- A number of U.S. officials and members of Congress are concerned that Trump’s 2019 “Salute to America” event will cost significantly more than D.C.’s usual July 4 event cost of $2 million, though the official price tag has yet to be released to Congress.
- They have also expressed worries that the event will only be available to view by those with “special access” tickets.
- Department of the Interior Press Secretary Molly Block said this year’s events will be more easily accessible to the public from various monuments that have been closed off in the past.
The potential cost of and access to President Donald Trump’s Fourth of July events in Washington, D.C., is raising concerns among U.S. officials and members of Congress.
Worries over the cost arose after The Washington Post revealed Wednesday that the National Park Service is planning to divert nearly $2.5 million in entrance and recreation fees to help fund a fraction of the holiday events.
People also expressed anger when the Republican National Committee received VIP tickets while the Democratic National Committee did not.
“It’s standard practice for the RNC to receive a small number of tickets to events just as the DNC did under Democrat Presidents,” an RNC spokesperson told The Post. “This is routine for events like the White House Christmas Open Houses, Garden Tours in spring and fall, etc.”
Fireworks explode over the National Mall as the US Capitol (R) and National Monument are seen on July 4, 2017, in Washington, D.C. (PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)
“This year, there will be increased access to the National Mall for all to enjoy our nation’s birthday,” Department of the Interior Press Secretary Molly Block told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “Specifically, this year for the first time in recent memory, the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, the World War II Memorial and Constitution Gardens will each be accessible and available as a location from which to view the fireworks.”
“These prime viewing areas are now outside of the fireworks safety zone due to the fireworks launch site being moved from the Reflecting Pool to West Potomac Park and behind the Lincoln Memorial,” she explained.
The $2.5 million from the Park Service represents about 5% of the funds certain parks used in 2018 for upgrades in projects such as road and bridge repair to habitat restoration. But the Park Service usually allocates about $6.4 million for D.C.’s July 4 Capitol Concerts performance and Memorial Day concerts every year, according to NPR.
Former National Park Service Deputy Director Denis P. Galvin said the annual July 4 celebration on the National Mall usually costs the agency around $2 million total.
While the total cost of this year’s events has yet to be released to Congress, some have already expressed concern for taxpayers.
Firework companies Phantom Fireworks and Fireworks by Grucci are donating approximately $750,000 for the 15-20 show behind the Lincoln Memorial, Vice President of Phantom Fireworks William Weimer told NPR.
“It will be a pretty overwhelming display,” said Weimer. “We saw an opportunity and approached the government in March to make the donation and try to give back to the country that has been so good to us. … It’s a privilege and an honor for us to do this.”
University of Denver School of Finance Professor Andrew Sherbo told NPR the Boeing 747 used for Air Force One could cost up to $205,000 an hour and the Blue Angels could cost $6,000 per day. The F-35 could come to $20,000 an hour or more, according to the Department of Defense.
The preliminary price estimate for transporting and displaying the tanks is approximately $870,000, a Pentagon aide told USA Today.
Democratic New Mexico Sen. Tom Udall railed against the event idea in a Tuesday statement, saying, “It is unacceptable that the Interior Department is failing to inform Congress about how it plans to spend taxpayer money to fund the president’s lavish July [4] plans, which reportedly include special access to the National Mall for the politically connected.”
Democratic Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz wrote on Twitter, “Kids in cages. Tanks on the streets. Friendships with dictators. Fights with democracies. VIP access for donors at a July 4 event. Attacking the press. There is nothing patriotic about any of that.”
Kids in cages. Tanks on the streets. Friendships with dictators. Fights with democracies. VIP access for donors at a July 4 event. Attacking the press. There is nothing patriotic about any of that.
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) July 2, 2019
Democratic Minnesota Rep. Betty McCollum, who chairs the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the Interior Department, said, “Mr. Trump is hijacking the celebration and twisting it into a taxpayer-funded, partisan political rally that’s more about promoting a Trumpian cult of personality than the spirit of American independence and freedom,” PBS reported Wednesday.
Amanda Yanchury, a spokeswoman McCollum, told The Post that McCollum “takes her oversight responsibilities seriously and will exercise her role as chair to get a full accounting of the taxpayer costs incurred by this event.”
Democratic Washington, D.C., Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton wrote in a statement, “Beyond funneling taxpayer dollars into his own private business, the President is all but auctioning off the best seats on the National Mall to his biggest donors.”
DC Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton on Trump’s July 4 plans: “Beyond funneling taxpayer dollars into his own private business, the President is all but auctioning off the best seats on the National Mall to his biggest donors.” the feds still owe DC $7.3M for the inauguration, she adds: pic.twitter.com/hjMWcWjvb2
— Andrew Giambrone (@AndrewGiambrone) July 3, 2019
Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association, said, “This is a breach of trust with the public. The public pays parks fees to fix national parks and for educational programs, not the president’s parade.”
Block responded to Pierno’s comment by clarifying, “There is no ‘president’s parade.'”
People watch fireworks as they celebrate US independence day on July 4, 2017 in Washington, D.C. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
Trump’s “Salute to America” will be a “one-of-a-kind music and air power experience,” according to the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The parade will feature two Abrams tanks, two Bradley Fighting Vehicles and an M88 recovery vehicle, which will be transported from Fort Stewart in Georgia by train and guarded by military police, along with floats, giant balloons and more.
Event-goers can also expect an address from the president himself at the Lincoln Memorial; flight appearances from Air Force One and the U.S. Navy Blue Angels; music played by the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, the U.S. Army Band, the Armed Forces Chorus and the United States Marine Corps Silent Drill Team; a performance by Carole King; and, of course, fireworks.
“We’re gonna have a great Fourth of July in Washington, D.C.,” Trump said in part from the Oval Office Monday. “It’ll be like no other. It’ll be special, and I hope a lot of people come, and it’s going to be about this country and it’s a salute to America.”
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