Weather emergencies disrupt Trump’s Fourth of July plans

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump insisted his much-touted July Fourth show would go on despite severe weather that threw the event into chaos.

It was supposed to be the largest Fourth of July celebration in recent history, featuring a record-breaking fireworks display and a speech by Trump himself.

But despite the president's best efforts, the weather stymied his plans, forcing thousands of spectators to evacuate as lightning and dark clouds rolled over the White House toward the celebration area surrounding the Washington Monument.

Still, Trump seemed determined to continue with his plans.

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"Storms bring luck to whatever the occasion. They also make events a little bit more exciting!" the president wrote in a post 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."

Organizers reopened the gates to the "Salute to America" event several hours after the evacuation, with Trump set to deliver remarks at 11 p.m.

As the gates reopened, crowds of people attempted to return to the event area, bottlenecking security entrances as rain continued to fall. What played out was a scene of confusion as frustrated attendees pushed forward and National Guard members funneled the crowd back onto the National Mall.

Earlier in the day, shortly after the main program had been set to begin, organizers announced that spectators needed to evacuate. Saturday's evacuation was the latest instance of weather emergencies forcing officials to alter or cancel long-planned programming to commemorate the nation's 250th anniversary.

Thousands of attendees, many of whom waited for hours in the searing heat, were directed to seek shelter in buildings near the National Mall, including the African American History Museum and the Ronald Reagan Building. Many appeared reluctant to leave until security officials urged them to evacuate.

As attendees streamed toward the exits, jets completed flyovers overhead.

Some attendees were as determined as Trump to move ahead with the event. Karen Perry of Raleigh, North Carolina, said she passed out earlier in the day because of the heat, but still planned on seeing the festivities.

"They gave me two liters of IV. I said, 'I'm not leaving here until I see this,'" Perry said.

In the hours before the program was set to kick off, spectators reckoned with a triple-digit heat index, with multiple people telling NBC News they witnessed others pass out or experience medical issues.

Richard Doyle, dressed as Uncle Sam, said he traveled to D.C. from Florida for the Fourth of July celebration.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I figured, you know what, why not?" he said inside the Reagan Building.

Doyle said he was "super excited" to attend, but the program closed before he had a chance to enter. Still, he remained optimistic that the show would go on.

"It's a little somber, but, you know, everybody's hot and tired," he said. "But as soon as the festivities begin again, it's going to be an amazing event."

Brian Ragusa, who traveled from California, said despite the weather issues, "we're having a good time."

"Everybody's hot and a little bit miserable at times because of the heat, but it doesn't kill the joy," he said. "Not at all."

Seventeen-year-old Conly Jackson of Fayetteville, Arkansas said that she waited for about two hours to enter the program, adding, "I completely understand" the event being postponed.

"I think that we're still going to stay and try and get as much out of the experience as possible," she said from inside the Reagan Building. "My mom and my friend are leaving tomorrow, so we still want to be able to see all the fireworks, because I heard they're supposed to be super big and super amazing."

Aly Thayer, who traveled from Nashville, said the Fourth of July is her favorite holiday and that she was "super bummed that it's getting rained out."

"It's hard to see it not taking place currently, but we're praying that the rain holds off, the storms move so that we can go back in and enjoy," she said.

Even before the storm forced the evacuation, attendees reckoned with soaring temperatures, which prompted officials earlier this week to urge people to limit time outdoors. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser activated an extreme heat alert through the weekend.

Attendee Justin Hamm recalled witnessing people experience health emergencies while waiting in the soaring heat ahead of the program for about two hours.

"National Guard people were coming through and helping out people," he said. "Everybody was helping each other out. A lot of people calling, they said, 'medic, medic' for people who were fainting, and so that went on for a little while."

As attendees waited for word on the program from inside the Reagan Building, attendees broke out in a spontaneous rendition of the National Anthem. Dozens of people joined in, standing up and removing their hats as the room grew silent except for the singing. When it concluded, people cheered and chanted "U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A.!"

The Fourth of July programming comes amid a weekslong celebration on the National Mall, which was hit with spiking temperatures that forced officials to temporarily shut down the Great American State Fair. Health officials had more than four dozen patient contacts at the program, according to the D.C. Fire Department.

The Fourth of July event is spearheaded by Freedom 250, the public-private partnership established by the Trump administration. Another group, America250, is a nonprofit established a decade ago to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. but is not affiliated with the Freedom 250 Fourth of July program.

Freedom 250 and the National Park Service planned to launch about 850,000 fireworks across several D.C.-area locations, which would have set a new record for the largest fireworks display. The previous Guinness World Record was set in 2016 in the Philippines, where 811,000 fireworks were launched at a megachurch. Those record-setting fireworks were launched over the course of an hour, but Freedom 250 planned to set off the July 4 fireworks during a 40-minute show.

The fireworks had been expected to dwarf typical July 4 shows, which usually consist of about 33,000 fireworks during a 20-minute show. Saturday's show will feature more than 25 times the typical number of fireworks.

In May, several performers announced that they would no longer perform throughout the weekslong program, despite having been listed on the lineup. Multiple artists cited the events' politics in explaining their decision. Days later, Trump slammed the artists and suggested canceling performances.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com