President Donald Trump formally kicked off celebrations for America\u2019s 250th anniversary on Wednesday night by working\u00a0to get the country excited again \u2014 about himself.<\/p>\n
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WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump<\/a> formally kicked off celebrations for America\u2019s 250th anniversary<\/a> on Wednesday night by working\u00a0to get the country excited again \u2014 about himself<\/a>.<\/p>\n The president hosted a rally on Washington\u2019s National Mall, including a series of flyovers by stealth bombers, music from military bands, and Lee Greenwood<\/a> singing \u201cGod Bless the USA.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere has never been anything like the United States of America, and together we are making it bigger and better and stronger and far more exceptional than ever before,\u201d Trump said. He said he\u2019d restored the country to greatness, proclaiming, \u201dNobody\u2019s laughing at us anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n The event comes as Trump works to convince Americans ahead of critical November midterm elections that he\u2019s put the unpopular Iran war<\/a> in the rearview mirror, with oil prices easing as the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> has started to reopen in the wake of an interim deal to end the war with Tehran.<\/p>\n It launches weeks of celebrations about America and its 1776 founding<\/a> as part of \u201cThe Great American State Fair\u201d on the mall, the national park that stretches from the U.S. Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial.<\/p>\n But Trump\u2019s appearance was only announced after several musicians \u2014 including Young MC, Martina McBride and the Commodores \u2014 canceled their concerts<\/a> because of concerns the event had become politicized.<\/p>\n Instead, among those addressing the crowd was Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who slammed the musicians who backed out. He called Trump \u201cthe greatest president that\u2019s ever existed in this country since George Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n The lawn was almost full but empty spaces remained. From the stage, Trump could likely to see the neon colors of the giant Ferris wheel erected in front of the Capitol.<\/p>\n Attendees included Karen and Brian Ontrap, who drove 500-plus miles from northwest Ohio with their children.<\/p>\n They planned the trip in January to celebrate the nation\u2019s 250th anniversary and, for some in the group, see Washington for the first time.<\/p>\n Standing in the shade near the stage before the president spoke, Karen Ontrap said the pair support the president \u201c100%.\u201d They were among the early arrivals to the section of the National Mall that was cordoned off, with a concert-style stage decked in U.S. flags at one end and a mock White House exterior at the other.<\/p>\n Organizers distributed rectangular cardboard American flags that some attendees used for shade.<\/p>\n On the menu for the crowd: burgers, sausages and turkey legs. The program felt a lot like a summer concert, expect for the variety of American flag-themed outfits, from overalls to skirts to hats. There were also plenty of \u201cMake America Great Again\u201d hats.<\/p>\n Trump is pressing the case that he\u2019s made America better<\/p>\n Trump has struggled to deliver the presidency that he advertised to voters \u2014 causing his approval rating<\/a> to dwell at a low 37%, according to the most recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research<\/a> polling.<\/p>\n Democrats say his botched repairs to the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool<\/a> and the resulting algae outbreak<\/a> are a sign that he\u2019s spending taxpayer money on vanity projects<\/a> instead of the nation\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., said the Trump-affiliated group organizing the 250th anniversary was selling access to special interests and redrafting the nation\u2019s founding to the president\u2019s liking, based on documents he presented at a congressional hearing earlier this year.<\/p>\n \u201cIt should be about bringing us together,\u201d Huffman said. \u201cHe\u2019s trying to make this 250th celebration all about him.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s fondness for showmanship has not been a match for public anxiety about his presidency. Only 33% of U.S. adults approve of his economic leadership, with favorability at 40% on immigration and 34% on Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s clear that Trump\u2019s preoccupations in his second term \u2014 from Iran to the Washington reflecting pool \u2014 are not those of most members of his base, let alone other Americans,\u201d said Daniel Treisman, a politics professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. \u201cThat explains his unusually low approval ratings.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s rallies can only help so much without improvements on inflation<\/p>\n Inflation is still higher<\/a> than what Trump inherited and it has been outpacing wage growth. The budget deficit<\/a> remains on a path upward that keeps interest rates high. Investments in artificial intelligence are driving growth, but they come with fears of middle-class job losses such that the construction of data centers needed for America\u2019s tech economy<\/a> have become controversial politically.<\/p>\n