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How much have past Presidents spent on Independence Day celebrations before President Trump?Once again the taxpayers and members of Congress (at least the Democrats) will be kept in the dark about the cost of the presidents Fourth of July celebration. The president even had to change the name of the Fourth of July, Independence Day Celebration.HOW MUCH WILL TRUMP'S JULY 4 PARADE COST? WHITE HOUSE REFUSES TO SAY BUT TAXPAYERS LIKELY TO PAY MILLIONSThe White House has not said exactly how much the Fourth of July event will cost, but it's been reported that millions have already been diverted from other federal agencies in order to cover the expenses.According to The Washington Post, $2.5 million was diverted from the National Park Service to cover the costs associated to Trump's parade. Those funds, which were raised from entrance and recreation fees, were originally intended to help revamp parks across the country. Former Park Service deputy director Denis Galvin told the Post that the entire celebration usually costs the department around $2 million.But a finance expert told NPR that some of the planes and military weapons being used throughout the event cost thousands of dollars per hour to operate. The Boeing 747 plane used for Air Force One could be $205,000 an hour. Flying a F-35 jet can be $20,000 or more, according to Pentagon figures.And just getting the military tanks from Fort Stewart in Georgia to Washington D.C. was costly. A White House aide told USA Today that the preliminary estimate for the transport was $870,000.The second firework display, put on by Garden State Fireworks, will cost more than $250,000 according to the show choreographer Christopher Santore. The Park Service has a multi-year contract with the firework company and reportedly tried to break the agreement when they received the donation from Phantom Fireworks and Fireworks by Grucci.Representative Jackie Speier, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, tweeted on Monday that Trump is "desperate to create photo ops made for TV. Autocrats show off their military weapons to compensate for their inferiority. Above all else, this is a waste of $$$."Three Democratic lawmakers penned a letter to the Interior Department demanding answers to their questions about the costs associated with the Independence Day festivities. The Interior Department, along with the Defense Department, is primarily responsible for funding the celebration."The American people deserve to know how much of their money the president is spending to turn their July 4th celebration into a de facto campaign rally. All reports indicate that the president is planning to turn a national day of unity into a day of vanity – trying to use the military for political purposes and doling out perks to his political backers – at the taxpayers' expense. We need answers," the letter read.Local officials have urged the Trump administration to reimburse taxpayers for the president's parade. They've also complained that the president has turned the national holiday into a political event.Eleanor Holmes Norton, a delegate to the House of Representatives representing the District of Columbia, reminded reporters earlier this week that the Trump administration still hasn't paid back its $7 million debt from the president's inauguration in 2017. She added that the administration will also have to pay for any damage done by Thursday's events.Representative Don Beyer, a Democrat from Virginia, issued a statement also expressing concern about the damage that could be done to local infrastructure from the military tanks."Since President Trump is turning the region's beloved annual tradition into a campaign event focused on himself, he should personally reimburse U.S. taxpayers and local governments for any damage to local infrastructure," Beyer said.If President Trump does use Thursday's parade for political purposes, the Treasury Department could request his 2020 campaign reimburse the federal government for the cost of the event. The White House has asserted that Trump's address "is not going to be political. It will be a celebration and salute to America."How much will President Trump's July 4 parade cost? Taxpayers will probably pay millions-------------------------------------------------Park Service Directed To Shift $2.5 Million In Fees To Help Pay For July 4 Parade: ReportTrump has long touted the idea of a Fourth of July parade featuring U.S. military assets. After watching France’s Bastille Day parade in Paris in 2017, he pitched a similar event for Veterans Day, but the idea drew widespread criticism. The president abandoned those plans after the Pentagon said it would cost more than $90 million.Trump has long touted the idea of a Fourth of July parade featuring U.S. military assets. After watching France’s Bastille Day parade in Paris in 2017, he pitched a similar event for Veterans Day, but the idea drew widespread criticism. The president abandoned those plans after the Pentagon said it would cost more than $90 million.But such plans have reportedly stretched the event’s budget far past normal. The Post noted that the entire Independence Day celebration usually costs the National Park Service about $2 million, but the NPS was directed to divert park entrance and recreation fees to help cover some of the additional costs of this year’s event, according to two anonymous sources familiar with the planning.Such fees are often used on maintenance and improvements across the national park system. The entire National Park System, which covers 418 national parks, currently has nearly $12 billion in deferred maintenance due to a budget shortfall.It’s unclear how much the Fourth of July event will cost, and Trump administration officials have refused to share a number, but estimates are high. The event will feature aircraft flyovers, including a display from the Navy’s Blue Angels squadron, pyrotechnics, and tanks and other military hardware. The Post also noted that officials have been scrambling to try to project an image on the Washington Monument, but the NPS does not typically allow such displays.News of the diverted fees prompted a swift rebuke from advocates for the national park system. Theresa Pierno, president of the National Parks Conservation Association, told the Post the report amounted to a “breach of public trust.”“The public pays parks fees to fix national parks and for educational programs, not the president’s parade,” she said.Park Service Directed To Shift $2.5 Million In Fees To Help Pay For July 4 Parade: Report------------------------------------------------Fourth Of July Extravaganza ...FLUSHING BIG BUCKS DOWN THE TOILETFor instance, according to federal procurement docs ... 2 separate payments of $31,764.24 and $9,534 were made to a Maryland company for portable toilet rentals. This is roughly 4 times as much as what was spent last year for the Independence Day celebration's sanitation services.We've also uncovered purchase orders of $19,282 to rent golf carts. There weren't any golf carts last year.BTW -- the United States national debt is well over $22 TRILLION and counting.Trump's July 4th Crowd Expectations May Cost Taxpayers Big Bucks--------------------------------------------------Trump says his Fourth of July fest won't come with a big price tagPresident Donald Trump on Wednesday downplayed the mounting cost of his ambitious Fourth of July celebration, saying the price tag “will be very little compared to what it is worth.”“We own the planes, we have the pilots, the airport is right next door (Andrews), all we need is the fuel,” Trump contended in a tweet, referring to the Air Force base in Maryland that houses military planes. “We own the tanks and all. Fireworks are donated by two of the greats. Nice!”And while Trump appeared to suggest Wednesday that the only extra cost incurred by the increased focus on flaunting the military’s assets would be fuel, he glossed over the cost of hiring personnel for the event and the measures being taken to bring in the military hardware.Trump says his Fourth of July fest won't come with a big price tag--------------------------------------------Trump Requests Military Vehicles For 4th Of July EventThe National Park Service organizes the Fourth of July gathering with additional oversight from the Interior Department, which oversees all federal land, including the mall.The Interior Department declined to comment on Trump’s request for military vehicles, and the park service did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Newly appointed White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham also did not respond to a request for comment.Past presidents have not intruded on the festivities at the mall, but Trump will give a speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. He also has rebranded the event as a “Salute to America.”A member of Trump’s transition team floated the idea of including tanks and missile launchers in the inaugural parade, a source involved in the planning for that event told HuffPost that same month. “They were legit thinking Red Square/North Korea-style parade,” the source said, referring to massive military parades in Moscow and Pyongyang, typically seen as an aggressive display of muscle-flexing by authoritarian regimes.Trump doubled down on this vision after attending France’s Bastille Day celebration later in 2017, but a planned military parade was ultimately called off for last year after it was estimated it would go roughly $80 million over budget.Trump Requests Military Vehicles For 4th Of July Event--------------------------------------RNC Giving Out Tickets To Trump’s Hijacked Fourth Of July CelebrationWhat had been a nonpolitical, nonpartisan celebration on the National Mall will now likely be a multimillion-dollar, taxpayer-financed political rally, critics worry.WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump has hijacked what for decades had been a nonpolitical Independence Day celebration on the National Mall, packing his ticketed-event speech with political appointees and Republican donors.The Republican National Committee has been offering major donors tickets to Trump’s speech, as have political appointees at the White House and executive branch agencies.“He’s going to have tanks out there. It’s going to be cool,” joked one RNC fundraiser on condition of anonymity. He said he received an offer for the free tickets on Friday but did not request any. “He wants to have a parade like they have in Moscow or China or North Korea.”Groups that advocate for government transparency and ethics, meanwhile, railed against the RNC’s involvement.“This partisan appropriation of a public event is consistent with the record of an administration that has no regard for lines between personal or partisan interests and its public obligations,” said Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization.Jordan Libowitz, of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said that the event could create legal problems if the federal government is involved in staging what, in essence, becomes a political event benefiting Trump.“This sounds less and less like a government event and more and more like a campaign rally. Since it doesn’t look like the RNC is picking up the bill, this could lead to some serious legal issues,” Libowitz said.Another White House aide, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said there is not much his staff can do if Trump chooses to ignore a prepared speech and inject campaign-style remarks. “We can only do what we can do,” the aide said.The White House would not say exactly how many tickets were being distributed and by which groups for Trump’s planned remarks at the Lincoln Memorial early Thursday evening. However, the area eastward from the Lincoln Memorial to about halfway down the reflecting pool will be cordoned off with access regulated by the Secret Service. Such an area constitutes a dozen acres and could accommodate tens of thousands of people.On Tuesday morning, Trump’s campaign sent out an email to at least the portion of its list in the Washington area, encouraging his supporters to attend his speech.“We hope you’ll be able to attend as Americans from across the United States gather to celebrate our Nation’s Independence,” the email stated. “The event is open to the public and not a campaign event. Please arrive no later than 5:30 PM to help celebrate our country’s Independence Day!”The small print at the bottom of the email contains this boilerplate language: “We believe this is an important way to reach our grassroots supporters with the most up-to-date information regarding the efforts of Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., and we’re glad you’re on our team. It’s because of grassroots supporters like you that we will Make America Great Again, and we appreciate your support. Thank you for all that you do!”In past years, presidents have not taken part in Fourth of July celebrations, and the events have been nonpolitical. The only place that required tickets was the west portico of the Capitol overlooking the Mall and a stage for musical performers, and those were distributed by both Republican and Democratic members of Congress. (I will post a comment after this answer telling what previous presidents did on the Fourth of July.)That has not happened in the case of Trump’s planned speech. The Democratic National Committee, for example, was not given any tickets to give away, according to a spokesperson. An RNC official, meanwhile, said on condition of anonymity that its distribution of tickets to the Fourth of July celebration is no different from that of other presidential events. “For context, we receive an allotment for other events like White House Christmas Open Houses, Garden Tours in spring and fall, etc.,” the official said.Those events, however, take place at the White House, the president’s residence, not at a public park like the National Mall.Trump’s injection of himself into the celebration is inappropriate, said Ben-Ghiat. “The whole point is nonpartisan. It’s a national holiday. And he can’t let that stand. He has to make it about him,” she said.Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which is suing Trump for violating the Constitution by accepting money from foreign governments through his hotels, said the invitations to donors by a campaign committee he controls will also generate cash for himself.“Look for the big donors to make appearances alongside major Trump administration figures at the Trump Hotel,” Libowitz said. “It’s already sold out for the 3rd and 4th despite charging double what the other luxury hotels are charging around the holiday.”Trump continues to own and profit from a hotel blocks from the White House, despite his promise during the campaign to separate himself from his family business. The hotel has taken in millions from the RNC, Trump’s reelection campaign, foreign governments and U.S. taxpayers in the last two years.RNC Giving Out Tickets To Trump’s Hijacked Fourth Of July Celebration------------------------------------------------How much each flyover cost during Trump’s Fourth of July eventThe Washington Post reported earlier this week that the flyovers could cost more than $2 million, and a Pentagon official told the New York Times the event “would cost the military well over $1 million.”First flyoverWHAT WHERE DID IT FLY FROM COSTAir Force One Joint Base Andrews, Md. $200,000/hourSecond flyoverWHAT WHERE DID THEY FLY FROM COSTMH-60 Jayhawk helicopter Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Fla. $6,000/hourMH-65 Dolphin helicopter Air Station Atlantic City, N.J.$4,000/hourHC-144 Ocean Sentry Air Station Miami, Fla. $4,000/hourThird flyoverWHAT WHERE DID THEY FLY FROM COSTB-2 Stealth Bomber Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo. $140,000/hourTwo F-22 Raptors Langley Air Force Base, Va. $36,000/hourFourth flyoverWHAT WHERE DID THEY FLY FROM COSTTwo F-18 Super Hornets Naval Air Station Oceana, Va. $10,000/hourTwo F-35 Lightnings Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif. 17,000/hourFifth flyoverWHAT WHERE DID THEY FLY FROM COSTVH-92 helicopter Unknown UnknownTwo V-22 Ospreys Quantico, Va. UnknownSixth flyoverWHAT WHERE DID THEY FLY FROM COSTFour Apache helicopters Unknown $5,000/hourSeventh flyoverWHAT WHERE DID THEY FLY FROM COSTSix Blue Angel F-18 Hornets Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. $10,000/hourThe combined hourly cost of the 24 aircraft that performed a flyover on Thursday is at least $560,000 per hour, according to the Defense Department comptroller’s hourly reimbursement rates for fiscal year 2019 and The Post’s previous reporting. This does not include the other unknown costs listed above.As The Post previously reported, the National Park Service diverted nearly $2.5 million for the event, and when Trump last considered doing a military parade in 2018, the Defense Department estimated it would cost $92 million.But when asked this week about the estimated cost for Trump’s “Salute to America,” Pentagon officials referred “virtually all questions” to the White House, because Trump wanted much of the event to be a surprise.The surprise will be how much the president and the RNC fleeced the taxpayers to pay for this "Republican and president" reality show. And that depends if the total cost of the 2019 Fourth of July celebration is ever known.https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/07/05/how-much-each-flyover-cost-during-trumps-fourth-july-event/?utm_term=.6e3371e2e5ffA2A