Trump vows to deliver US 250th birthday speech despite storm threat

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he would deliver a speech to mark the country’s 250th anniversary on the National Mall “no matter what”, as summer thunderstorms threatened to delay or disrupt the event.

Authorities had ordered a crowd to evacuate the area near the Washington Monument where Trump was due to speak, but the group organising the ‌event, Freedom 250, said they would be readmitted and Trump would speak at 11pm ET, one hour later than previously scheduled.

“I will be there no matter what,” Trump posted on social media. “It’s Saturday night, LETS HAVE SOME FUN, even if we are out late tonight.”

Visitors had waited hours to get into the event, contending with stepped-up security and temperatures that reached 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit). The record-breaking heatwave forced the cancellation of several parades and other events in the area.

“It’s just part of the deal I signed up for,” said Glen Solander, 60, a software engineer visiting from ⁠Sioux Falls, South Dakota, as he waited at a security checkpoint on Saturday afternoon.

Other visitors included the white nationalist organisation Patriot Front. The group posted ‌on social media that it had arrived in the capital, and hundreds of people wearing the group’s outfits travelled to the city on metro trains serving the District of Columbia region. Local police said they had not received any reports of violence.