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In many ways, Saturday was the biggest July 4th holiday in the United States.
The country commemorated its anniversary of the Declaration of Independence with mass cannibals, parades, fireworks and baseball games.
But this Independence Day was different, not least because it marked the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
It was also one of the most politically charged Independence Day celebrations of recent times.
President Donald Trump is expected to speak this evening from the National Mall in Washington, DC, ahead of what is being called “the world’s largest demonstration”.
More than 850,000 fireworks are expected to be set off from boats in the Potomac River, lighting up the sky above the capital.
But even Independence Day celebrations have been known as non-partisan events, Trump said promised to make night celebration “the most spectacular TRUMP RALLY of all”.
The event comes as Trump’s Republican Party seeks to defend its control of Congress in November’s midterm elections, with the primary season already underway.
Trump’s participation in the semiquincentennial has long been controversial.
On January 29, 2025 – just nine days into his second term as president – Trump issued a Executive Order to set up a White House task force to oversee the 250th anniversary celebrations. Trump called himself his chair.
That task force would form the basis of Freedom 250, a public-private partnership that organized the largest semiquincentennial events, including the Great American State Fair on the National Mall.
But 250 rights were charged of products away from America250, the official group and organization that has also been charged with organizing the semiquincentennial celebrations since its inception in 2016.
The existence of these two groups has also caused confusion. For example, at the end of May, several actors walked out of the Great American State Fair, saying they were misled because of their support for Trump.
Before Saturday, Democrats in the House of Representatives released a report (PDF) accuses Trump of using 250 Rights for political purposes, including awarding contracts to Trump allies.
It also claims that Freedom 250 has been “operating outside of the transparency and accountability” Congress is pushing for such celebrations — and that it may have acted fraudulently by sending “unsuspecting donors” away from America250 and its programs.
“Under President Donald Trump, the festival has been hijacked and turned into a place for fraud and personal gain,” the report said.
But speaking at a military rally in New York City on Saturday, Vice President JD Vance dismissed the criticism. He called on partygoers to reject “small but loud voices” that “speak harshly” about the US’s “imperfections”.
“What I would ask you to do, my fellow Americans, on our 250th birthday, is to reject the bipartisanship of your citizens and to reject the bipartisanship of your country,” he said.
“Reject that America is a place of zero-sum thinking because it is not. Our history is one of those who carve a great civilization out of the desert. Reject the mindset of your country that sees only its sins but not its grace and greatness.”
