America's 250th birthday arrives amid deep polarization, partisan squabbling and Trump's self-promotion
The Fourth of July weekend marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence will be overshadowed by sharp political rifts, a controversial state fair on the National Mall, and a wider national mood of self-doubt.
A polarized celebration
The semiquincentennial arrives at a moment of profound division. President Trump created his own organizing body, Freedom 250, to plan events centered on his interpretation of American history, sidelining the congressionally mandated America250 commission. Several Democratic-led states opted out of the Great American State Fair on the National Mall, uneasy about the event's partisanship. The atmosphere has challenged historians and elected leaders alike.
If you're not with Trump, how do we celebrate this? He wants to claim the Revolution as loyalty to him, and that's just not how it's supposed to work.
People are fighting over who gets to claim the Revolution. Before, everyone was claiming it as their own. Now, people are like, Do we want to claim it at all?
Trump's takeover of the anniversary
Trump kicked off the festivities on June 24 with a speech on the National Mall that Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung described as "packed with self-congratulation and superlatives." Concerts planned for the Mall were cancelled after most artists backed out. The state fair lacked participation from all states. Renovations to the Reflecting Pool resulted in algae, peeling paint and accusations of vandalism. A mixed martial arts fight on the White House lawn and the demolition of the East Wing added to the spectacle.
- Trump opens celebrations with a self-congratulatory speech on the National Mall
- Most artists cancel planned concerts for the state fair, which are then scrapped
- Algae and peeling paint appear in the Reflecting Pool after Trump-ordered renovations
- Mixed martial arts fight held on the White House lawn
- East Wing of the White House is demolished as part of ongoing construction
- 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence is celebrated amid deep polarization
A loss of global standing
Atlantic staff writer David Frum characterized the anniversary as "somewhere between an embarrassment and a fiasco," citing the military defeat in Iran, the Reflecting Pool's condition, and the underattended fair. An Economist analysis noted that six in ten Americans now believe their country will be less important in the world by 2050. Swiss and other international outlets described the celebration as a MAGA rally that highlighted divisions rather than unity.
Activists look forward
The Guardian collected voices from advocates who see this moment as both a crisis and an opening to reimagine democracy. NAACP general counsel Kristen Clarke said, "We can still build the democracy we all deserve, not the one we inherited, but the one we have the power to create." Rebecca Solnit wrote that the US has always been a thousand contradictory things, an experiment and an argument. Historians note that even the founders feared the republic's fragility, a concern echoed by many today.
Local reflections
In Allentown, Pennsylvania, Democratic mayor Matt Tuerk said residents focus more on feeding their kids than on flags or partisan displays. The anniversary, much like in 1976 after Vietnam and Watergate, may be marked more by local gatherings than national pageantry, according to University of Cambridge historian Nicholas Guyatt.
