GRAND PRIX

Trump Unveils Another Tacky National Mall Takeover

The event Freedom 250 spectacle is set to take over the nation’s capital—and it’s already proving controversial.

First came the UFC cage fight on the White House South Lawn.

Then came the tacky plywood arch and the giant Ferris wheel at the Great American State Fair.

Now Donald Trump and his allies plan to shut down parts of D.C. to turn the nation’s capital into an IndyCar circuit for yet another Freedom 250 spectacle.

As the Rocky anthem “Eye of the Tiger” blared over the speakers, Trump appeared at the White House on Monday alongside IndyCar drivers, team owners and race officials declaring that the street race would take place in 41 days.

After being given his own personalized helmet by IndyCar boss Robert Penske, the 80-year-old president watched enthusiastically as a race car, parked between the West Wing and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, did a live pit-stop demonstration with mechanics showing off the lightning-fast tire changes that have become synonymous with the sport.

The unprecedented event will take place around the National Mall and some of Washington’s most recognizable landmarks, with cars expected to zoom across Pennsylvania Avenue and surrounding streets at more than 190 miles per hour (the normal speed limit is between 25 and 30 miles per hour).

“It’ll be an awesome display of American patriotism and raw horsepower and ingenuity,” Trump said.

Transport Secretary Sean Duffy was even more gushing, revealing how Freedom 250 Grand Prix Chairman Bud Denker had about 80 meetings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill but couldn’t convince enough people to back the event—until the president intervened.

“The president had one phone call (from Penske), and the president said: ‘Done. We’re gonna celebrate America 250 with an Indy car race in the U.S. capital,” said Duffy, adding that the event “would not be going on” without his help.

ALMOST OVER

Trump’s Tacky State Fair’s Final Humiliation Exposed

Farrah Tomazin

But the August 22-23 showcase is already proving controversial.

Residents and some local officials have raised concerns that closing major downtown roads for days of construction, practice sessions and racing could snarl traffic, disrupt businesses and complicate access around the federal core.

Critics have also questioned the cost of staging another large-scale Freedom 250 event in the wake of Trump’s UFC birthday bash and the Great American State Fair.

The former was plagued by ethical concerns and the vile slur of a Trump-endorsed fighter who called former First Lady Michelle Obama “a man”; the latter drew sparse crowds and left several booths and exhibits empty.

Earlier, an IndyCar t-shirt featuring former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln wearing a racing helmet alongside the words “One Nation/One Race” was taken down from IndyCar’s website after it sparked anger on social media.

“IndyCar selling a “One Nation, One Race” t-shirt for the Freedom 250 is incredibly insensitive and inflammatory. This is something that should never have been approved,” said motorsport writer Ryan Erik King.

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Farrah TomazinPolitical Correspondent

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