Sen. Raphael Warnock, Georgia Democrat, told worshippers during a Sunday sermon at Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York that he saw divine intervention in the thunderstorm that forced thousands of attendees at President Trump’s July 4 “Salute to America” event into a nearby museum.
Mr. Warnock, who also serves as senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, argued that the crowd gathered on the National Mall to hear Mr. Trump’s address had been telling an overly sanitized version of American history. He suggested the storm was no accident, saying “God don’t like ugly.”
The senator was referring to a chaotic scene from Independence Day weekend, when severe thunderstorms rolled through Washington and forced organizers to briefly evacuate the National Mall, directing thousands of attendees to seek shelter in nearby buildings, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The museum quickly reached capacity, and the moment drew widespread attention online. The Trump administration has separately criticized the Smithsonian’s handling of race and American history in its exhibits, a dispute that predates the storm but that commentators online quickly connected to the shelter scene.
Mr. Trump delivered his remarks after the storm passed, taking the stage around 11:15 p.m. following the delay. He struck a triumphant tone, telling the crowd that “our American Republic has stood as the crowning achievement of human history.”
The president also honored Sgt. William Carney, an escaped slave who fought for the Union Army at Fort Wagner in 1863. Despite being shot four times, Mr. Trump recounted, Carney refused to let the American flag touch the ground and returned to camp declaring, “The old flag never touched the ground!”
Carney later received the Congressional Medal of Honor, though historians note his 1863 battlefield conduct, not his 1900 medal ceremony, is generally credited as the earliest Medal of Honor-worthy action by a Black American; Navy sailor Robert Blake was actually the first Black recipient to receive the medal, in 1864.
Mr. Trump said organizers estimated roughly 375,000 people attended the National Mall celebration during the day, with about 150,000 remaining to hear his address after the storm delay pushed his remarks past 11 p.m. Those figures have not been independently verified by federal authorities.
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