By
Sarah Jones,
senior writer for Intelligencer who covers politics and labor
Attendees are asked to evacuate due to thunderstorms in the area during the “Salute to America” Independence Day celebration on the National Mall in Washington, DC.
Hours before Donald Trump addressed the nation on its 250th anniversary, the National Mall was in chaos. A storm was on the way, and law enforcement had ordered the MAGA faithful to evacuate — a process that did not go smoothly. People had waited in the extreme heat for hours to celebrate Trump and America; now they argued with the Secret Service and chanted “USA, USA” out of fury. As the lightning descended, the New York Times liveblog began to sound a little incredulous. A Times reporter heard a man blame the order on “liberals in the weather service.” Crowds seeking shelter found nearby buildings locked up for the holiday. An officer in front of the Commerce Department “shrugged” when someone asked him how to get inside, the liveblog noted. Others huddled inside the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Although Trump eventually appeared on the Mall for his speech, the spectacle had grown damp and strange, a fitting conclusion to months of disorder.
