Trump commandeers US 250th anniversary as public enthusiasm fades and France sends Rafale tribute

The Fourth of July in 2026 is not an ordinary national holiday. The semiquincentennial – the 250th anniversary of the United States – comes wrapped in political controversy, security anxiety and a noticeable lack of the nationwide fervour that greeted the bicentennial in 1976.

A partisan takeover of the birthday

President Donald Trump is accused of transforming the anniversary into a partisan spectacle that serves his cult of personality. The commemorative programme, already under way for weeks, has been choreographed to culminate with a speech by the president at Mount Rushmore and a series of events that critics say blur the line between national celebration and a campaign rally. The French daily Le Monde asks bluntly in a headline, “Is it the birthday of the United States or Donald Trump?”

Mood on the streets: excitement and anxiety

A report from Philadelphia, where the Declaration was signed on 4 July 1776, captures a city that is far from euphoric. Retiree Dan, a guide in the historic district, leads a small group that includes Andy Peters, a visitor from Florida. “It’s not like an ordinary 4 July,” Peters says. “You’d think this celebration lasts the whole year. And it’s great that it coincides with the World Cup.” Away from the historic landmarks, however, enthusiasm evaporates. Apart from “250” banners on the avenue leading to City Hall, little signals that an anniversary of this magnitude is about to unfold. A woman in George Washington Square voices fear of terrorism, while her husband recalls the bicentennial of 1976, when “everyone was talking about it” and the mood was vastly more fervent. The current economic strain is foremost on his mind: “My main worry, maybe selfishly, is my personal situation.”

French tribute and military bonds

On the eve of the anniversary, two Rafale B fighters from France’s Air and Space Force will fly over the U.S. embassy in Paris between 8:45 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. The overflight is part of the “Liberté 250” mission and, according to a military statement, “illustrates the depth of the historic and military ties between France and the United States” and “recalls the sacrifice of generations of combatants who contributed to the defense of freedom.” The mission had already conducted similar overflights in the United States and was planned long before the president’s domestic critics began to speak of partisan appropriation.

Trump at Mount Rushmore

President Trump will travel to Mount Rushmore on the same day, the Freedom 250 organisation announced. He is to deliver a speech “beneath one of the country’s most famous symbols of freedom and self-determination.” The choice of a colossal monument carved with the faces of four former presidents underscores the administration’s framing of the anniversary as a showcase of national greatness, though it has sharpened the contrast with the more reflective tone visible in parts of civil society.

Echoes of a grander past and present worries

The subdued atmosphere stands in contrast to the 1976 bicentennial, which featured giant fireworks, a convoy of covered wagons crossing the country and a parade of tall ships. That celebration, as the Swiss daily Le Temps recalls, offered a festive reprieve during a period still darkened by the Vietnam War, Watergate and economic stagnation. Fifty years on, the economic headwinds are again a dominant concern, and fear of terrorism adds a layer of unease that was absent from the previous great anniversary.