Trump Leads Prerace Lap at DC Grand Prix
Trump Leads Prerace Lap at DC Grand Prix
The News
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump kicked off the Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington on Sunday, an IndyCar street race Trump created by executive order to mark America's 250th birthday.
The cars ran through the city's downtown, including a stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue not far from the White House, at speeds approaching 200 mph.
Before the green flag, Trump and the first lady led the traditional prerace kickoff in the presidential limo, according to U.S. Ambassador Monica Crowley, Trump's liaison to the organizing group America250.
Timeline
Trump signs an executive order calling for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, declaring that the "cars and drivers inspire awe and respect in all who watch this quintessentially American sport" and that the event will "showcase the majesty of our great city as drivers navigate a track around our iconic national monuments in celebration of America's 250th birthday."
Trump promotes the race at the White House. "Their beautiful cars are going to make freedom roar. This will be a freedom that's roaring like never before," he said.
Crowley says on Fox Business that the president and first lady will lead the prerace kickoff in his limo.
Drivers run qualifying on the downtown circuit.
Trump and Melania Trump attend the race, which includes a prerace show and military aircraft flyovers. Daily Mail reported Trump greeted IndyCar drivers before leading the lap of honor.
Reactions
Bud Denker, president of Penske Corporation and the race's chair, said Penske is paying for the "vast majority" of the race, including building the track and road improvements, while the District of Columbia handled some repaving.
IndyCar series owner Roger Penske, a longtime Trump friend who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from him in 2019, helped lead the effort to bring the race to Washington.
The Associated Press reported that the spectacle lands as Republican officials worry voters in November's midterm elections see the president as distracted and not focused enough on cost-of-living concerns, with the war Trump started with Iran nearly six months ago driving up gasoline prices.
Conservative outlets treated the day as a win: Townhall told readers not to miss the "awesome" Freedom 250, and Citizen Free Press and WND carried live coverage of the Trumps at the track.
What's Next
The race caps the latest round of Trump's semiquincentennial events, which have already included a UFC fight on the White House lawn, military flyovers, a July Fourth fireworks show on the National Mall and a Great American State Fair the president headlined after scores of 1990s-era musical acts dropped out.
More Trump-branded work on the capital is underway, including a massive White House ballroom under construction.
More
Preparing the streets for open-wheel cars required welding more than 200 manhole covers so the race cars would not suck them off the road.
The race fits a pattern in Trump's second term of leaning into the ceremonial side of the presidency, including an appearance last month at the World Cup final, where he presented the trophy to Spain and lingered onstage with the winning team.
It is also the latest mark he has put on Washington, alongside large banners showing his face on government buildings, a gold-adorned Oval Office and botched repairs at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
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