Overview
- Event organizers say the president will give an address at a patriotic opening ceremony for a two-week festival on the National Mall and that military bands and fighter-jet flyovers are planned.
- Several Democratic-governed states have withdrawn from the planned Great American State Fair and multiple musicians have canceled their appearances, citing political bias in the programming.
- The president has promoted the festivities on Truth Social as a large rally with big fireworks and called the opening a major attraction, and he has described the music selections for military bands.
- Parts of the Mall between the Capitol and the Washington Monument have been fenced off for weeks as officials prepare for the scale of the events and the planned military participation.
- Critics argue the spectacle is meant to boost political support ahead of the November midterms and say the choices to feature military displays and a presidential rally risk deepening public division and complicating participation and security planning.