OnPolitics: Trump's rolling out the tanks

Josh Hafner
Updated
A Bradley Fighting Vehicle waits to be driven into place in front of the Lincoln Memorial for President Donald Trump's 'Salute to America' event on Independence Day, Tuesday, July 2, 2019, in Washington.
A Bradley Fighting Vehicle waits to be driven into place in front of the Lincoln Memorial for President Donald Trump's 'Salute to America' event on Independence Day, Tuesday, July 2, 2019, in Washington.

Don't check your calendar, OnPolitics friends: Yes, it's Wednesday, but we're sending a special pre-Independence Day edition of the newsletter to catch you up before the holiday. Enjoy, and we'll see you next week.

Back from the G-20 leaders' summit and a visit to North Korea, President Donald Trump is feeling patriotic: His "Salute to America" extravaganza set for July 4 will feature Army tanks, military flyovers and a parade, along with fireworks illuminating "a mile of sky" above Washington. “It will be the show of a lifetime!” Trump said, but others called it an expensive, politicized display: "Trump really was inspired by his visit to North Korea," said Republican analyst and Trump critic Bill Kristol. The event will divert nearly $2.5 million in National Park Service funds primarily meant to improve parks, The Washington Post reported, and the tanks will cost $870,000, an aide told USA TODAY. Expect blowback to Trump's all-American pageantry on Thursday in the form of protests, including the flying of a "Trump Baby" balloon (maybe).

The border photos you can't unsee

Dangerous conditions described as “a ticking time bomb” at migrant detention facilities can be seen in an inspector general's report released Tuesday. At one Texas station, 51 women were in a cell with a capacity for 40 juveniles, while 71 men huddled in a cell designated for 41. Migrants crowded behind chain-link fences at another Texas facility and slumped under blankets on the floor.

U.S. lawmakers who visited the facilities called them "broken" and "horrifying." U.S. Border Patrol agents reportedly joked about migrant deaths in a secret Facebook group that surfaced this week, sparking an immediate investigation and criticism from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. And in an apparent immigration defeat, Trump seemed to back down on a 2020 census question for which he previously said he would fight "no matter how long." But the Justice Department is still exploring options.

This image released in a report on July 2, 2019, by the US Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General Office shows migrant families overcrowding a Border Patrol facility on June 10, 2019 in McAllen, Texas.
This image released in a report on July 2, 2019, by the US Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General Office shows migrant families overcrowding a Border Patrol facility on June 10, 2019 in McAllen, Texas.

This week in Trump:

President Donald Trump addressed the press in the White House in Washington, D.C. on July 1, 2019 after he signed funding legislation for the border.
President Donald Trump addressed the press in the White House in Washington, D.C. on July 1, 2019 after he signed funding legislation for the border.

This week in 2020 Dems:

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: OnPolitics: Trump's rolling out the tanks