How Trump’s takeover fractured America’s birthday party

President Donald Trump walks off stage after speaking at a rally to kick off the Great American State Fair, on the National Mall in Washington, DC, on June 24. Evan Vucci/Reuters via CNN Newsource

When Next250 organizers began planning for America’s 250th birthday, they envisioned bringing together communities in a polarized country to celebrate democracy.

But then Donald Trump returned to office as the 47th U.S. president.

Now, the left-leaning group has reframed its commemoration in response to Trump’s takeover of the country’s birthday. A communal festival in Washington, DC, on Saturday, for instance, will feature an indigenous opening ceremony, a march starting at what was once called Black Lives Matter Plaza and voter registration booths.

In seeking to put his stamp on the 250th, Trump has upended plans that had been years in the making, thrown agencies and federal funding behind his lavish, patriotic vision and drawn ire over what has become, in critics’ eyes, a partisan celebration more about the president than the country.

“It’s a lost cause to expect anything unifying and exciting coming out of Washington,” said John Dichtl, president and chief executive of the American Association for State and Local History, a nonprofit that helped advise states on their 250th planning.

Across the country, some state and local planners have distanced their celebrations from what’s happening in the nation’s capital. And in Washington, Next250 will hold its counterprogram down the street from the White House as the National Mall is being used by Trump’s “Great American State Fair.”

“The administration doesn’t own the 250th anniversary, nor do they own the story of this country,” said Linda Sarsour, one of Next 250’s organizers. The activist, known for helping to organize the Women’s March on Washington during Trump’s first term, has courted controversy over opposition to Israel.

But on Saturday, she says, “We’re coming out to say: ‘We’re all in this together, and this country belongs to all of us.’”

How Trump took over

The first inkling of Trump’s takeover of the 250th came on a Friday afternoon last December, when Trump rattled off a dizzying list of programming for the nation’s birthday in a video on the president’s Truth Social account.

“2026 will be a celebration of America like no other, honouring our nation and all of its glory,” he declared. “To help carry out these exciting plans, we have created a public-private partnership. It’s called Freedom 250,” he said.

The announcement arrived a few weeks after Trump had suffered an apparent setback. The man he picked to lead America250 — a nonprofit in charge of federal 250th celebrations, overseen by a congressional panel — had just been fired.

Trump’s new nonprofit, Freedom 250, would ensure he got the July 4 celebrations he had long desired.

The organization also wouldn’t have to abide by the same rules as America250. While Freedom 250 is a non-partisan subsidiary of the National Park Foundation, its activities are largely overseen by top Trump aides.

Like America250, it can maintain the anonymity of its donors, however, it is not overseen by a bipartisan panel. In May, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told CNN’s Dana Bash that Freedom 250 is “run out of the White House” and only the organization can decide to reveal its donors.

But Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, said in an interview that he thought it was “problematic” the White House is forging relationships with nonprofits without congressional authorization. That arrangement has raised questions from watchdog groups and congressional Democrats, who are now investigating Freedom 250’s funding.

A spokesperson for the National Park Foundation told CNN: “public and private Freedom 250 funds received or expended during the current fiscal year will be accounted for through NPF’s standard financial reporting and audit processes.”

Freedom 250 lists about two dozen sponsors on its website. A number of these, like Palantir, Lockheed Martin and Oracle, have large federal contracts to provide data and defense services. Others, like Ultimate Fighting Championship and Penske Corp., are led by Trump allies Dana White and Roger Penske. Those have their own 250th-related events: the UFC fight on the White House lawn this month and an IndyCar race in August. White’s Phorm energy drinks are also for sale at the fair.

When asked whether the group would commit to publicly disclosing its donors, Freedom 250 CEO Keith Krach told CNN in an interview: “We’re all about accountability and transparency.”

“An important part of my role is to make sure that we manage the books really well,” he added. “Not just, ‘Hey, here you can see them,’ but to make sure that we get the biggest bang for the buck.”

The Freedom 250 events have played to Trump’s cultural tastes and given conservative groups a platform to shape the narrative around the celebrations — all to “renew national pride.”

A fleet of six mobile museums called “Freedom Trucks” have travelled the country, telling a story of the American Revolution through AI art and videos that say “the foundational principles of America are rooted in the Western and Judeo-Christian traditions.” The content was produced by conservative education organizations such as Hillsdale College and Prager U, which say they were not paid.

In May, Freedom 250 organized a Christianity-focused prayer event on the National Mall, and the Patriot Games, a youth athletic contest where two teenaged victors will split a US$250,000 prize, is also on the books for August.

After artists, citing concerns over partisanship, bailed on performing at the opening rally for the Great American State Fair, the president instead held a rally on Wednesday, where he was the headliner. He was introduced by Lee Greenwood, a country singer whose hit “God Bless the USA” is a perennial Trump favourite.

“We are going to proclaim that America is still great, and we’re going to try to keep her that way,” Greenwood told CNN before the event.

The main July Fourth event on the National Mall, called the “Salute to America,” is meant to feature a parade, military demonstrations and other activities.

Trump asked Freedom 250 to put on the fireworks show that evening, and Krach vowed it would be “five times bigger” than DC’s usual Fourth of July show, as they attempt to break a Guinness World Record.

A fractured celebration

Freedom 250’s ambitions extend beyond events in the capital , and it has taken steps to brand itself as the nonpartisan group “leading the celebration” of America’s birthday in the public eye, putting it in competition with America250 for the national spotlight, sponsors and taxpayer funds.

Weeks after Freedom 250 launched, federal agencies began to remove America250 logos from their websites, email signatures and social media accounts. Banners featuring America250 were taken down, and the administration put money towards Freedom 250 decorations at federal buildings across the country, according to government records.

And while Freedom 250 rose to prominence, America250 lost out on some federal funding.

Congress has allocated US$150 million for 250th celebrations this year in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” but America250 has only received US$25 million so far. Instead, federal records show US$65 million has been sent to the National Park Foundation, which can distribute the funding to Freedom 250.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican on the congressional commission, pressed Burgum during a congressional hearing about the lack of funds going towards America250 in April. He told her Interior was “working with the White House” and that he would get back to her.

“Freedom 250 is a challenge to us,” said Democratic Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, who has been on the America250 commission since 2019. Freedom 250 serves the president, “his politics, his donors, and his vanity projects,” but “America250 is focused on making sure that this is about our country, our people moving forward, and our message to the next generations,” she said.

Freedom 250 has repeatedly defended Trump’s involvement in the celebrations and said that presidents, from Ulysses S. Grant in 1876 to Gerald Ford in 1976, have long played a role at commemorations of the nation’s founding.

But under Trump, the birthday celebrations have splintered.

America250 has forged ahead with its plans for a nationwide service campaign and a series of July 4 events taking place across the country. It will host a concert in Los Angeles featuring high-profile performers like Chris Stapleton and the Smashing Pumpkins.

An America250 spokesperson told CNN in a statement that, for those events, “the majority of support is expected to come from private sources.”

The grounds of Trump’s Great American State Fair are now peppered with reminders of the states that have distanced themselves from Freedom 250. Several booths representing states that declined to send delegations sit largely empty, with sparsely decorated backdrops and a few chairs.

Some states cited finances as their reasons for not participating. Planners for Oregon were concerned that the event was “more partisan affair than originally presented.”

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro told the New Republic that his state pulled out after his aides struggled to find a group to represent them because “the president has politicized this to a degree that businesses don’t want to participate.”

Meanwhile, GOP governors have touted their states’ participation in the fair.

Dichtl, of the American Association for State and Local History, said state and local planners were more focused on what was going on in their own communities, than in Washington, but he still fears that the overall tenor of the 250th has turned partisan. He said the 1976 bicentennial was a complicated yet “unifying” moment where national healing felt possible.

“250 does not feel that way,” he said.

This weekend, those in Washington will get to decide between different 250th celebrations. Some may choose to ride the towering, 110 foot-Ferris wheel or take a picture with a replica of Trump’s triumphal arch. Organizers say thousands are expected to attend Next250’s event, where there will be choirs and mariachi music, speeches and bracelet making.

Trump has touted the 250th as “the most unforgettable birthday party any country has ever seen.”

Opening the Great American State Fair this week, he nodded to more ahead. “On July 4, we will have the greatest show of all on the National Mall. Your favourite president will be speaking, so please show up,” he said.

Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN