A top doctor has warned that President Donald Trump’s much-hyped July 4 rally is potentially fatal.
Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a cardiologist and CNN medical analyst, urged the cancellation of Trump’s Washington, D.C. rally for America’s 250th birthday, citing sweltering temperatures that could put attendees at risk.
“The same way the outdoor inauguration was canceled last year because of the cold, the rally on the Mall this July 4 should be canceled because of the intense heat (> 100 degrees),” he wrote in an X post on Thursday.
“Dangerous weather and large crowds is a bad combination,” Reiner warned. The doctor has been one of the few medical experts to demand answers about the 80-year-old president’s health, citing his Oval Office slumps and odd examination schedule.
Last year, Trump moved his inauguration indoors, claming it was due to dangerously cold temperatures in the nation’s capital.
This time, however, Trump appears bent on keeping the party going despite forecasts showing that this year’s July 4th weekend could be the hottest ever in parts of the country. An extreme heat warning is in effect for D.C. until July 5, with the National Weather Service forecasting daily temperatures that could exceed 100 degrees at times.
On Wednesday, Trump vowed to push through the heat.
The festivities are expected to kick off with military flyovers at 1:15 p.m., though the program won’t start until 7 p.m. Trump is scheduled to speak at 9:45 p.m., when the temperature is likely to be around 84 degrees, and the humidity forecast to be 63 per cent, giving an apparent temperature of 87. The fireworks show, billed as the largest in history, will start at 10:30 p.m.
“By the way, on July 4th, it’s going to be approximately 107 degrees out, and I’m going to go, and I’m going to make a really long speech just to show that I can do anything,” he said at the opening ceremony for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota.
Trump pointed to his UFC bizarre birthday bash as proof that the July 4th event should proceed as scheduled. Forecasts had predicted heavy rain for the June event, but it was only briefly delayed by inclement weather.
“So, you never know about weather forecasting, do you?” he said. “With all the money we spend—we spend all that money."
A White House official told the Daily Beast that standard contingency measures are in place to ensure the safety of the president and all attendees, including stations for water distribution, water refilling, and water misting. Attendees are not even allowed to bring their own reusable water bottles.
“President Trump’s number one priority is the safety and security of anyone who is participating or attending the many events honoring the Nation during our historic 250th anniversary celebrations,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said.
Trump’s rallies have been linked to deaths before. In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, Trump’s events were linked to 700 COVID-19 deaths and 30,000 incremental cases by researchers at Stanford University.
Trump’s staffers previously blamed themselves for the Herman Cain, a 74-year-old former Republican presidential candidate who succumbed to COVID-19 a month after attending Trump’s rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Trump has long been hyping up his July 4th affair. Last month, he bragged in a Truth Social post that he would host “the most spectacular TRUMP RALLY of them all, a ‘TRIBUTE TO AMERICA.’”
But America’s 250th birthday celebration, which has been taken over by Trump through the White House-backed group Freedom 250, has fallen way short of the president’s promises.
The fair promised to “showcase the very best of America through state pavilions, industry displays, family-friendly attractions, movie screenings, musical performances, military ensembles, spectacular flyovers, daily cultural programming, and an iconic Ferris wheel on the National Mall.”
Instead, attendees who came from all over the country were met with Trumpy installations, empty booths, melted ice cream, and, for some reason, a cow named after first lady Melania Trump.
Even the president’s own supporters felt let down.
“This should have been the highlight of my life,” Holly Lewis, a 57-year-old travel agent from Virginia, told The Telegraph. “This should have been like the World Exposition. But most of the states are a bit of a disappointment. It would have been really good if FIFA had run this. This feels like a silent protest.”
