Ben’s view
I recently ran into the Democratic strategist Doug Thornell, who was worried about America’s 250th anniversary this July 4.
“Trump wants to make it a partisan two-to-three months where he can beat Democrats over the head for not being patriotic,” he mused. “Democrats need to be ready for that and go on offense, with a thoughtful vision for America, not be afraid to talk about their patriotism, their love for this country.”
No! A cherished American moment turning into a bitter partisan foodfight? Couldn’t happen.
I texted Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, who is deeply involved in the anniversary preparations, to ask whether America’s birthday might become hyperpartisan.
“Meaning, many Democrats will not celebrate?” she asked. I tried to elaborate, and she politely explained that she’d been asking a rhetorical question.
The semiquincentennial is, in 2026 fashion, being run by two rival organizations. One is the wholesome, congressionally mandated America250, while the more glam White House-controlled Freedom 250, tuned to Donald Trump’s taste for spectacle, is co-branding the June 14 Ultimate Fighting Championship event on the South Lawn.
In a feat of remarkable diplomacy involving Conway, a Trump confidante who is on the America250 Commission, and America250’s deft chair Rosie Rios, President Trump was dissuaded from a full takeover of the bipartisan group. Still, when Congressional Republicans allocated $150 million to the celebrations in 2025, America250 expected just $50 million under a carefully-negotiated deal. Freedom 250 received some, but not all, of the balance, a spokeswoman said, with other funds going to executive branch agencies. (Both groups offer sought-after consulting gigs for off-cycle political and PR firms.)
Corporations, traditionally thrilled to support nonpartisan patriotism, now have a pair of options: Sponsor a group that puts on events like a time capsule and Times Square ball-drop, which will make broadcast television; or get your logo right in front of President Trump at the White House cage match.
Of course, you don’t have to choose, and some of the companies with the most at stake in Washington will spread their support around. The defense prime Northrop Grumman, under renewed assault by a Silicon Valley-backed campaign against the legacy defense industry, will partner with America250 to showcase “innovation” and “technological leadership” while paying Freedom250 to place “an immersive 4-D simulator that transports visitors through the clouds on flights aboard several of their iconic aircraft, like the B-21 Raider” at the group’s Great American State Fair.
The first flickers of how badly this all might go came last week, when musicians you hadn’t heard of for years began pulling out of a Freedom 250 concert series on the National Mall during the State Fair. “I had no clue it was considered a ‘Trump-backed’ event,” YoungMC (whose “Bust a Move” topped charts in 1989) complained to Rolling Stone. “It was a bait-and-switch.” Trump promptly volunteered to replace the artists at the event, which has the dual benefit of turning the Freedom 250 event into a pure Trump rally and letting him blame his enemies for doing so.
Is this good or bad for Trump’s politics? Who knows. This White House does love to troll, and MAGA needs a jolt. The choice of a UFC event is emblematic: It’s almost impossible to find a divisive American sport, but the polling firm YouGov finds that UFC Fight Night is popular with 26% of Americans and disliked by 25%.
And so Thornell was, I think, right to believe that Trump and his aides are happy to seize the opportunity to paint Democrats as unpatriotic. He’s also right that Republicans may well overplay their hand with the lavish celebrations and “look out of touch with how people are feeling right now.”
It seems increasingly likely that both parties end up looking worse, a negative-sum outcome for the country with little effect on the midterm elections.
Freedom 250 spokeswoman Rachel Reisner, though, left me with a note of hope when she texted me a Page Six story about Vanilla Ice.
“We’re gonna bring back the ’90s,” the artist said. If only.
Room for Disagreement
Trump’s appearance at the event — which he announced in a post attacking the musicians — is logical, Freedom 250 Danielle Alvarez said in a statement. The president, she wrote, is “the visionary behind the Great American State Fair.”
Correction: An earlier version of this article referred imprecisely to the split in the $150 million in federal funding for the anniversary celebrations.