A two-week, 50-state fair on the National Mall kicked off Wednesday night with music, fair food, and Air Force flyovers. The crowd of roughly 1,000 sat in folding chairs or stood on a portion of the Mall between the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol. Many wore “America is back” red hats, embroidered with “GASF” for “Great American State Fair.” While many of the night’s speakers stuck to generally patriotic themes, praising the nation’s endurance through wars and terrorist attacks, President Trump’s speech ran along the lines of his standard political rally remarks.
“Today we have the largest economy on earth. We have the strongest military on earth. We have the most powerful technology on earth. We have the greatest culture on earth, and above all, we have the greatest people on earth,” Trump opened. “Tonight, as we stand on the edge of our 250th year of independence, I am thrilled to declare that America is back.”
The president then compared his administration to the previous Biden administration, which he claimed made the country a laughingstock. He spoke about his many makeover efforts around the capital city, his decision to close the southern border, the memorandum signed with Iran last week, and military operations in Venezuela.
“Just like those patriots of 1776, over the past 17 months we have taken power back from the far left political class,” Trump said. “They’re trying to gain it back, but it’s not going to happen. We have reclaimed our sovereignty, regained our liberty, restored our prosperity, and we have saved our country in all things.”
Celebrations in Washington this week and next mark 250 years of American independence – a moment of shared national pride. The birthday party was bound to happen. Plans began 10 years ago when Congress established America250, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that supports an independent congressional committee dedicated to the semiquincentennial. It is led by Rosie Rios, a California Democrat who worked on Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and then served as U.S. Treasurer during the Obama administration. Ever since the White House started its rival public-private partnership also to celebrate the occasion, the nation’s 250th has featured a tug-of-war for both funds and attention between the congressional committee and the White House-affiliated Freedom 250. And both groups are accusing the other of partisanship.
On the National Mall, attendees decked out in red, white, and blue waved American flags and chanted “USA” and “Trump.” Several wore Trump-related hats, reading “Make America Great Again,” and “Trump Was Right About Everything.” It contrasted sharply with Freedom 250’s earlier statements that the event would be nonpartisan.
Among the attendees was the Scholé Travel Company, a home school educational tour group from Naples, Florida. Led by former congressional staffer Bev McEwen, the organization is dedicated to filling “the missing gap in our country,” which they say is a generation that doesn’t know its history. She told RealClearPolitics she particularly appreciated Christian themes throughout the event, including public prayers.
For group member Nathaniel Pence, the evening delivered. “I think pretty much everybody is of the same mind,” Pence told RCP about the crowd.
Earlier in the day, America250 hosted the burial of a congressional time capsule in Emancipation Hall in the U.S. Capitol, a quieter and more dignified setting. America250’s events include a day of flag waving, the burial of time capsules in both Washington and Philadelphia, a variety of sponsored media events to discuss the nation’s founding and democracy, and a slew of television commercials. The group has also organized volunteer-led block parties in major cities across the country and will put on a July 4th benefit concert in Los Angeles.
“The commission has been working for the last couple of years and trying to just get ourselves organized, focused, and … under Rosie Rios’ leadership we have just made leaps and bounds in that regard,” Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, a New Jersey Democrat on the board of directors, told RCP at the congressional ceremony. The time capsule will be opened on the nation’s 500th birthday. “Let them see some of our things that we thought were important and significant during our time in Congress, reminding them of the values of the democracy that we’re trying to protect and preserve here.”
Watson Coleman dismissed Freedom 250 as the president’s vanity project. While Freedom 250 is nonpartisan on paper, most of its events appear to revolve around Trump. By contrast, Watson Coleman said their board has tried to balance patriotism with respect for each other’s political differences.
“America250 is trying very hard to move forward in a bipartisan way to bring the history of our country to the fore and the celebration of our country through this July 4,” she said. “I think that Freedom 250 unfortunately has turned into a series of vanity projects for a president who has an ego that is insatiable and that’s sad.”
Trump made several promises about the semiquincentennial while on the 2024 campaign trail. During the Iowa State Fair, a traditional stop for presidential candidates, he promised a fair for all 50 states on the National Mall. He also suggested having a grand prix through the streets of Washington, D.C., a UFC fight at the White House, and a military parade to celebrate the Army’s 250th. Administration officials joined the America250 board to turbo-boost the year’s plans to fit the president’s ideas. But they ran into issues on the first one: The military parade to commemorate the birthdays of both the United States Army and Donald J. Trump.
“The entities tried to work in good faith, but the Army 250th celebration was the breaking point,” a source familiar with the fracture told RCP. “Democrats didn’t want the nation’s commander in chief front and center. They backed out of the Navy and Marine Corps birthday celebration one month before.”
Freedom 250 took over both fundraising and putting on the military birthday and then chose to handle its own events. The White House established the Salute to America 250 Task Force, overseen by Domestic Policy Council director Vince Haley. The switch also allowed Freedom 250 to use congressionally appropriated funds to the Interior and Defense departments to put on the parade.
America250 says it was only ever a brief funding mechanism for the administration’s event desires. Between 2020 and 2024, America250 spent around $40 million on events, according to its IRS disclosures. The Wall Street Journal reported internal documents that the commission set aside $8 million for public relations firms and spent $75 million overall last year. It spent $4 million on a 250-themed second New Year’s Eve ball drop in Times Square. America250 is organizing an eight-ball drop in Times Square on July 3.
“Task Force 250 did not have a funding mechanism until December of last year so they asked America250.org to serve as the supporting nonprofit, and funding vehicle for the Army 250 Parade,” an America250 spokesperson told RCP. “However, it was never part of the Commission’s approved programming and a Commission-led event.”
Congress appropriated $150 million to the Interior Department for America250 last year. After separating, Freedom 250 was housed under the National Park Foundation, an independent nonprofit that supports the National Park Service. This created a line to federal funding through the Interior Department. According to an America250 commission report, it had received only $25 million of its anticipated $100 million.
But Freedom 250 has been dogged by political controversy. Last month, a string of musical artists led by Martina McBride suggested they had been misled when they agreed to perform at mainstage events throughout the two-week fair. They appeared to have been confused about the differences between the two competing organizations.
The perception that Freedom 250 is aligned with the Trump administration drove the backlash. Bret Michaels, an American rock musician previously scheduled to perform at the opening ceremony, said the event had “evolved into something much more divisive” than what he had initially understood. The Commodores, who were also set to perform, said they chose not to publicly affiliate with a political party.
Trump mocked the performers on social media, calling them “overpriced” and “boring,” suggesting that he could replace them as the headliner of the opening ceremony – and Wednesday night he did exactly that.
“We have to give a big round of applause for our military band and singers – way better than those libtards that canceled on us,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said from the stage, flanked by his family. “We have this amazing music. We have flyovers. In just a few moments, we are about to hear from the greatest president that’s ever existed in this country since George Washington.”
The Great American State Fair sprawls across the National Mall for 16 days, from June 25 to July 10. It’s a comprehensive celebration of America, according to Freedom 250 spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez.
“Freedom 250 is America at full volume: flags waving, fireworks exploding, eagle screeches, military flyovers, and an unapologetic belief that we are the greatest nation in the history of the world,” Alvarez told RCP. “We are celebrating the nation we inherited, honoring those who built it, and inspiring the next generation to carry it forward.”
The fair features different themes for each day, ranging from military displays, a “Make America Healthy Again” day, a focus on faith, and a celebration of innovation and technology. Meanwhile, federal buildings across the district have donned flags of Trump’s face, along with other presidents and historical sayings, to commemorate the 250th. And Trump himself will be back on the Mall for Independence Day.
“On July 4 we will have the greatest show of all on the National Mall, your favorite president will be speaking,” Trump said. “Because if we have two empty seats, you know what’s going to happen. The fake news is going to say, ‘he didn’t fill out the arena.’ Now I’ll be speaking, I’ll be very proudly speaking, as we ring in our 250th year with the largest fireworks display in world history, 10 times larger than any that we’ve ever done in Washington or in the United States.”
Carolina Lumetta is White House correspondent for RealClearPolitics. Follow her on X @CarolinaLumetta.
Lillian Weimer is an intern with RealClearPolitics.
