President Donald Trump has moved this year's July 4th fireworks display in the nation's capital from the national Mall to a spot nearer the Potomac River and may make a personal address from the Lincoln Memorial, The Washington Post reported Friday.
Trump reportedly has wanted to make changes in the Indepence Day celebration ever since visiting France and seeing a Bastille Day parade. That plan was met with criticism from some, and a July 4th military parade, at least for the time being, looks to be out of the picture.
But critics of the current plan remain, with Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn, telling the Post, she fears Trump's speech could polarize the country at an event that is typically unifying.
"It's not about any one president. It's about how our nation came to be, because of a hardy band of brave men and women," she said. "It's not about any one person, it's about 'We, the people.' And if the president moves to make this about him, I think he will find the America public disappointed and angered by it."
But Interior Secretary David Bernhardt told the Post Trump is "excited about the idea, and we’re working hard on it, and I think it could be very, very meaningful." He added, "The president loves the idea, as probably all Americans do, of celebrating America on the Fourth of July, or thereabouts."
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