Even before his Fourth of July Salute To America address at the Lincoln Memorial on a stormy rain-soaked Thursday evening, President Donald Trump was already taking flak for focusing on military hardware and politicising the Independence Day event.

The speech did focus on the United States military and there was a range of military aircraft from each branch of the military in seven flyovers. But the tanks parked near the event did not actually roll, and the President got a grudging passing grade - even from critical media - for the tone and content of his speech, which focused heavily on patriotism and the military.