew members of the white nationalist group Patriot Front, which said it had travelled to Washington for the celebrations. Police said they received no reports of violence.
U.S. President Donald Trump's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and officials from m...
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said regional issues should be res...
The U.S. and five Central Asian nations have held high-level talks in Samarkand, focusing on trade, investment and regional security as Washington ...
U.S. President Donald Trump has criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for continuing to target Russia's energy infrastructure, while Russian strikes on Kyiv overnight killed at least one person and damaged a metro station.
What started out as planned protests against the cost of living, declining public services and education funding in France, quickly devolved into violent riots across the country on Saturday.
The day after waiving sanctions and tariffs related to Russian exports, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he has yet to announce a final decision on the matter as Secretary of State Marco Rubio said officials want more time to evaluate the situation.
A Saudi AH-6i helicopter crashed in the Najran region of Saudi Arabia due to a technical malfunction, killing its two crew members, the Saudi-led coalition's spokesman Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki said in a statement on Sunday.
French President Emmanuel Macron has condemned the violence, looting and vandalism that erupted during cost-of-living protests across France. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu held crisis talks on Monday, calling for partial curfews and raising the possibility of a state of emergency.
U.S. President Donald Trump's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and officials from major European nations and NATO in Norway this week for talks about ending the war in Ukraine. He is also set to travel to Russia to speak to Vladimir Putin.
The U.S. and five Central Asian nations have held high-level talks in Samarkand, focusing on trade, investment and regional security as Washington seeks to strengthen its presence in the strategically important region.
French authorities imposed local curfews in parts of Paris, Lille and Nice on Monday after a weekend of riots and looting linked to nationwide anti-government protests, as the government faced mounting criticism over security failures.
Torrential rain and flooding in eastern Spain have killed at least four people, forced thousands to evacuate and left tens of thousands of residents under shelter-in-place orders, as emergency crews rescued people stranded on rooftops.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to its lowest level across both of his presidential terms, while Democrats have widened their lead over Republicans ahead of the 3 November congressional elections, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment