I have been a DC resident for 31 years, and Independence Day celebrations on the National Mall have always been a source of pride and satisfaction.
I have seen the holiday as our nation’s capital throwing a birthday party for America; a political town that took off its partisan cloaks for a celebration of something larger – that despite our differences, we were all Americans.
During those years, I saw the festivities from several different vantage points. I’ve been on the lawn of the Capitol, listening to a military band play patriotic music. I’ve camped out on the Mall, trying to find just the right place to see the fireworks. As I got older, coveted invitations provided the chance to view the scene from the rooftop deck of buildings downtown, which came with cocktails and air conditioning.
No matter the venue, what was so wonderful about those celebrations was a sense of comradery. Politics took a back seat. We weren’t Republicans and Democrats – we were Americans. Indeed, in my three decades in DC, every president was pleased to cede the stage in our nation’s capital, and let America be the star on her birthday.
Since 2008, I changed up my Independence Day routine, and, weather permitting, I now bike down to the Mall during the daytime.
It’s glorious for a biker, because all the roads around the Mall are closed to vehicular traffic. You can ride and take in the sights, from the Potomac River all the way to Capitol Hill, free from worry about militant motorists. For me, it’s the best way to see official DC on America’s birthday.
This year was different.
In a break with recent precedent, President Trump announced that he would deliver a speech from the Lincoln Memorial on the 4th of July. In the last few weeks, the President provoked controversy by insisting that this event have a large military component, including flyovers, Army tanks and armored personnel carriers.
I opposed it – both the speech and the military component. My rationale is pretty clear.
First, since the Constitution makes the president both Head of State and Head of Government, it is difficult for a president to be seen by the public as non-partisan, even at ostensible national events. Inauguration, SOTU, wreath laying’s, and greeting foreign leaders at the White House? Fine. Other activities and speeches become dicey since, in the absence of a national crisis, a minimum of half the country will disapprove of the incumbent. In part for this reason, no president in modern times has sought to address a large, open air crowd on the National Mall on Independence Day; a day reserved for what unites us, not divides us.
Instead, recognizing this, previous presidents sought out smaller venues on Independence Day, engaging in unifying, symbolic acts, which reflected positively on the Chief Executive and his stewardship of the roles as Head of State and citizen.
Bush 43 and Obama both volunteered. Others attended the swearing in ceremony of new citizens. If they stayed in DC, the presidents hosted parties at the White House to view fireworks. They stayed out of America’s way.
In scheduling the speech, Trump ignored this. Indeed as it was Trump doing it, the effect was doubling down.
Since the inception of his campaign in June 2015, and throughout his presidency, President Trump’s style has been to speak only before friendly audiences, in reliably Red states, in stadium settings that allow him to limit protest and dissent. Even appearances that were billed as non-partisan were thinly veiled Trump rallies.
Having established his model, even an ostensibly non-partisan speech was going to attract an overtly partisan crowd, which is simply not the right play on a non-partisan holiday.
On the military hardware, the point is simple; we are not celebrating our armed forces, which have at least three distinct holidays of their own, two of which are national holidays.
We are celebrating the adoption of a set of principles and ideals that are as radical today as they were in 1776; principles that were the catalyst of the American experiment that in a short 243 years has taken 13 sparsely populated, agrarian colonies to the most powerful nation is recorded history.
That should be the focus.
And contrary to a lot of commentary, opposing the introduction of an official military component to the celebration on the National Mall is not “anti-military.”
Honoring those who serve our country is a component of Independence Day. President Reagan gave a speech from the aircraft carrier, USS John F. Kennedy in 1986, at the centennial celebration of the Statue of Liberty. In 2000, Bill Clinton attended a international naval review in New York Harbor. Both Bush43 and Obama hosted parties for Veterans and active duty troops.
The absence of military hardware on the Mall isn’t a sign of weakness, but a profound sign of strength. Other regimes in the world need to host military parades in order to legitimize their rule. On Independence Day, our country celebrates ideals that do not require tanks and combat aircraft to force acceptance. Our ideals not only remain relevant today, but set us apart from everyone else. That is an honor.
President Trump’s event was, at worst, an excessively jingoistic play that was big on theater and entertainment, but shallow on genuine meaning and purpose.
But with President Trump set to give an address and highlight American military prowess, I had to got down to the Mall to see if for myself.
Since 9-11 you cannot access any part of the Mall without going through a security check. No magnetometers, but all bags, backpacks, etc, must be searched. It can be time consuming.
I entered the Mall from the Tidal Basin, near the Jefferson Memorial. It was a little before noon when I arrived, in a day filled with heat and humidity that was serious, even by normal DC standards (Heat index of 102 at 1pm).
My first priority was to see the tanks.
I’d been in running, two-day argument with devoted Trumpers over the inclusion of the military equipment the Mall through my FB page. With the 4th approaching, I had promised to go take pictures of the vehicles that bad been the source of such consternation.
However, each road or trail I took to get to the Lincoln Memorial was blocked by Park Service personnel. On my 3rd try, seeing the perplexed look on my face, one Ranger asked what I was trying to do. “See the tanks,” I said. Her eyes got wide when she replied, “Oh, you can’t do that. the tanks are in the VIP-only area.”
And so that was that. All the heated debate for something that no average American could see, except on TV.
It was at that moment, when I realized exactly how much real estate had been taken over for Trump’s extravaganza. Fully a third of Mall, from the Lincoln to the Washington Monument, was fenced off and inaccessible, used to create a VIP seating area, house the equipment and lights necessary for the broadcast, and also to ensure presidential security (The presidential podium was surrounded with bulletproof glass).
Unable to get anywhere near the Lincoln Memorial and the tanks, I rode around aimlessly taking in the sights.
Riding the paths, it was obvious that security was higher this year. Uniformed National Guard were everywhere, supporting police that manned key check points. The Independence Day parade down Constitution Avenue was finishing up, so I rode down to take a look. There, virtually right in front of me, was a guy holding a Q-Anon Flag.
That’s when I knew this wasn’t going to be an ordinary day.
I had heard that there were going to be various protests against Trump, and it wasn’t hard to find them. On the Mall, between the WWII Memorial and the Washington Monument, I came upon “Baby Trump,” a large balloon purporting to show President Trump as a fussy infant in a diaper, which became a sensation in the UK.
The crowd there was modest, at the time. There were a number of booths set up by Code Pink and other progressive organizations, opposed to the President, handing out literature and signing up volunteers. There was another booth doing a brisk business (and practicing capitalism) selling hand-held Baby Trump balloons. A group of high school or college-aged girls held up “home made” signs blasting Trump for the treatment of illegal immigrants and other progressive causes. They posed for pictures with anyone who asked. The music, played on high quality loud speakers, belted out great songs from the 60s.
As I was taking my own pictures of Baby Trump for posterity, I noticed two Trump supporters approaching the area, nodding their disapproval. They were guys, youngish, who wore MAGA hats and Trump T-shirts. There was no doubting where their loyalties lay.
They stopped about 10 yards in front of me, and roughly 30 yards from Baby Trump, just talking to each other and shaking their heads. I immediately noticed that they had attracted the attention of people manning the booths, and some of those folks were slowly moving closer.
I’ll admit it. I thought I was at Ground Zero for another Covington high school moment. I might have started taping the coming encounter, but that’s rarely my first thought. My feeling in that moment was that these two guys were going to get clocked from behind. I began to look around to see where everyone was in relation to the two, and got off my bike, scanning for nearby police or National Guard, just in case.
That’s when I saw a tall, thin, older woman, wearing a Code Pink T-shirt, approach the pair. I thought this was the match to the fuse, but what happened next stunned me.
Instead of starting a fight, the woman extended her hand and both men shook it. Then they began talking. No shouting, no pointed fingers or obscene gestures, just talking. I looked around and realized I wasn’t the only one who was surprised. Anti-Trumpers in the vicinity seemed confused by what was going on – Code Pink treating Trump supporters with civility? And it being returned?
I had to know more, so I went up and introduced myself. Though I told the trio that I found their interaction and sense of respect and decency extraordinary, none of them thought it was out of the ordinary.
The men, Chris and Eric (22 & 21) , had driven all night from Rhode Island to make it down for event. The woman, Paki, was a DC local and dedicated member of Code Pink. What they said in that conversation restored my faith that amid the hyper-partisanship, people with strong opinions can still talk and be civil.
Paki said she had walked over just to let the guys know that though they clearly disagreed on issues, this was a celebration of America and her people of all opinions. The men said they felt the same way.
Thereafter ensued a political conversation, with Paki enthusiastically pointing out all of her perceived problems with Trump. The guys never missed a beat, politely but directly explaining their point of view. Paki got points for passion, but the guys won on facts. As the trio talked through issues, there was even consensus on the long term problems of the national debt and the growth of entitlements.
The trio shook hands again for me, so I could get it on camera. Around me, it looked like the progressives were vigorously shaking their heads at this entente between Trump supporters and an Anti-Trumper – a few seemed in genuine disbelief. A news crew spotted the scene as I was taking pictures, and came over and interviewed the trio for the local ABC affiliate in DC.
It was genuinely heart-warming.
After that encounter, I headed out to find and talk to Trump supporters. They weren’t hard to find. I haven’t seen that many MAGA hats in DC since the Inauguration. By 1pm, the biggest concentrations were near the fence line, getting as close as they could to the stage.
That’s where I met Arlene from Anaheim. She was part of a large group that had made plans to come to DC shortly after the President had announced his intention to speak. They had staked out prime territory right next to the fence, where they hung their “Trump 2020” banner, and displayed homemade signs, which extoled Trump’s virtues. There was no mistaking their loyalties. The whole group was MAGA’d-out as if they had bought out the Trump store.
As I asked questions about Trump and his presidency/policies, it was clear that there was no daylight between the President and this group. Their pride in Trump was obvious.
I asked whether they had seen or faced any harassment for their open support of the President. They said yes, but were more amused than angry, telling me that in the last couple of hours, progressives on bikes would ride up, curse at them, and then beat a hasty retreat before she or any of her party could respond.
“I can curse pretty well myself,” Arlene said, “and they didn’t even give me a chance to try,” she said, laughing.
And older gentleman, standing near Arlene, frowned as we discussed the cursing bikers. “You know, if we have to go to war one day, that,” the “that” was rich with dripping sarcasm, “is what the Army is going to have to turn in to soldiers. I can’t even imagine…”
Leaving Arlene’s group, I rode around, stopping to speak with others, as I made my way out of the Mall.
One young man, in MAGA hat and Trump 2020 T-shirt, was pacing back and forth at the edge of the Reflecting Pool. He eyed me coolly, unsure if I was friend or foe. When I asked what he was doing, he told me that he wanted to make sure all the liberals knew he was there, and he wasn’t going away.
A middle-aged couple told me they had canceled their regular summer vacation to come to DC for the Trump event. “50 years from now, this will be remembered just like MLK’s speech,” the man said.
As I retraced my ride to the Tidal Basin security point, I thought about what I had seen.
The meeting between the Rhode Island Trump guys and Code Pink – on the grounds of Baby Trump no less – had been a high point. And in my two hours roaming around, I hadn’t seen any arguments or fights. Everyone seemed well behaved.
But there was also a definitive self-sorting. Trump supporters owned the real estate from the fence line back to the WWII Memorial at the edge of the Reflecting Pool. The anti-Trumpers had staked out territory on the ground from the WWII Memorial to the Washington Monument. People circled and avoided, rather than mingling.
While I had seen a moment of unexpected civility, the Mall was effectively divided into political camps, polarizing a non-partisan holiday. The fact that VIP access to Trump’s speech was controlled by the White House, RNC, and trade groups friendly to the Administration, did little to dampen the sense that this was in any way a unity exercise.
Later that day, I watched Trump’s speech on TV, and was pleased that he stuck to the tele-prompter, and avoided partisan references. I could hear the roar of the jets outside as I was watching them on the screen. Always impressive to see, but unnecessary on this day.
After the Trump event concluded, I headed over to my local watering hole for a burger. I’ve known all the staff there for years.
“Well, at least it’s over and Trump had his event. We don’t have to worry about this again,” said a server who is decidedly not a Trump supporter.
“No,” I replied. “This year was a trial run. Next year will be bigger. And if Trump wins re-election, it will be a staple for the following four years.”
In the immediate silence that followed, I could only think that for as popular as Trump’s event appeared to be with a broader cohort of Americans, a timeless and powerful Independence Day tradition on the National Mall had just died, and would not be revived anytime soon.