Trump wrecked America’s 250th in DC, but other blue cities will save it

Donald Trump’s well-documented ability to destroy everything he touches has come for what should have been the easiest of tasks: making the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence fun. If there is one thing the world’s oldest democracy is good at, it’s throwing Independence Day parties, hosting outdoor concerts, and filling out state fairs with charmingly schlocky entertainment and ice cream stands. Producing the Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C., was considered such a layup for the Trump-led Freedom 250 organizers that it’s no surprise Fox News, eager to showcase a MAGA win, set up a broadcast tower, seemingly intent on giving the event wall-to-wall coverage for its full 16-day run.

As anyone who has been on social media can attest, this was a mistake. Clip after clip has gone viral of Fox News hosts claiming huge crowds in front of a live backdrop showing that few are bothering to show up. The initial roster of musical performers, which mostly consisted of nostalgia acts from the 1980s and 1990s, dropped out, leaving Trump to insist his mere presence would be enough to draw massive crowds. Instead, NBC News estimated that about 1,000 people attended the opening ceremony, far short of the 45,000 the president pretended had swarmed to hear his usual tired, whining speech. A poorly constructed plywood-and-vinyl version of the 166-foot stone arch he has proposed building as a monument to himself was hastily erected — and immediately started falling apart. The only Trump-driven project that seems to be drawing the crowds is his disastrous repainting of the Reflecting Pool, which people are visiting to mock, resulting in the arrests of at least seven.

This weekend looks like it will further compound Trump’s failures and humiliations, and not just because it appears Fox News is opting to return to the studio, instead of continuing to insist that empty fields constitute massive crowds. Across the country, blue cities are hosting alternative July Fourth concerts — and unlike Trump’s sad attempt at a celebration, big stars are scheduled to perform. Better yet, much of it is being organized by America250, the bipartisan group that was supposed to handle the D.C. celebration until the president sidelined them in favor of Freedom 250, which is under his control. Trump is getting a small taste of what he deserves: a failure in D.C., even as the group he tried to destroy is winning the American semiquincentennial.

On Thurday, House Democrats released a report titled “From Vanity to Insanity,” which featured whistleblowers accusing Trump of defrauding donors who thought their money was going to America250, only to have it rerouted to the partisan disaster that is Freedom 250. “[T]hrough a series of diversions and misrepresentations,” they are accusing Trump of draining America250 of “the resources it needed to function.”

“The cumulative effect, and the apparent purpose,” they wrote, “was to render America250 unable to succeed, and install Freedom 250 in its place.”

Sadly, it succeeded to a large degree, and the result is that the America250 celebrations are smaller and sparser than they likely would have been had Trump kept his stubby fingers off America’s birthday party. Despite the alleged fraud, what’s left of America250 is still looking far more exciting than the dismal affair Trump is conducting in Washington.

I live in Philadelphia, so I’m admittedly biased, but the shining star this weekend is the concert being held at the famous “Rocky steps” in front of the art museum, which are adjacent to where the Declaration was signed, and features headliners like Christina Aguilera, Jill Scott (whose new album is getting rave reviews) and the Roots. In Los Angeles, the Smashing Pumpkins will be joined by headliner Chris Stapleton, which is a special thumb in the eye to MAGA, because he’s a country music superstar. Things look even worse for MAGA in Milwaukee, where the city’s SummerFest is being headlined on Saturday by Jelly Roll. The self-proclaimed “dumb redneck” has a lot of right-wing fans, but he will be spending his Independence Day in a city that went nearly 70% for Kamala Harris in 2024.

The record-setting heat wave this weekend is threatening to shut down many of these shows, which is why it’s probably a good thing New York City has chosen to offer a livestream instead that will feature Mary J. Blige and Brad Paisley; anyone can tune in on the America’s Block Party website. But even if some shows do have to be cancelled, it’s hard to miss that these musicians are far more popular than anyone Freedom 250 had booked, even before nearly all those acts pulled out, cancellations that were not due to weather but to fear of being associated with Trump.

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In Washington, things are not looking so rosy. Despite his strident insistence that the Great American State Fair is a “smashing success” and “packed with happy people,” behind the scenes Trump is reportedly angry about the level of its failure. On Wednesday night, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins reported being told that “the aerial image of the crowds from last week’s his rally enraged him so much that officials ended up deleting them.” This revelation came after Trump bragged that the sparsely attended June 24 opening ceremony would be “the Greatest Rally, EVER!”

He’s planning to speak again on July Fourth, though a better phrase might be “threatening to speak;” on Wednesday, he told a crowd, “I’m gonna make a really long speech.” Since huge numbers left as he was mid-speech at the opening celebration, this seems an unwise way to save face. To make things even more tedious, fireworks aren’t planned until 11 p.m., seemingly to accommodate the famously long-winded president, who is scheduled to start blathering two hours earlier. 

But because Trump is falsely insisting that Freedom 250 is a success, the MAGA outrage machine has already kicked off the phase of a Trump failure where anyone and everyone but the boss himself is blamed. Conspiracy theories about invisible “vandals” destroying the paint job on the Reflecting Pool appears to be just the beginning. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hollered about “ingrates” who protested at a Thursday event for the National Guard. Actor-turned-Fox News pundit Dean Cain posted a picture of a mostly-empty state fair, and then responded to critical replies by saying “Any negative reactions to this post expose the haters as anti-American. Seek help,” — even as he continued to see “thousands of people” that are objectively not in the photo. Fox News host Emily Compagno also attacked the many states who refused to finance booths at the Great American State Fair, whining that Trump is being “discarded” and “not included,” and arguing that governors should be “disqualified” from “higher office” for this perceived slight.

Even though Compagno’s rant likely pleased Trump, it also gave away too much by tacitly admitting that Freedom 250 isn’t really about the American semiquincentennial — it’s yet another expensive effort by Republicans and corporate favor-seekers to stroke the president’s ego. In their report, House Democrats concluded much the same: “The record reflects a sustained effort, beginning before the President took office, to make the semiquincentennial an occasion for President Trump’s personal celebration.”

This is the very root of the event’s failure. A real tribute to America is a worthy endeavor. As crippled as our democracy is under Trump, it is still kicking at 250. What’s more, it increasingly looks like it may survive the president’s best efforts to end what generations of better people before him built. By turning it into a tribute to himself, Trump sucked the life out of America’s 250th birthday. After all, there is nothing about him to celebrate, which his own supporters are apparently starting to realize since even they are mostly not bothering to show up. As the president reportedly told Fox News’ Jesse Watters, “I’m building a monument to myself because no one else will.”

Freedom 250’s failure, especially when contrasted with the real parties happening is so many other places, is a preview of a coming post-Trump future, where he will be a man unhonored and, eventually, unmourned. 

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