It was a setting tailor-made for President Donald Trump to launch into a partisan address, with a VIP crowd in front of him that included Republican donors and a display of military armor and aircraft he had personally ordered for a "Salute to America" on the National Mall.
But during the Fourth of July extravaganza, the president diverged from his typical self-aggrandizing speaking style and instead turned his praise toward the military and ordinary Americans who have contributed to the country's advancement, reports AFP.
"As we gather this evening in the joy of freedom, we remember that all share a truly extraordinary heritage," Trump said from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where rain had drenched and scattered some of those gathered. "Together, we are part of one of the greatest stories ever told - the story of America. It is the epic tale of a great nation whose people have risked everything for what they know is right and what they know is true."
The event was clouded in controversy in part because of the fear that the president was inserting himself into a typically nonpolitical event and planning to use a taxpayer-funded celebration of military power to bolster his own political prospects.
But Trump largely steered clear of rank partisanship and instead spoke of the history of America's founding while reveling in the displays of military might from the US armed forces.
He introduced the five branches of the US military as aircraft from the Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and Air Force flew overhead. Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles were also stationed on the National Mall, as a B-2 bomber and F-22 fighter jets flew overhead.
For months, the president had taken special interest in the event, receiving regular briefings and requesting specific features, from tanks to Air Force One.
"July 4th is being turned into a big campaign event," Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton, said Thursday before Trump's speech on Twitter.
Before the address, heavy rain drenched much of Washington, leaving many attendees on the National Mall soaked or scrambling to find shelter.
During Trump's opening remarks, he specifically referred to several people in the crowd - including an astronaut, a nun, a hurricane volunteer, a 1960s civil rights activist and others - telling stories of individual heroism.
