President Donald Trump put himself centerstage for U.S. Independence Day celebrations on Saturday with a speech and a show that celebrated the nation’s 250th anniversary and highlighted his own political priorities.

Trump spoke after 11 p.m. at the National Mall after thunderstorms earlier in the evening prompted the area to be cleared out of visitors and delayed the start of his remarks. He sought to sound an optimistic note about America’s future.

“At 250 years old, we may be the oldest constitutional republic on earth, but our country is just getting started, because the best is yet to come,” he said.

Trump has made no secret of his joy at presiding over the July 4 festivities, portraying the timing as a side benefit of winning a second term starting in 2025 — even as the Republican falsely claims he also won the 2020 election against Democrat Joe Biden.

Celebrations were held across the U.S. to mark the 250-year milestone, which commemorates the 1776 adoption of the Declaration of Independence that separated the American colonies from Great Britain. Americans traditionally celebrate July 4 with fireworks, picnics and red, white and blue memorabilia.

Trump visited South Dakota on Friday, where he used a speech at the Mount Rushmore monument to warn of the threat of communism after recent primary wins by Democratic Socialist candidates.

He brought up the same theme on Saturday, declaring communism a “loser,” while also pushing for passage of a measure to restrict mail-in voting and require the use of voter identification for elections. The president, who complained about not being treated fairly by the justice system, also invited veterans to the stage.

Trump’s speech, which ended shortly before midnight, was followed by a massive fireworks display.

Erratic weather had reduced the crowd size on the National Mall. Organizers canceled a parade in Washington on Saturday because of the high temperatures.

Thousands of attendees walked for blocks in 100-degree heat earlier in the day to find an open entrance to the grassy space.

“They’ve made it so hard. We waited in line forever just to have to be told we had to get out of line and go somewhere else, I’m so bummed out,” said Heather Sprague, 50, of Cushing, Maine, decked out in a Trump-themed cowboy hat. “Nothing is going by the plan.”

Others said they relished a rare sign of American unity.

“This day hopefully means unity across America, no matter who you are, what size, shape, religion, color, I really think that this is a day to celebrate what it is to be an American,” said Rachel Gershon Rourke, a teacher from upstate New York who came to see her niece march with her school’s band at the cancelled parade.

The July 4 holiday, and Trump’s role in it, coincides with political polarization among Americans and low approval ratings for the president. His efforts to remake Washington with pet projects — a White House ballroom, a triumphal arch and a revamped John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts — contrast with voters’ concerns about the economy.

U.S. hiring slowed sharply in June, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Thursday. The economy is expected to feature prominently in campaigns for the midterm elections in November, when Democrats are seeking to wrest control of Congress from Trump’s Republicans by focusing on the rise in the cost of living.

Vice President JD Vance kicked off official celebrations on Saturday with remarks in New York as a parade of ships graced the harbor in honor of the holiday. Vance, who has been critical of U.S. allies, expressed gratitude to scores of countries that sent their own naval vessels for the event.

The vice president used his remarks to knock those whom he said focused on the nation’s faults rather than its successes. “Reject the view of your nation that sees only its sins, but not its grace and its greatness,” he said. “Everything that we have done as a country, we have done together, not as citizens divided against each other, but as a common people, working towards a common future.”

Trump, who organized a parade of tanks and other military equipment in downtown Washington last year, had sought to supercharge July 4 festivities with a slew of military flyovers as well as the fireworks display, which organizers said would be the largest in history.

He has injected himself into the July 4 commemorations in multiple ways, including touting a U.S. passport with his picture emblazoned on one of the pages.

On Wednesday, he linked himself to the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt during a ceremony for the 26th president’s library in North Dakota and on Friday gave his speech at Mount Rushmore, a monument with the edifices of four historic U.S. presidents that he has mused about wanting to join.

Last week, Trump turned what was initially scheduled to be an opening performance for the so-called Great American State Fair on the National Mall into a political rally for his Make America Great Again movement after multiple artists pulled out. The fair closed for several hours on Friday because of the high temperatures.

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