President Trump wished Americans a happy Independence Day via Twitter and tacked on a video that features a church choir singing ‘Make America Great Again.’
Members of the First Baptist Church in Dallas performed the original song at Saturday’s ‘Celebrate Freedom Rally,’ reports ABC News.
Lyrics include, “…Americans from ev’ry corner of this blessed land, Come together with one voice, Help us take a stand, Following the vision to make her proud and grand…”
The phrase ‘Make America great again’ serves as the refrain.
Newsweek notes that the song was written by Gary Moore, who once served as the church’s minister of music.
First Lady Melania Trump extended a 4th of July greeting via Twitter as well.
It read, “We are the land of the free because of the brave. Thank you to the heroes who serve!”
Meanwhile, Americans celebrated their country’s birthday Tuesday with big-time fireworks, small-town parades and the quirky spectacle of competitive hot dog eating, marking a day of shared traditions in a nation that has grappled with divides this past year, CBS News said.
In New York, throngs are expected to watch the annual Macy’s fireworks blowout. Thousands gathered on Coney Island to watch Joey Chestnut win the 101st Nathan’s Famous frankfurter-chomping contest, marking his 10th victory. In the women’s competition, 20-year-old Miki Sudo won her fourth-consecutive title by downing 41 hot dogs in 10 minutes.
In Washington, President Donald Trump is observing his first Independence Day in office by hosting a White House picnic for military families, followed by a fireworks viewing event for military families and staffers.
In Boston, one of 14 original copies of the Declaration of Independence will be displayed at a museum, and hundreds of thousands of people are expected at the city’s fireworks show. Organizers of Chicago’s Independence Day celebration are expecting such large crowds that the city’s Navy Pier is opening at 10 a.m., nearly 12 hours before fireworks begin.
Meanwhile, more than 15,000 new citizens will be sworn in during more than 65 Independence Day-themed naturalization ceremonies across the country.
For all the pomp and celebration, July 4 arrives with Americans deeply split over the nation’s direction, after last year’s presidential election and political clashes over immigration, health care and other issues in the early months of Trump’s Republican administration. And in an era of concerns about security, the Independence Day celebrations are mixed with precautions.
The New York Police Department planned to station 100 vehicles to block intersections and 20 sand-filled sanitation trucks to fortify viewing areas for the Macy’s fireworks show. Heavily armed counterterrorism units will mingle among spectators, officers will have portable radiation detection devices and bomb-sniffing dogs, and officers will be stationed on rooftops to look out for any sign of trouble.
The department tweeted a photo of their officers patrolling an area in the Bronx on foot.
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