July 5, 2026 — 6:25pmWashington: They came in their hundreds of thousands – from California to Indiana, Florida to Ohio – to mark a seismic moment in American history in their nation’s capital.Some left disappointed – angry even - when the show was interrupted by a Washington summer storm. Others – some 150,000, President Donald Trump said – came back in the lingering rain to hear their messiah deliver a late-night sermon from on high.Missy Gates (right) and her family travelled from Alabama to Washington for the celebrations.Michael KoziolIn the end, maybe it was Missy Gates – an all-American mom from Mobile, Alabama, wearing an “I love Trump” cap – who said it best.“We’ll make the best of it because that’s what Americans do,” the 57-year-old told me as she and her family evacuated the National Mall on Saturday night (Washington time).“We were with like-minded people who love this country, who love our president and want the best for our country. So I am maybe a little bit disappointed, but not completely because, baby, we just saw Trump’s Air Force One fly by, and all those jets today, the Thunderbirds, the Blue Angels and what are those big … the B-2s. So, I am not disappointed at all. God bless America.”The Salute to America event on the National Mall in Washington climaxed with a huge fireworks display to honour the nation’s 250th anniversary.AP A sense of chaos and Greek tragedy has attached itself to Trump’s July 4th celebrations. It became a key part of his self-prescribed mythology – the crusading president dudded by a rigged election, only to be saved by God in Butler, Pennsylvania, and rewarded with the task of presiding over the World Cup, the country’s 250th anniversary and the Los Angeles Olympic Games.But it has been imperfect, to say the least. From the Reflecting Pool’s algae outbreak to the record heatwave that sent tumbleweeds rolling through the Great American State Fair, it feels as though nothing has gone right. For a man so driven by optics, it seems almost like divine intervention.Attendees at the National Mall event.AP Saturday night was no exception. Chaos reigned from the outset, with a monstrous heatwave prompting the Trump-led outfit Freedom250 to cancel planned daytime programming and urge people not to go to the National Mall before 5pm.The traditional Independence Day parade through Washington was also scrapped. Instead, we were treated to the march of several hundred white supremacists from the Patriot Front, who assembled outside Union Station and paraded through DC neighbourhoods carrying their Confederate flags and chanting “reclaim America”.A photo captured by Reuters’ Cheney Orr said much about modern America: a black woman, alone and apprehensive on the subway, surrounded by male neo-fascists concealing their identities in white masks, sunglasses and baseball caps.A commuter sits as masked members of the white supremacist Patriot Front ride the Washington subway on July 4.ReutersBut if the State Fair was poorly attended, Saturday’s festivities were oversubscribed – despite the fifth consecutive day of ungodly heat turning Washington into a swampland. The National Mall was the place to be, especially – but not exclusively – for those with an allegiance to Trump.Regrettably, directions disseminated by Freedom250 – in emails sent up to six times a day – proved wholly unrelated to the reality on the ground. Patriots who went to a designated entrance at 14th and E Street were turned away for not having a “special guest” lanyard and left to wander the streets in 38-degree heat.This being the US, there was no signage to speak of – only Secret Service agents barking orders into megaphones, or volunteers helpfully suggesting options that turned out to be wrong.“The email was bullshit,” one woman from California shouted in exasperation.A US Secret Service officer orders people to evacuate on Saturday evening (Washington time).AP Even senior members of Relay for America, which ran the American flag 5000 kilometres from coast to coast in honour of US veterans, weren’t sure where to go and had to beg law enforcement to let them in (they were denied).“They’re just doing their job, and we hold nothing against them – but hopefully, we’ll get in some other way,” said Alex Romano, the group’s operations director.In the end, a storm beat them all. About 7pm, just as the programming was supposed to begin, police ordered attendees to evacuate the National Mall and seek shelter in nearby buildings.“There is about to be a weather emergency,” officers yelled as they tried to disperse tens of thousands of people from the mall.Most people complied and filled the foyers of surrounding hotels, museums and government departments. Some stayed resolutely in the open air of the National Mall, complaining that the evacuation was unnecessary.“I think this is baloney,” one unnamed man told The New York Times, blaming the situation on “liberals in the weather service”.Some copped the bad luck with good humour. Seventy-three-year-old Victoria Caudill, who drove to Washington from Indiana, was less than thrilled. “If you look at your radar, it does show some lightning, but I haven’t seen any here,” she told me. “I’m not big on cancellations. Especially after walking in this heat down here.”But she had to admit: “Nobody seems too upset.”‘We’re still out here’The party moved to nearby Pennsylvania Avenue, the grand boulevard that links the Capitol and the White House. Someone called DJ Tremor set up an impromptu gig outside the Willard Hotel, and a thousand revellers danced in the rain. One man suddenly commandeered the microphone and led a prayer for everybody to get home safe.“They’re saying there’s a storm coming, and they cancelled everything, but guess what? We’re still out here celebrating,” he said.The crowd cheered, applauded, and broke into the ubiquitous chant of “USA”.Soon, the organisers – and Trump – posted online that the event would resume shortly. It seemed incongruous: the rain and wind were the strongest they’d been all night, and yet the gates were to reopen in half an hour. But it appeared the worst of the storm had been avoided.Many headed back to their hotels, or lined up for the bars and restaurants of downtown DC. But plenty returned. Five hours earlier, they waited in unbearable heat – now they were back, standing in the rain, confused about where to go and whether they were in the right place.Trump took to the stage at 11.15pm, only 90 minutes later than scheduled, with first lady Melania Trump by his side. He made it clear he was never going to allow the night’s event to be cancelled.President Donald Trump addresses the crowd during the Salute to America event.Bloomberg“I said, if we have to speak in front of one person at 4 o’clock in the morning, I’m going to be here. There’s no way we can be deterred,” Trump said.He proved once again why his preternatural showmanship is his greatest asset, briefly noting that a staffer had advised him they could simply reschedule the celebrations for next week.“I said, ‘It doesn’t work next week; this is the big day.’ We want July 4th; we’re not looking for July-something else,” Trump said.He went on to deliver a fairly underwhelming speech, packed with the requisite superlatives about America’s greatness – most of which we heard the night before in his address at Mount Rushmore.“For 250 years, the United States of America has been the hope, the promise, the light and the glory among all of the nations of the world,” Trump said behind bulletproof glass.“All over the world, they try and be like us. Nobody can be like us. And with God’s help, we will always be this – or even better ... We remain the finest people on the planet after 250 years.”When the fireworks eventually began, just before midnight, they were spectacular. Viewed from a Washington rooftop, they stretched from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument, with more displays near the Capitol, lighting up the skyline of one of the world’s truly great cities.Fireworks over the National Mall following Trump’s address.BloombergThey may have suffered the American syndrome of quantity over quality – especially after such a long evening – but it hardly mattered.There was magic in the chaos, as there had been all week.Not all chaos is totally random, though. It’s worth recalling that Trump’s inauguration last year was cancelled due to the extreme cold.His State Fair was derailed because of record-breaking heat. And now his 250th birthday bash was sullied by a summer storm.We know that no single weather event can be directly ascribed to climate change. And an evening storm in Washington is hardly newsworthy. But the experts have long warned that climate change will increase the frequency and severity of extreme weather.Trump, meanwhile, says climate change is a con job and green energy is a scam. He may well have pause for thought.Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political reporter in Canberra.Connect via X or email.From our partners