Politics - News Analysis

Trump’s 2020 July 4th Fireworks Show Caused Over $42K in Damage to the National Mall

When former President Donald held a Fourth of July fireworks extravaganza at the National Mall last year it wound up causing a whopping $42,000 in damages to the historic monument according to records obtained by a government watchdog group.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released the documents Wednesday, accompanied by a letter that detailed the damage and was sent by the Department of the Interior to the Republican National Committee last February, according to The Hill.

In their letter, Interior officials told the RNC that the fireworks display at the National Mall “injured” park resources.

“Those injuries included turf damage from a forklift operator who drove at a high rate of speed across the turf near the sidewalks, turf damage from fireworks setup and activation such as tire rutting and spin-outs, scorch marks from the fireworks, and extensive compaction damage from improper setup and security/setup/takedown vehicles driving throughout the turf,” per the letter. “In addition, when a dumpster was being positioned, it struck a park drinking fountain causing damage.”

CREW also found a March receipt that indicates the RNC paid the Interior in full for the damages.

But those aren’t the only expenses CREW found. National Park Service employees labored more than 4000 hours to set up the fireworks event, and that resulted in $177,000 in labor costs.

And the fact that the U.S. was in the grip of a pandemic didn’t sway Trump against holding such a huge celebration, where he addressed the crowd. Also included? A military flyover and music.

CREW acquired the documents as part of an ongoing lawsuit against the Interior Department “to reveal the full cost to taxpayers of Trump’s rampant use of Interior resources for self-aggrandizement,” the organization noted in a statement.

Well, that would be Trump. He’s his own favorite story after all.

meet the author

Megan has lived in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida and she currently lives in Central America. Living in these places has informed her writing on politics, science, and history. She is currently owned by 15 cats and 3 dogs and regularly owns Trump supporters when she has the opportunity. She can be found on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GaiaLibra and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/politicalsaurus

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