Trump's July 4th Fireworks Show: A Catastrophic Display of Smoke and Chaos

Last night’s fireworks display in Washington, D.C. was a catastrophic failure, with social media users likening it to “war strikes” and the “end of the world.”

The event aimed to launch approximately 850,000 fireworks shells from 10 different sites, including the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and Potomac River barges. This massive effort was set to exceed 80 times the typical amount of pyrotechnics used in the district for Independence Day.

Despite the ambitious scale, the execution fell apart. Users on social media criticized the event for being “entirely obstructed by their own smoke.”

One user slammed the planning, stating, “An event so atrociously planned and horrendously executed that the 'largest display of fireworks ever for a July 4th celebration' are being launched on July 5th and — less than 1/4 of the way through — are being almost entirely obscured by their own smoke.”

The finale, which began after midnight on July 5, drew further ire for its poor timing. “Trump’s July 4th finale — which was so poorly planned it didn’t actually take place until July 5th — looked less like a fireworks show and more like the end of the world,” another user remarked.

As the grand finale unfolded, reports indicated that so many fireworks were going off that they became nearly invisible through the thick smoke.

In the hours leading up to the display, the National Mall was evacuated due to thunderstorms, forcing thousands to seek shelter in nearby federal buildings and museums. The event resumed later, with President Trump delivering a speech that lasted approximately 40 minutes starting at 11 p.m. ET.

Users continued to express their disbelief at the spectacle, with one stating, “Oh wow! It looks like WAR strikes. So much smoke and condensation in the atmosphere, you can’t see sparkle—this could be a metaphor for all the wars Trump has funded and become actively involved in as an aggressor.”

Others echoed sentiments of doom, with one declaring, “That’s freaking crazy!!! Yes, it looks like the apocalypse.”

The New York Times reported that after 1 a.m. on July 5, visibility issues plagued the grand finale as smoke enveloped the area.