America's 250th birthday celebration is being transformed into a vehicle for Trumpian egotism, Maga populism, and Christian nationalism, replacing historical substance with toxic myth, writes Judith Levine.
Artists Withdraw from 'Nonpartisan' Event
Musicians who dropped out of the Great American State Fair claimed they were misled about the event's political nature. Rapper Young MC wrote on Facebook: 'I have informed my agents that I will not be performing at the Freedom 250 event. The artists were never told about any political involvement.' Country singer Martina McBride said the organizers' description of the event as nonpartisan 'turned out to be misleading.' After many acts withdrew, the humiliated president replaced them with what he called 'the Number One Attraction anywhere in the World': Donald J. Trump.
Freedom 250 vs. America250
The fair's sponsor is not America250, the nonpartisan body set up by Congress a decade ago to oversee the semiquincentennial. It is Freedom 250, an organization that is effectively a wholly owned subsidiary of Maga. Since his first term, Trump has been horning in on the 2026 events, funding his pet projects through opaque structures that confound donors, participants, Congress, and the press about who is paying for what.
This situation is emblematic of how the president conflates the nation's founding with a celebration of himself—l'état c'est moi. It replaces substance with spectacle and history with myth. The heroes of this myth are a clutch of white men under the guiding hand of a Christian God, while villains are those who dare insert inconvenient historical truths.
Background: The 1619 Project and the 1776 Commission
In 2016, Congress created the bipartisan US semiquincentennial commission to plan the 2026 commemoration. Its first report outlined a 'monumental initiative' to engage all Americans. However, the Trump administration was watchful for 'wokeness.' In 2019, the New York Times Magazine published the 1619 Project, positing that 1619, not 1776, was the true birth of the nation, establishing slavery and anti-Black racism as pillars. In 2020, after George Floyd's murder and Black Lives Matter protests, Trump denounced BLM as 'angry mobs' and vowed to 'set history's records straight.'
As a counterweight, the administration established the 1776 Commission, which released a report recommending 'enlightened patriotism' centered on Great White Men, with scant mention of enslaved or Indigenous people or women. The American Historical Association called it 'government indoctrination.' Biden disbanded the commission on his first day, but its distorted spirit has risen again.
Freedom 250's Funding and Influence
Freedom 250 is thin on substance but fat on income. With the Interior Department quietly instructing staff to use Freedom 250 as 'primary branding' on America250 events, it has eclipsed the bipartisan commission and siphoned public and private funds. As of April, America250 had received only $25 million of its $100 million appropriation, with a $100 million funding shortfall. Meanwhile, the park foundation and Freedom 250 have been granted nearly $80 million in federal funds, ten times its total since 2009. This doesn't count over $100 million spent on Trump's Washington 'beautification,' including $5 million to gild four horse statues. Freedom 250 also offers incentives illegal for a government agency, such as a private reception hosted by Trump for $1 million or a speaking slot for $2.5 million.
Where the Money Goes
The funds go to a mélange of Trumpian egotism, Maga populism, and Christian nationalism. The first big production was a North Korean-style military parade on the army's 250th and Trump's 79th birthday in June 2025. To bankroll the $3 million extravaganza, America250 turned to companies like Oracle, Coinbase, and Palantir. The next was a July 3 rally at the Iowa state fairgrounds headlined by Trump, where he declared Democrats 'hate our country.'
Agencies decimated by the 'department of government efficiency' saw funds diverted to Trump's party. The National Endowment for the Humanities canceled $100 million in grants using a chatbot to search for terms like 'LGBTQ' or 'tribal,' redirecting money to Trump's proposed National Garden of American Heroes. Another lawsuit saved the Institute for Museum and Library Services, but it pivoted to administration priorities, requiring semiquincentennial projects to 'teach citizens about what makes our country the greatest.' A $14 million grant went to Freedom Trucks, six 'mobile museums' showcasing a glorious story of America where slavery is an unpleasant glitch and treaties with Indigenous Americans are not broken.
The Smithsonian Institution is also being brought to heel. The administration ordered it to submit details of all semiquincentennial exhibitions for 'content corrections ... replacing divisive or ideologically driven language with unifying, historically accurate and constructive descriptions.'
A Commercial White Christian Nationalist Project
Freedom 250 is not a national project but a commercial white Christian nationalist one. Its partners include National Religious Broadcasters, Pray, WallBuilders, and Moms for Liberty. Absent are any organizations implying racial, ethnic, or gender identity. In May, Freedom 250 sponsored 'Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving,' interspersing preachers (18 of 19 advertised were Christians, most evangelicals) with Republican leaders. House Speaker Mike Johnson prayed to 'remember that God's mighty hand has been upon our nation since the very beginning.' Trump sent a video reading from 2 Chronicles 7:14. Both Freedom 250 and the White House highlight videos called 'The Story of America' by Hillsdale College, whose president chaired the 1776 Commission. The Freedom Trucks' exhibition material is created by PragerU, a pro-capitalist Christian educational media company.
The Myth of 'Prayer at Valley Forge'
America is not one story; its meanings are ever in contest. The protean nature of history is what Maga's semiquincentennial tries most strenuously to suppress. Perhaps the image that best depicts its singular message is 'Prayer at Valley Forge,' a painting of George Washington kneeling in the snow beside his horse, contributed to the 1976 bicentennial by conservative Christian artist Arnold Friberg. The picture is emblazoned on the Freedom Trucks, circulates on federal agencies' social media, and is sold as a print and comic book. It is an appealingly folk-artsy painting of an inspiring event. But it has flaws: Washington was a vehement defender of church-state separation, and there is no evidence this incident ever happened.
