Latest news with #MarineBand
Telegraph
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
‘Winning, winning, winning:' Trump signs his ‘big, beautiful bill' into law
Donald Trump strode onto the Truman Balcony in the evening sun, his glamorous wife, Melania, to his left, his recently passed 'big, beautiful, bill' waiting for him on the South Lawn. 'America's winning, winning, winning like never before,' he declared, the stars and stripes billowing behind him. It was the moment he had been waiting for. Against the odds, Mr Trump had managed to push his controversial legislative victory through Congress in time for the nation's birthday. The US president and Mrs Trump leant back and marvelled as fights and a B2 stealth bomber – which Mr Trump called a 'big, beautiful plane' – streaked the blue skies above the annual White House Fourth of July military picnic. Dressed in a long, white dress with white, blue and red detailing at the waist, her hair in loose curls, Mrs Trump, 55, made a rare appearance with her husband, standing beside him, her hands in her pockets, as he delivered a 30-minute speech. Occasionally, Mr Trump would reach out to touch her waist. The White House had also been styled: it was decorated with red, white and blue bunting for the festivities. The president thanked his beaming first lady for her contributions to the celebrations: 'She worked very hard to make this all work'. The United States Marine Band played patriotic marches interspersed with songs by 1980s pop icons Chaka Khan and Huey Lewis, as well as a rendition of the national anthem. 'We've, I think, had probably the most successful almost six months as a president and the presidency, I think they're saying it was the best six months, and I know for a fact they're saying the last two weeks, there has never been anything like it. 'As far as winning, winning, winning,' Mr Trump told the crowd of supporters, politicians and military families. America is the 'hottest country' in the world, Mr Trump added, as he wore a navy suit in Friday's 30-degree heat. 'It's only going to get hotter, I promise you that', he added. The festivities came after Mr Trump's bill passed the House on a largely party-line vote on Thursday, culminating a months-long push by the GOP to cram most of its priorities into a single budget bill that could be enacted without Senate Democrats being able to block it indefinitely by filibustering. The legislation extends Trump's 2017 multi-trillion dollar tax cuts and cuts Medicaid and food stamps by $1.2 trillion. It provides for a massive increase in immigration enforcement. Congress's non-partisan scorekeeper projects that nearly 12 million more people will lose health insurance under the law. Democrats condemned the package as a giveaway to the rich that will rob millions more lower-income people of their health insurance, food assistance and financial stability. Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, said the assembly floor resembled a 'crime scene' due to the cuts to services in a record-breaking speech that delayed the bill's passage by more than eight hours. Responding indirectly on Friday, Mr Trump said: 'I just want you to know if you see anything negative put out by Democrats, it's all a con job.' He said his legislation was 'the biggest bill of its type in history'. 'We've never had anything like that before, nothing like that they thought would be possible to get passed', he said. It was a 'triumph of democracy on the birthday of democracy', he added. Following his remarks, Mr Trump walked down the steps to the South Lawn to finally greet his beloved bill. Republican legislators and members of cabinet crowded behind him as he signed the legislation. He then banged down the gavel, given to him by House Speaker Mike Johnson, that was used during the bill's final passage.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Marine Band Vets Join Student Musicians Whose Concert Was Canceled by White House Due to Anti-DEI Policy
The post Marine Band Vets Join Student Musicians Whose Concert Was Canceled by White House Due to Anti-DEI Policy appeared first on Consequence. Last year, the Chicago-based nonprofit Equity Arc organized a program that invited 30 teenage musicians to perform with the United States Marine Band, a long running federal institution that was founded in 1798. The concert was supposed to take place on May 4th, but thanks to Donald Trump's wave of executive orders targeting DEI initiatives, it was indefinitely canceled. However, thanks to a group of Marine Band veterans, the concert went forward anyway. As profiled on Sunday's episode of 60 Minutes, the initiative began after the United States Marine Band contacted Equity Arc in 2022. The Marines were looking to foster music education for the youth and reach out to young musicians of color, as today's American orchestras remain overwhelmingly White (80% White, 11% Asian, 5% Hispanic and 2% Black). The resulting collaboration saw about 60 teenage musicians virtually audition for a chance to play and study with the band, with about half being selected for the trip to Washington D.C. But because it was a program focused on diversity and inclusion, one of Trump's day-one executive orders (Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing) mandated its cancellation. 'As long as the executive order is in place, we will not be able to reschedule,' Equity Arc's Stan Thompson wrote in an email to the Marine Band's commanding officer. 'I am really sorry to be the bearer of this news.' In response to the program's cancellation, and to the intentions behind the executive order as a whole, the 30 musicians and Equity Arc planned a makeup concert. After 60 Minutes flew them out to conduct interviews for the profile — a common practice of the news program — Equity Arc organized rehearsals and booked a concert hall. In place of the official Marine Band, who were ordered to stand down, former members of the United States Marine Band filled in instead. 'I just felt like, well, there's usually two responses to something. You can complain about it, or you could do something about it. I chose the latter within seconds. And it was the easiest decision ever,' John Abbracciamento, retired Marine Band trumpeter, said. After being asked about how he thought the current band members felt about the executive order, he replied, 'I know them like the back of my hand. So, I don't think it's too much for me to go out on a limb to say how disappointed they were.' 'I challenge anyone, literally anyone, to come to me and say by having this concert does damage to the United States,' he continued. 'It doesn't. It brings out the best of us.' Watch the full 60 Minutes profile on the Equity Arc program and makeup concert below. Marine Band Vets Join Student Musicians Whose Concert Was Canceled by White House Due to Anti-DEI Policy Jonah Krueger Popular Posts JD Vance Booed at Kennedy Center Dropkick Murphys Make On-Stage Wager with Trump Supporter Over Where His Shirt Was Made Documentary Claims Jim Morrison Is Alive, Living in Syracuse Lady Gaga on Meeting Trent Reznor: "I Black Out Every Time I'm in His Presence" Gene Simmons Charging $12,500 To Be His Personal Assistant and Roadie for One Day j-hope of BTS Makes Triumphant Return with Solo Tour "Hope on the Stage": Review Subscribe to Consequence's email digest and get the latest breaking news in music, film, and television, tour updates, access to exclusive giveaways, and more straight to your inbox.
