U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 5th (local time) that the United States' 250th Independence anniversary celebration was briefly canceled due to a storm but was able to resume thanks to his decision.
Trump said on social media Truth Social that as of 7:05 p.m. on Independence Day the previous day, 424,000 people had gathered around the National Mall in Washington, D.C., but everyone evacuated when the event was canceled due to bad weather.
He added, "When I heard the event had been canceled, I immediately reversed that decision and waited a bit to give people time to come back," and said, "An incredible minimum of 150,000 people returned, and as a result the event was even more spectacular than it would have been if it had gone ahead as originally planned."
Praising the Secret Service (SS) and law enforcement agencies that supported the evacuation and rapid reentry of spectators, Trump added, "It was a truly amazing night. A downpour began right after the fireworks ended, making for an even more dramatic finish."
The celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States held in Washington, D.C., the previous day was temporarily halted as a heat wave and thunderstorm warnings overlapped. Spectators gathered at the outdoor venue evacuated to nearby buildings and returned to the venue after 9 p.m.
With the decision to resume the event delaying the schedule, Trump's speech began at about 11:15 p.m., roughly an hour and 30 minutes later than planned. The fireworks, which aimed to set a new world record for scale, began around midnight right after the speech.
The Washington Post (WP), a U.S. daily, reported, "The 40-minute fireworks that began just before midnight capped a day marred by extreme heat, lightning, evacuation orders, and chaos in many places."