The entire Imperial spectacle in DC over the past several weeks, starting with Trump’s UFC birthday bash through the lame Great American State Fair and ending in the over the top 250th Independence Day celebration today, has been a festival of mediocrity and excessive decadence.
Trump’s attempt to use a no-bid contract with a crony to make the Reflecting Pool a centerpiece backfired spectacularly by turning it into a swamp of algae, dead ducks, and toxic peeling rubber. National Airport DCA is closed for hours to accommodate the continuous parade of flyovers. NPS issued air quality warnings and told people to stay inside to avoid pollution from the fireworks display that is planned to set a world record with 880,000 fireworks in 40 minutes, where the normal DC Fourth of July show shoots about 10,000 to 20,000 in that time. The Great American State Fair has been a total flop, epitomized by the model of the Trump Arch that is broken and oozing yellow goo because it was apparently constructed from spray foam that’s not up to the summer heat (see photo). It’s such a mess!
Hopefully the Swift-Kelsey nuptials aren’t as star-crossed!