Washington, D.C., makes a great movie set: the imposing Lincoln Memorial, the instantly recognizable White House, the obligatory cutaway shot of the Potomac River.
That may be why President Donald Trump is so interested in using it as a backdrop to his increasingly grandiose spectacles.
So far in his second term, he’s staged a military parade through its streets, hosted a UFC fight on the White House South Lawn, driven his motorcade across the drained Reflecting Pool, delivered a political speech at a Freedom 250 celebration on the National Mall and increased the frequency of military flyovers.
His latest stunt is an unprecedented 40-minute pyrotechnics show that aims to break the Guinness World Record.
His latest stunt is an unprecedented 40-minute pyrotechnics show that aims to break the Guinness World Record. Organizers aim to launch more than 850,000 fireworks — compared to the 7,000 at the 2025 show.
Look, I love fireworks, but this is excessive. Large pyrotechnic displays already leave behind air pollution, scatter debris through parks and waterways, stress pets and wildlife and trigger veterans with PTSD. Those costs are real but manageable. This display, however, magnifies them on a staggering scale — and it was announced at the last minute and is overseen by the administration that couldn’t even paint a pool blue.
I understand this is part of the trade-off of living in the nation’s capital. In the 18 years I have lived here, I have never complained when I got stuck in traffic thanks to a presidential motorcade or when the streets around my office were closed for an inauguration or State of the Union.
But Trump doesn’t just use D.C. as a backdrop. He uses it up. He’s torn down the East Wing of the White House, left the South Lawn looking like the aftermath of a death-metal festival and fenced off the Reflecting Pool after filling it with algae. He’s sent armed members of the National Guard into our streets and Metro stations. He’s drained a billion dollars from our city budget and commandeered our police department just because he could.
Most recently, he’s threatened to take over the city simply because he disapproves of the person voters are likely to elect mayor.
In the end, that’s what this is really about. Ninety percent of Washington voted against Trump in 2024, one of the largest margins of any U.S. city. It’s full of young people, renters, college-educated professionals and African Americans, a cross-section of the demographics that are least likely to support him. (Its suburbs are also part of Maryland and Virginia, which filters even more potential supporters from its voting pool.)
Trump doesn’t like that. He envisions himself as a grand potentate overseeing the capital city. Like Ozymandias, he wants its residents to build him a great arch and an opulent ballroom and hold elaborate events in his honor.
When that falls through, as with his embarrassing Great American State Fair or failed attempt to rename the Kennedy Center, he looks for a new spectacle to compensate. The fireworks display is just another attempt to force the city to submit to his whims. As with all his grandiose gestures, it won’t work.
Like his actual hometown, New York City, Trump will eventually leave Washington even more disliked than when he arrived. That clearly bothers him. But no amount of fireworks will change it.
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