Trump's Trials - Trump admin plans record-breaking July 4 fireworks show

Episode Date: June 29, 2026

The Trump administration is promising a spectacle like no other on July 4. A massive fireworks display in Washington, D.C., will celebrate America's 250th birthday — and could also break a world record. NPR's Bill Chappell reports.Support NPR and hear every episode of Trump's Terms sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

You're listening to Trump's terms. I'm Scott Detrow. The president has both an ability and a willingness to use the power of his office, to think outside the box. Nobody makes a better deal than President Trump. We're going to do better and better and better. Nobody can believe what they're watching. Every episode, we bring you one story from NPR's recent coverage of the 47th president. With a focus on ways his administration is pushing the boundaries of presidential power.

Here's the latest from NPR. I'm Steve Inskeep. The Trump administration is promising a spectacle this July 4th, a giant fireworks display in Washington to celebrate America's 250th birthday. NPR's Bill Chapel reports. From the start, the White House wanted this July 4th fireworks show to set a new Guinness World Record. And Pyrotechnico, the company putting on the show, plans to do that.

But the company's CEO, Stephen Vital, says there's another goal. Our main focus is to, make this the most memorable fireworks display that, you know, this generation will have ever seen. To do that, it'll fire off around 851,000 fireworks. So how does that stack up against what's usually the biggest July 4th show in the U.S.? Here's a hint. It's in New York. Macy's has traditionally been what I call the granddaddy of them all. Julie Heckman is the executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association, an industry trade group.

That show traditionally has between 60 and 85,000 aerial shells and effects. So DC is looking at 10 times that quantity in setting this world record. The National Mall show usually starts around 9 p.m. and lasts less than 20 minutes. But organizers say this year's show will start around 10.30 and will be more than twice as long at 40 minutes. That's shorter than the current world record fireworks show, a megachurch in the Philippines took more than an hour to blast off nearly 811,000 fireworks when it set that record 10 years ago. For this year's show in D.C., the launch sites are more spread out than in the past, from the National Mall in a nearby park to eight barges floating in the Potomac River.

As Vital says, it's going to be fireworks in stereo. Audiences will see lots of red, white, and blue using fireworks sourced from around the world. They'll hear patriotic songs and pop music. The scale is massive, but the show's largest story. fireworks shells will be 10 inches just like last year. That's restricted by safety codes. There is a code that they have to follow, and it's the National Fire Protection Association code for public display. Basically, a shell can travel 100 feet in the air for every inch of its size. So a tenant shell, you need a thousand foot setback and barrier. But will this year's show be

louder? Because of the volume, it will certainly pack a larger punch. And that's the idea, to edge a new memory into the national, consciousness. Here's Julie Heckman. And I think that's what they want the company, and the president as well, who's putting on, you know, the grandest, biggest show ever really wants to take away that this is the best show you've ever seen. Vital says dozens of workers will orchestrate bursts of color, movement, and sound in the show. That all matters because why people love fireworks so much as it really touches all of our senses.

If all goes well, people will be talking about this show for 50 years. Until the next big anniversary. Bill Chappell, NPR News. And before we go, a plug for the best way to hear Trump's terms and all of NPR's political coverage, the NPR app. Check out other shows in the podcast tab or try out the NPR podcast mix, a collection of shows and stories curated by NPR editors. And make sure to follow your favorite shows so you are always caught up on the latest episodes. I'm Scott Detrow. Thanks for listening to Trump's terms from NPR.

Thank you.