President Donald Trump did everything in his presidential power to keep the party going for his Freedom 250 celebration in Washington, D.C.—even if it was a mess. 

“When I heard that it was cancelled, I immediately overturned that decision, and waited a while for people to come back,” the president wrote in a now-deleted Truth Social post Sunday. 

While Trump bragged about the return of over 100,000 attendees after an alleged 422,000 were told to leave the Fourth of July celebration due to extreme weather, there were plenty of other reasons to label his event a flop-filled disaster. 

When the two-week-long event kicked off, it was already wrought with power outages and a nonfunctional Ferris wheel, as well as lackluster vendor booths and food options. 

But by the time the festivities came to its Fourth of July crux this past week, more close calls and even an investigation had already surfaced. 

Part of why these state booths might have been so underwhelming is that, according to emails reviewed by NOTUS, many were caught off guard by exorbitant costs while swimming in confusion. 

“Your email earlier this evening states that exhibiting States who are assisting Freedom 250 as the permit holder in executing a possible amazing Great American State Fair are now responsible (?!) for insuring the Government of the United States of America (?!) who happens to be and is the permit holder for the event as I understand it,” a Michigan official said in an email obtained by the outlet. “Seems like this is a bit upside down and that it should be Freedom 250 insuring the participating exhibitors.”

Insurance, securing vendors, and overall preparation for the event seemed to come together with many left confused and unprepared to cough up extra funds. 

The outlet even alleged that a Trump-linked company—Freeman—was designated as the main provider for states to use for things like furnishing, shipping, and logistics. The company has never previously held any other government contract. 

House Democrats caught wind of suspicious behavior within the loosely planned event, claiming this past week that the event planners misled donors and, ultimately, rerouted their payments to a separate party. 

But money problems, misleading donors, and alleged self-serving aside, there were plenty of disasters that would have stood as newsworthy concerns on their own. 

Outside of the event, white supremacists ascended upon the Capitol. Members of the Patriot Front shielded their faces as they marched and chanted, flags in hand. “Reclaim America,” they yelled, along with, “Life, liberty, victory!”

And inside there were panels falling on dancers preparing to perform. 

And more safety concerns were shrugged off by NASA administrator Jared Isaacman. Despite being rejected by the FAA, Isaacman cleared four 1970s-built jets to fly in Saturday’s festivities. Isaacman, a billionaire commercial astronaut and pilot appointed by Trump, defied the orders despite claims that it was too “high risk” to carry out. 

With everything combined, the Trump administration’s rushed event seems indicative of the administration as a whole: expensive, cheaply made, and dangerous to everyone except those in the White House itself. 

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