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Trump Salute to America
President Donald Trump is hosting his big Fourth of July event tonight in Washington, D.C. called Salute to America 2020. Read on to find exactly what time the event starts and to learn more about what’s happening.
Salute to America Runs from 6:45-9:45 PM Eastern
According to the U.S. Department of Interior, the military flyovers for Trump’s Salute to America will take place from 6:45 p.m. Eastern to 8 p.m. Eastern. This is 5:45-7 p.m. Central/4:45-6 p.m. Mountain/3:45-5 p.m. Pacific.
Then the fireworks display will happen from 9:07 p.m.-9:44 p.m. Eastern. This is 8:07-8:44 p.m. Central/7:07-7:44 p.m. Mountain/6:07-6:44 p.m. Pacific.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will host the event from the South Lawn of the White House and the Ellipse.
If you want to watch live, the White House has a live stream below.
CBS News is also showing a stream of the event below.
More than 800 Acres Are Open to the Public
More than 800 acres are open to the public for viewing military flyovers and the fireworks. These include:
- Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool
- Thomas Jefferson Memorial
- World War II Memorial
- East Potomac Park
- Washington Monument grounds
- National Mall grounds between 4th and 14th Streets
The area open to the public equals about 600 football fields, the Department of Interior noted.
More than 10,000 fireworks are expected to be launched tonight, which will be viewable from three miles away. They’ll be launched from an area of more than a mile in length: “from Inlet Bridge at the south end of West Potomac Park to north of the Lincoln Memorial, as well as on the grounds of the Washington Monument. The show will be approximately 35 minutes long and will be visible throughout the District and Northern Virginia.”
According to the DOI, other areas to view the fireworks include:
- Anacostia Park
- Meridian Hill Park
- George Washington Memorial Parkway
- U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial
- Netherlands Carillon grounds
- Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove
- Gravelly Point Park
- Mount Vernon Trail from the 14th Street Bridge to Theodore Roosevelt Island
Tonight’s event is going to include flyovers with the Blue Angels, Thunderbirds, vintage WWII aircraft, P-51s, B-29s, and more.
Attendees are asked to practice social distancing and wear a mask or face covering. There will be more than 300,000 cloth face coverings for visitors at the National Mall. But visitors are asked to bring their own if they can, since supplies will be limited.
If you have any symptoms, please do not attend.
There will be more than 100 handwashing stations for people to wash their hands frequently. Attendees are also asked not to shake hands.
The event is already generating some controversy, Fox 5 reported. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has asked residents to stay home this holiday.
