President Donald Trump promised Saturday night to deliver a speech on the United States’s 250th Independence Day despite an earlier thunderstorm warning that prompted Freedom 250 organizers to evacuate the National Mall.
“Storms bring luck to whatever the occasion,” Trump said on Truth Social. “We will wait it out, I don’t care if it’s 2:00 O’clock in the morning, or in one hour from now. Looks like it is going to pass, they always do.”
Many America 250 events were canceled or delayed on Saturday morning due to a record-setting heat wave, but the subsequent thunderstorms that hit the broader Washington, D.C., area later in the day raised more serious questions about the status of Saturday night’s celebration. Attendees were told to evacuate and seek “temporary shelter in a nearby building” at around 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time after the National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning hours earlier.
Freedom 250 spokesperson Danielle Alvarez announced separately that gates to the National Mall would reopen at 9:45, and that Trump would begin his remarks at 11:00.
“For 250 years, Americans have overcome every challenge with grit, resilience, and determination,” her announcement said. “A little rain will never diminish our pride, our patriotism, or our celebration of the greatest nation in the history of the world.”
Trump compared Saturday’s situation to the UFC Freedom 250 fights that occurred last month at the White House. Despite predictions of heavy rain that night, the event proceeded as planned.
FREEDOM 250 ATTENDEES TOLD TO EVACUATE AFTER SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
“It’s Saturday night, LETS HAVE SOME FUN, even if we are out late tonight,” Trump added in the post. “They say 11:00 O’clock for the speech. Who cares???”
Trump also noted many “great veterans” are in attendance for America 250 and said “I’m not going to let some rain stop our 250th.”