The president made his declaration before a mix of locals and tourists at a scaled-down version of the event after some performers canceled.
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President Donald Trump declared the Iran war “done” in his latest and most emphatic attempt to put the unpopular conflict behind him, even as negotiators confront the toughest outstanding disputes and most Americans doubt the peace will hold.
“Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, that’s done,” he said Wednesday at a rally on the National Mall intended as a kickoff of a state fair-style festival to celebrate the country’s 250th birthday. “For the first time in 3,000 years, we are finally going to have peace in the Middle East.”
His declaration, before a mix of locals and tourists there for a scaled-down version of the initial event, came as the Pentagon asked Congress to approve $88 billion to cover the costs of the war and other administration priorities, after lawmakers passed resolutions opposing more military operations. U.S. and Iranian officials are publicly disputing the future of international nuclear inspections, and technical experts from both countries are trying to hammer out what will happen to Iran’s enriched uranium and its chokehold over oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.
Most Americans do not expect the ceasefire to last and said the war has not been worth the cost, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos survey. The president’s popularity dropped to a second-term low in the poll as voters soured on his handling of the economy and the war worsened inflation.
Trump drew cheers Wednesday for promising that gasoline prices would soon return to $2.50 a gallon or less.
The event was originally planned as a concert but musicians dropped out, citing security concerns and divisiveness. Onstage, Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy called them “those libtards who canceled on us.”
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In their place, Trump said he would turn the celebration into a “rally to end all rallies” (though he’s holding another one next week). Bands from the Marine Corps and the Army performed Trump rally playlist standards such as “Real American” and “Gloria.”
An announcer introduced House Speaker Mike Johnson, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and other Cabinet members to the electric riff of “Pinball Wizard.” FBI Director Kash Patel’s girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins, performed the national anthem. The Marine musicians sat stone-faced behind the president as he spoke about his tax cuts and renovations around Washington.
The crowd thinly covered an area about the length of the National Museum of American History, smaller than some summer outdoor movie screenings. Trump emerged triumphantly to two booms from Air Force jets punctuating a live rendition of his walkout anthem, Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.”
But he did not appear to enjoy the speech, with few of the smiles and jokes he deployed in a 90-minute stump speech in Pennsylvania on Tuesday. On Wednesday night, he wrapped in under a half-hour.
He asked for a bigger turnout for his next appearance on July 4.
“Please show up, he said. ”Because if we have two empty seats, you know what’s going to happen: the fake news is going to say he didn’t fill out the arena.”
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