The country’s semiquincentennial birthday was marked with a series of events, including a rally by Donald Trump at the White House featuring a fireworks display and a flyover
06:39 ET, 14 Jul 2026Updated 06:39 ET, 14 Jul 2026
Donald Trump’s granddaughter Kai Trump has given her thoughts on America’s 250th anniversary (Image: AP)
This month marks a major milestone in American history, marking 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. But what should have been a celebration for the ages has been mired in controversy.
The country’s semiquincentennial birthday was marked with a series of events, including a rally by Donald Trump at the White House featuring a fireworks display and a flyover. But accusations have been levelled against the President of making the event about himself.
In the lead-up to the anniversary Congress had established bipartisan commission American 250 to organize commemorations. But, as one of his first actions on his return to the White House last year, Trump set up a competing, privately-funded group, Freedom 250, to run its own events, including a Great American State Fair at the National Mall – which has reportedly been sparsely attended.
And events at the capital on July 4 itself were delayed by two hours due to a thunderstorm, which forced an evacuation of the National Mall, and meant Trump did not take the stage until 11.15pm, and fireworks did not finish until around 1am.
The President’s granddaughter, social media influencer and golfer Kai Trump, posted a video on her YouTube channel claiming the event was a massive success.
“When they were doing the flyovers over the White House earlier there were so many people,” she said. “I mean, there must have been, like, half a million people.
“And then it sucks because then it started raining and lightning and everyone had to evacuate because of the lightning, so no one could come back until like 10 o’clock at night. But there were so many people there, I’ve never seen so many people.”
She added it was “really, really cool to see how many people showed up today for America’s birthday”.
Trump’s speech on July 4 was typically rambling and, many said, had little to do with America’s 250th anniversary. At one point he said American “will never be a Communist country”.
However, he did add: “After 250 years, the spirit of 1776 still lives within us all. It still roars in the hearts of our nation’s capital. It still burns in the heart of every patriot, thunders through every city and town, and it still lights the entire world with the glow of American liberty, and there is nothing like that.”
A study carried out in June by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research revealed just around four in 10 U.S. adults feel “proud” about the country’s 250th anniversary, while around three in 10 describe themselves as “excited”. Other Gallup polling shows most Americans feel those who signed the Declaration of Independence would be disappointed with how the U.S has turned out, a substantial increase from 25 years ago.
While around seven in 10 Republicans say they feel “proud” or “excited” about the anniversary, just three in 10 independents and two in 10 Democrats agree. Americans aged 60 and older report are most likely to say they feel proud, while those under 30 more commonly describe themselves as “conflicted” or “indifferent”.
The Great American State Fair in Washington D.C. has sparked little interest from Americans and tourists alike, with pictures showing small crowds, and very short queues. Although most states have taken part, not all are represented.
Maine, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania have not sent delegations, citing costs, scheduling, or concerns around politicization. And booths for states including Hawaii and Alaska are reportedly unstaffed.