A deflated 250th?
That prospect depresses me, so I’m going to reject the premise right from the get-go. The July 4 weekend is shaping up to be a spectacular celebration of America’s 250th birthday. It’s going to feel special in person, at events all across the country, and on television. Reading about the special TV coverage plans (see below) immediately got me in the semiquincentennial spirit.
But the 250th “vibes” are definitely off. “President Donald Trump kicked off celebrations for America’s semi-quincentennial on Wednesday night in a speech which implied that the nation’s greatness at this landmark moment was largely thanks to him,” CNN’s Stephen Collinson wrote overnight.
Trump’s launch of the Great American State Fair was a punch line on the late-night shows. Jimmy Fallon said it “included a military flyover, Lee Greenwood singing ‘God Bless the U.S.A.’ and a speech by Trump. Even Trump’s biggest fans were like, ‘Is this a repeat?’”
The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols watched on TV and thought the event had “a deflated air about it, perhaps because the entertainment lineup was thin,” since so many artists pulled out due to the partisan nature of the event. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy referenced that last night, telling the Trump-admiring crowd, “We have to give a big round of applause to our military band and singers — way better than those libtards that canceled on us.”
Then came Trump’s self-promotional speech. Nichols argued that it was “an empty celebration of a man instead of a country.”
This morning, The New Republic’s Greg Sargent published an interview with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro confirming that his state is not participating in the state fair. He said his office sought out businesses, but “none were interested. It reflects this sad state of affairs that we find ourselves in — that the president has politicized this to a degree that businesses don’t want to participate.”
There’s still lots to see at the fair, as this CNN.com story makes clear. But there’s certainly no shortage of anxiety about whether America is missing its big moment. Trump betrayed his own, more personal preoccupation last night: “He asked for a bigger turnout for his next appearance on July 4,” the Washington Post’s Isaac Arnsdorf noted.
“Please show up,” Trump told the crowd. ”Because if we have two empty seats, you know what’s going to happen: the fake news is going to say he didn’t fill out the arena.” Notice Trump’s concern: That he, personally, will be ridiculed.
Nichols’ piece, leading The Atlantic’s homepage right now, is titled “Trump Is Making the 250th Small.”
But I will posit to you that the 250th won’t feel small next week.
The country’s major TV networks have some appropriately major plans in the works, going well above and beyond the usual Independence Day telecasts.
Disney’s plan is especially ambitious, under the rubric of “Disney Celebrates America,” complete with extravaganzas at its theme parks. The company is promoting a “24-hour non-stop live event” on July 4 that will begin the evening of July 3 and will span ABC, Disney+, Hulu, National Geographic, ESPN, and other platforms. “Led by World News Tonight anchor David Muir,” and featuring many ABC News stars, the broadcast “takes viewers across all 50 states to explore the people, places, and defining moments of the nation’s 250-year history,” ABC says.
Here’s the Disney press release with details. ABC’s July 4 prime time show will be a three-hour concert based in Nashville and hosted by Ryan Seacrest.
CNN is putting on a “New Year’s Eve Live”-style show on July 3, with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen hosting “Independence Day Live” for the special midnight ball drop in Times Square “ushering in a landmark year for the country.” Starting at noon on July 4, special coverage of “The Fourth in America: Celebrating 250” will be anchored from four cities, with fireworks and festivities beamed in from more than a dozen other cities. Cooper will be in Boston by the evening, where CNN will be “the worldwide exclusive broadcast partner for the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular.” Here’s the full plan.
And there’s more:
>> NBC says Tom Llamas will anchor “NBC Nightly News” from Philly on July 3 and the Washington Monument on July 4. The “Today” show will present “six hours of live exclusive coverage of Sail4th 250’s marquee events in New York Harbor.”
>> CBS says its newscasts will originate from DC starting July 3, and Tony Dokoupil and Nischelle Turner will host a three-hour July 4 prime time special to “take viewers coast to coast for star-studded concerts and performances.”
>> Fox News, which bills itself as “America’s most patriotic news brand,” has big plans for the days leading up to July 4, including Martha MacCallum anchoring from the opening of Teddy Roosevelt’s Presidential Library in North Dakota; Will Cain hosting from Philly; and Bret Baier and Sean Hannity live from Mount Rushmore. Numerous shows will be based at Liberty State Park for the Sail4th 250 flotilla celebration and along the National Mall for the DC fireworks show (and expected Trump speech).
Following up on yesterday’s item about Paramount’s discussions with European regulators: The company “is prepared to divest its film distribution joint venture with Universal Pictures to address EU antitrust concerns about its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery,” and the offer “will be submitted next Tuesday,” Reuters’ Foo Yun Chee reports.
That submission “would extend the European Commission’s preliminary July 7 deadline for the review by 10 working days to July 21,” Foo reports…
A new court filing by Live Nation adds new detail to what has already been established: The White House was intimately involved in the entertainment giant’s settlement deal with the Justice Department.
There was a “highly-unusual conversation between Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino and the president” less than a month before the settlement was reached, CNN’s Kara Scannell writes, citing the new filing, which also reveals “that the White House counsel’s office was involved in finalizing the settlement.” Scannell has the full story here…
It’s the best and worst feeling for an author: A book so popular that it sells out of copies. That’s the current status of Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan’s “Regime Change,” which has “bucked the trend of poor-selling Trump books,” selling 150,000 copies across all formats on its first day, Politico’s Daniel Lippman reports. “The book is on track to have the best hardcover first week of a nonfiction book this year,” and Simon & Schuster is rushing to print another 150,000 copies now…
“Publishers that collectively own and operate nearly 400 newspapers are suing OpenAI and Microsoft for scraping their content,” Bloomberg Law’s Mary Anne Pazanowski and Nino Paoli report.
Reps for former New Jersey AG Matt Platkin, who filed the suit on behalf of the papers, call it “the largest coalition of local newspaper publishers ever assembled…”
>> Fox News veteran Janice Dean, who’s been on hiatus since last fall due to her multiple sclerosis symptoms, posted an emotional goodbye this morning, saying her disease has “progressed to the point that I can no longer continue in my role” at the network. (X)
>> Yesterday, Sean Hannity “addressed his on-air appearance following viewers’ concerns.” He said a prescription for prednisone to deal with a pinched nerve in his neck explains his puffy face and raspy voice. (Deadline)
>> During a conversation with Suzanne Vranica at Cannes, Alex Cooper discussed allegations of a toxic workplace problem at Unwell and suggested it’s a “smear campaign.” (WSJ)
>> Disney has “agreed to pay $50 million to subscribers of YouTube TV and DirecTV’s live TV streaming services to settle a lawsuit that claimed that Disney forced these services to raise their prices.” (ArsTechnica)
>> Sky is finalizing a deal “to buy ITV’s broadcast and streaming unit.” (Reuters)
>> Mark Zuckerberg and his team were effectively given veto power over which questions he would answer in a rare interview with Emily Sundberg’s Feed Me, Natalie Korach reports. (Status)
>> Meta “is racing to replace human moderation with generative artificial intelligence, as it undergoes a broader cost-cutting drive to offset” Zuckerberg’s “vast spending on AI,” Hannah Murphy and Cristina Criddle report. (FT)
>> Facebook is “reimagining its Creator Studio tool as a standalone AI companion app designed to help creators grow their audiences on the social network.” (TechCrunch)
“Sony Pictures will invest $100 million and take a minority stake in virtual reality venue operator Cosm, as the studio continues to build a business in communal experiences,” the LAT’s Samantha Masunaga writes.
If you’re not familiar with Cosm yet, you will be — “its facilities center around a massive, wraparound screen that is intended to envelop viewers with additional digital effects.” They call it “shared reality,” which is “equal parts reality technology and convivial social experience.”
>> While many investors seek to build and own live event businesses in an AI era, it’s time for others to cash out: “Ryman Hospitality Properties is exploring the sale of its 70% interest in Opry Entertainment, which owns storied country music venues such as the Grand Ole Opry House and the Ryman Auditorium.” (Bloomberg)
Love this lead: “There’s a snake in ‘Supergirl’s’ boot, and it’s the second weekend of Disney/Pixar’s ‘Toy Story 5,’” Deadline’s Anthony D’Alessandro writes.
“Toy Story” is expected to remain No. 1 this weekend. Meantime, Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Supergirl” is pulling not-so-super reviews, averaging 59% on Rotten Tomatoes and 50 on Metacritic…
“Could Taylor Swift *really* be getting married at MSG? Yes, she can,” CNN’s Elizabeth Wagmeister writes. “Permits have been submitted to shut down NYC streets surrounding MSG on July 4 weekend, numerous city officials and law enforcement sources tell CNN.”
Wagmeister continues: “Could it all be a smokescreen to divert attention? Absolutely. But it also makes sense: No windows, underground parking for VIP guests & NYPD closing off streets actually makes MSG a sensible venue — to keep paparazzi out & most importantly to keep the area secure and safe. This is the most famous couple in the world, after all.” Check out Gloria Pazmino and Wagmeister’s full story here…
This edition of Reliable Sources was edited by Andrew Kirell and produced with Liam Reilly. Email us your feedback and tips here.