SHOWMAN IN CHIEF — Formal balls. Musical performances. Lots of red, white and blue. The parade at Monday’s inauguration of Donald Trump will now take place indoors due to the frigid weather, but all of it will remain a spectacle, a celebration of all things American. But if you think that will be a show, you haven’t seen anything yet. The inauguration is merely the first in a four-year cavalcade of oversized events that seem tailor-made for the 47th president’s style. The list of big-time events that will take place on Trump’s watch is formidable: There is the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence — the U.S. Semiquincentennial celebration of the nation’s birthday next year. The 2026 World Cup. The 2028 Olympics. (And, on a more somber note, the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.) These huge memorials, celebrations and entertainment events, starting with the Lexington and Concord anniversary of “the shot heard ‘round the world” in April, represent a chance for Trump to engage in one of the parts of being president he seemed to relish in his first administration: The pageantry of America and patriotism. And he’s more than aware of the opportunity; he recently spoke about how he’s looking forward to the various displays of pageantry. Trump tried his hardest to craft such events in his first term. After enjoying a military display in France for Bastille Day in 2017, Trump attempted to stage large parades and celebrations in Washington, complete with an array of heavy equipment. But while the “Salute to America” event did happen in 2019, complete with the Blue Angels and other military aircraft, the tanks he had requested were not able to go down Pennsylvania Avenue, due to concerns about damage to local infrastructure. Still, that was small ball compared to the massive scale of a round-numbered national birthday or the world’s two largest sporting events. Consider America’s upcoming 250th birthday next year: Trump has already revealed parts of his plan for the yearlong event, including a task force to help coordinate a year of celebration that he wants to start this Memorial Day, a “Great American State Fair” in Iowa, sporting contests called “Patriot Games” for high school athletes, and the return of the National Garden of American Heroes that he pitched in his first term. The World Cup — the most watched sporting competition on the planet — will take place across 11 American cities across the span of a month. And the Olympics, while taking place in Los Angeles, will unfold across California (and even in Oklahoma for softball and canoe slalom). Taken together, these events, coming so quickly one after the other, will be nationwide productions on a scale the country has not seen in some time. And Trump, a man who delights in extravaganzas of any kind, will be president during them all. For proof, just look to his personnel announcements for the upcoming term. High up in his announcement of Joe Popolo as his pick for ambassador to the Netherlands, Trump noted that “he helped transform the Freeman Company into the World’s leading live event brand experience company.” His next-to-last Truth Social post of 2024 was a salute to Justin Caporale, who helped produce events such as the Madison Square Garden rally and the viral McDonald’s and trash truck moments from the campaign and will take an external role in producing further events post-inauguration. And of course, Mark Burnett’s role as special envoy to the UK came complete with references to his work producing the television hits “Survivor” and “The Apprentice.” Even this week, Trump tapped actors Mel Gibson, Jon Voight and Sylvester Stallone as what he called special ambassadors to Hollywood, vowing to make the movie capital “bigger, better and stronger.” These events will have meaning that goes beyond high production values. They will be cultural touchstones for a country whose residents claim they are quite tired of division. They will be national events that stretch across regions, pop culture phenomena that will spur viral moments and merch and memes. And with Trump in the White House, we can expect a dose of Trumpism in all of them. Whoever won the 2024 election was going to be the presiding head of state for a four-year period when the world was watching America closer than ever. Now that it is Donald Trump, we have a president who basks in the spotlight and knows the world of event production perhaps better than any of his predecessors. We’re likely in for one hell of a show. Are you not entertained enough yet? Imagine if we go back to the moon. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com. Or contact tonight’s author at tweyant@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @tweyant.
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