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A2 UP FRONT
Friday 5 July 2019
Trump asks Americans to ‘stay true to our cause’

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, he’s prone to tantrums, he
CALVIN WOODWARD and doesn’t understand the
LYNN BERRY consequences of his ac-
Associated Press tions. And so this is a great
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi- symbol of how we feel
dent Donald Trump cel- about our president.”
ebrated “the greatest po- The balloon remained tied
litical journey in human his- down at the Mall because
tory” Thursday in a Fourth park officials restricted the
of July commemoration group’s permission to move
before a soggy, cheer- it or fill it with helium, Benja-
ing crowd of spectators, min said.
many of them invited, on Protesters also handed out
the grounds of the Lincoln small Trump-baby balloons
Memorial. Supporters wel- on sticks. Molly King of La
comed his tribute to the Porte, Indiana, a 13-year-
U.S. military while protest- old Trump supporter in sun-
ers assailed him for putting glasses and a “Make Amer-
himself center stage on a ica Great Again” hat, hap-
holiday devoted to unity. pily came away with one.
Trump called on Americans “They’re making a big
to “stay true to our cause” stink about it but it’s actu-
in a program that adhered ally pretty cute,” she said.
to patriotic themes and President Donald Trump speaks during an Independence Day celebration in front of the Lincoln “I mean, why not love your
hailed an eclectic mix of Memorial, Thursday, July 4, 2019, in Washington. president as you’d love a
history’s heroes, from the Associated Press baby?”
armed forces, space, civil likely to be achieved un- planes and presidential the prospect of empty seats A small crowd gathered to
rights and other endeavors til late in the 2020s if even aircraft he had summoned at his event, said a person take pictures with the big
of American life. then. conducted their flyovers as familiar with the planning balloon, which drew Trump
He largely stuck to his script, A late afternoon down- planned, capped by the who was not authorized to supporters and detractors.
avoiding diversions into pour drenched the capi- Navy Blue Angels aerobat- be identified. Aides scram- “Even though everybody
his agenda or re-election tal’s Independence Day ics team. bled in recent days to dis- has different opinions,” said
campaign. But in one ex- crowds and presaged an By adding his own, one- tribute tickets and mobilize Kevin Malton, a Trump sup-
ception, he vowed, “Very evening of possible on- hour “Salute to America” the Trump and GOP social porter from Middlesboro,
soon, we will plant the and-off storms. But Trump’s production to capital fes- media accounts to encour- Kentucky, “everybody’s
American flag on Mars,” speech unfolded in occa- tivities that typically draw age participation for an getting along.”
actually a distant goal not sional rain, and the war- hundreds of thousands event hastily arranged and But Daniela Guray, a
anyway, Trump became surrounded with confusion. 19-year-old from Chicago
the first president in nearly Many who filed into the who held a “Dump Trump”
seven decades to address sprawling VIP section said sign, said she was subject-
a crowd at the National they got their free tickets ed to a racial epithet while
Mall on Independence from members of Congress walking along the Constitu-
Day. or from friends or neighbors tion Avenue parade route
Protesters objecting to who couldn’t use theirs. and told to go home.
what they saw as his co- Outside that zone, a di- She said she did not come
opting of the holiday inflat- verse mix of visitors, locals, to the Mall to protest but
ed a roly-poly balloon de- veterans, tour groups, im- ended up doing so. “I start-
picting Trump as an angry, migrant families and more ed seeing all the tanks with
diaper-clad baby. milled about, some drawn all the protests and that’s
Trump set aside a historic by Trump, some by curios- when I said, ‘Wait, this is not
piece of real estate — a ity, some by the holiday’s an actual Fourth of July,’”
stretch of the Mall from the regular activities along the she said. “Trump is making
Lincoln Monument to the Mall. it his day rather than the
midpoint of the reflecting In the shadow of the Wash- Fourth of July.”
pool — for a mix of invited ington Monument hours “We own the planes, we
military members, Republi- before Trump’s speech, have the pilots, the airport
can and Trump campaign the anti-war organization is right next door (Andrews),
donors and other bigwigs. Codepink erected a 20- all we need is the fuel,”
It’s where Martin Luther foot tall “Trump baby” bal- he said, referring to Mary-
King Jr. gave his “I have a loon to protest what activ- land’s Joint Base Andrews,
dream” speech, Barack ists saw as his intrusion in home for some of the
Obama and Trump held Independence Day and a planes expected for the
inaugural concerts and focus on military might that holiday flyover. “We own
protesters swarmed into they associate with martial the tanks and all. Fireworks
the water when supporters regimes. are donated by two of the
of Richard Nixon put on a “We think that he is making greats.”
July 4, 1970, celebration, this about himself and it’s Trump glossed over the
with the president sending really a campaign rally,” expense of shipping tanks
taped remarks from Califor- said Medea Benjamin, the and fighting vehicles to
nia. organization’s co-direc- Washington by rail and
Located at Divi Aruba Phoenix Beach Resort
J.E. Irausquin Blvd. 75, Palm Beach Aides to the crowd-ob- tor. “We think that he’s a guarding them for several
For more information call 586-6066 ext.7002 sessed Trump fretted about big baby. ... He’s erratic, days, and other costs.q