What we know about Trump’s July Fourth fireworks event

By Aleena Fayaz, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump’s celebration for America’s 250th anniversary will culminate Saturday with a record-breaking fireworks show on the National Mall amid scorching temperatures and controversy over his efforts to put himself at the center of the commemoration.

Trump has teased lengthy remarks as part of the “Salute to America” event despite a dangerous heat wave’s potential to impact audiences.

During a Wednesday rally, the president dismissed any concerns about the heat stopping him from giving remarks. “By the way, on July Fourth, it’s going to be approximately 107 degrees out, and I’m going to go, and I’m going to make a really long speech just to show that I can do anything,” Trump said.

The high-profile remarks come as another piece of Trump’s 250th programming, the “Great American State Fair,” contends with modest crowds and logistical setbacks. Along with the fair, “Salute to America” is organized by Freedom 250 – a Trump-backed nonprofit tasked with putting on a series of semiquincentennial events that cater to the president’s cultural agenda. August will include a street “Freedom 250 Grand Prix” and a youth athletic contest branded as the “Patriot Games” with a grand prize of $250,000.

Freedom 250 has advised guests to arrive at the national park grounds no more than one hour before doors open at 5 p.m. ET to account for the heat. The event will feature performances from musical performances and a slew of military flyovers.

Here’s what to know:

How hot will it be?

Ahead of the holiday weekend, a heat wave is tightening its grip on the East Coast and straining the electric grid as people seek to cool off in their air-conditioned homes and businesses. Washington, DC, has activated an extreme heat alert through July 5, as Saturday is expected to mark the hottest July Fourth that DC has ever recorded, boasting a current forecast of 101 degrees. The hottest July Fourth in the nation’s capital on record was 100 degrees in 1919.

The heat has throttled preparations. The US Capitol Police restricted attendance for a July 2 rehearsal event ahead of the annual “A Capitol Fourth Concert,” due to the excessive heat and gate openings were shifted later to account for weather on Friday.

Will there be water?

Freedom 250 is offering complimentary water refills and misting stations scattered across the site as attendees battle high temps. Following a heat advisory, the group adjusted restrictions to allow attendees to bring an empty reusable, non-metal water bottle to refill at the hydration stations located on the park grounds. Rachel Reisner, a spokesperson for Freedom 250, told CNN the group will be handing out water bottles.

Attendees are prohibited from bringing backpacks, coolers, folding chairs, drones, firearms or aerosols like in previous celebrations, but food and beverages will be available for purchase and handheld fans are allowed inside the perimeter. This year’s event outlines a clear-bag policy the group says is designed to speed up security screening.

What will security look like?

Despite looming concerns of yet another attempt on Trump’s life, as well as the ever-present lone-wolf threat, Washington, DC, is well positioned to secure these sorts of large-scale events, several officials involved in the planning previously told CNN.

Federal agencies will also be helping protect several other July Fourth celebrations across the US, including in Boston, California, Pennsylvania and New York.

Attendees in Washington, DC, will be screened through security magnetometers. The Secret Service, which is taking the lead for the July Fourth event, along with the FBI, Metropolitan Police and other federal and local police, will be juggling security for Trump’s airshow as well as the “Great American State Fair” taking place on the National Mall.

With extensive road closures in the district, event goers are encouraged to take public transit. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser announced the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority will be free after 5 p.m. ET and open until 2 a.m. ET.

The president’s attendance was a factor in making the celebration a National Special Security Event, USSS spokesperson Tom Lynch told CNN. The designation, also known as NSSE, is a common designation for major events that might be a target of criminals or terrorists. As a result, Lynch said the level of screening for this year’s celebration will be unlike any July Fourth in anyone’s recent memory.

When will Trump speak?

Trump is expected to take the stage at 9:45 p.m. ET ahead of the 10:30 p.m. ET firework show, but the duration of his speech is unclear.

The president has billed the July Fourth event as a “Trump” rally and touted his prominent place in the Washington celebrations, despite criticism from Democrats that he’s turned the 250th commemoration into a partisan celebration more about him than the country.

What about fireworks?

Bowser initially announced the large annual fireworks show wouldn’t start until 11p.m. ET on the Fourth – two hours later than last year’s celebration, but the show will now begin at 10:30 p.m. ET and run for roughly 40 minutes.

The show is expected to set a new Guinness World Record for the largest firework display as nearly 850,000 fireworks shells will be launched from 10 sites spanning the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Potomac River barges and West Potomac Park. The current benchmark is 810,904 fireworks at a 2016 New Years countdown celebration in the Philippines. The capital’s spectacle will be about 10 times bigger than Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks Show in New York, which is typically the nation’s largest Independence Day bash.

The fireworks show is estimated to cost $850,000, CNN previously reported.

Will that impact the air quality?

Fireworks create smoke pollution that sometimes rivals what comes from wildfires and can linger in the air for several hours. In some cities, air quality often doesn’t return to normal until around noon the next day, and the hot air could lengthen the process.

But even before any fireworks are lit in some urban areas, the heat will have already created another type of air pollution, ground-level ozone, formed from the mingling of vehicle exhaust, heat and sunlight. That ozone can irritate our lungs — potentially worsening air quality before any nighttime celebrations. Scorching locations, including in DC, are forecast to experience at least moderate amounts of ground-level ozone during the day.

When asked if the Environmental Protection Agency is tracking any air pollution impact as a result of the fireworks show, EPA press secretary Brigit Hirsch told CNN, “Fireworks are awesome and we hope everyone enjoys the incredible shows in and around our nation’s capital as we celebrate 250 years of America.”

How to watch?

For those watching at home, major networks will be broadcasting special coverage. CNN will have live coverage starting at 12 p.m. ET.

Meanwhile… the Reflecting pool?

Fireworks are set to launch from the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool – a site of much recent controversy and curiosity since blue material at the bottom of the pool began peeling off. The pool was painted blue and refilled after Trump ordered a $14-million renovation.

In the weeks following the costly vanity project, the president claimed that vandals damaged the algae-plagued Reflecting Pool and vowed to repair it. A former Olympic canoeist was indicted by a grand jury in Washington on Thursday for allegedly damaging the Reflecting Pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial. US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said Thursday that there are “about a half dozen” other cases the US attorney’s office is investigating.

CNN’s Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, Holmes Lybrand, Kristen Holmes, Adam Cancryn and Kasha Patel contributed to this report.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.