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freedom 250
Trump's Latest Corruption: Hijacking Social Security
Like the reflecting pool, the Kennedy Center, and the White House, Social Security is a sacred American institution that Trump is abusing for his own financial and political gain.
Jul 09, 2026
The Trump administration is illegally using the Social Security email list to spew political propaganda. That email list likely includes everyone with an online Social Security account—over 100 million people, both current and future Social Security beneficiaries. The purpose of the list is for the government to share important information about Social Security benefits.
On July 2, the Trump administration sent an email from Commissioner Frank Bisignano, ostensibly to mark America’s 250th birthday. The email, like a similar one sent a year ago, is a fully political document.
Bisignano begins by bragging about President Donald Trump’s tax bill without mentioning:
- Trump’s bill cuts over $1 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, which is causing hospitals around the country to close—a disaster for seniors, especially those living in rural areas.
- Trump’s bill gives massive tax cuts to the ultra wealthy, including trillionaire Elon Musk.
- Trump’s bill does not end taxes on Social Security benefits, but does weaken Social Security’s long-term finances.
Bisignano then goes on to tout allegedly improved customer service. Widespread media reports show that customer service has massively deteriorated since Musk’s DOGE pushed out more than 8,000 of Social Security’s most experienced, knowledgeable workers. These reports include first-person stories where even highly educated people with Social Security expertise have faced months-long nightmares to resolve simple errors that cut themselves or their family members off from benefits.
Shortly after Bisignano was confirmed last year, Social Security removed longstanding customer service metrics from its website. Since then, Bisignano has cherry-picked his own metrics and used them to mislead.
Bisignano moved many of the remaining Social Security office workers to answering phones, while other essential work piles up. Then, he brags about shorter waits on the phone. What he doesn’t mention is that if you hang up in frustration, or talk to someone who can’t help you because they aren’t adequately trained, it still counts toward a short wait on the phone. The only metric that really matters is if people are getting the help they need. On that count, Bisignano is failing miserably.
The situation is particularly dire for people who need help in person. The country is dotted with Social Security “ghost offices” that aren’t officially closed (because that’s bad publicity for Trump and Bisignano) but have only a skeleton crew of workers remaining. These offices can’t meaningfully serve the community, and people are losing their hard-earned benefits as a result.
The same week that Bisignano sent out his political propaganda email, the Social Security Administration announced that the Freedom 250 logo will appear on the Social Security Cards of all babies born for the rest of 2026.
Freedom 250 is a semi-private, partisan entity. Trump and his allies are using it to turn the celebration of our nation’s 250th anniversary into profit for themselves. Freedom 250 has a history of harvesting data, and employs former DOGE operatives. Bisignano claims that the Social Security Administration isn’t paying Freedom 250 a licensing fee, or sharing data with it. But we already know that Bisignano lies as easily as he breathes.
Trump’s hijacking of Social Security is just the latest example of his corruption. Like the reflecting pool, the Kennedy Center, and the White House, Social Security is a sacred American institution that Trump is abusing for his own financial and political gain.
Social Security is a nonpartisan program, with overwhelming support from Democrats, Republicans, and independents. By using it for political purposes, Trump and Bisignano are betraying the American people.
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Why Would President Trump Want to Celebrate the Declaration of Independence?
President Trump has long seemed fascinated by notions of “central casting.” Well, Donald Trump seems a more natural fit for the role of King George III than that of a framer of the Declaration of Independence.
Jul 04, 2026
For months President Donald Trump has been funneling money and interest toward the semi-private Freedom 250, and away from America 250, the congressionally created nonpartisan commission that has spent years preparing for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026. As a result, staggering sums of money have been contributed to Freedom 250, much of it by private companies that do business with the government or are in heavily regulated industries. It’s unsurprising that large corporations might want to seek favor from the Trump administration by opening their checkbooks, and it’s unsurprising that President Trump would welcome these checks with minimal transparency.
What is surprising is that President Trump would be keen to celebrate the Declaration of Independence at all. This document expresses the people’s desire to be free from the rule of a king, a hunger for the rule of law, and respect for an independent judiciary. Nothing could be less Trumpy.
While the Declaration announces liberation from the tyranny of monarchy, Trump seems fairly obsessed with framing himself as a king. Examples abound. In lauding his own efforts to kill a congestion pricing plan in Manhattan, Trump ended his social media post with the self-congratulatory, “LONG LIVE THE KING.” In response to historic nationwide peaceful protests, Trump posted an AI-generated video of himself wearing a crown and dumping excrement upon American demonstrators. During a recent official British state visit, the White House posted a picture of King Charles with President Trump, captioned “TWO KINGS.” And Trump’s fondness for monarchical trappings is no secret globally. For instance, while wearing a gold tie that reflected “President Trump’s taste for gold,” South Korean President Lee Jae Myung presented Trump with a golden crown that was a replica of an ancient artifact, and Trump responded by saying, “I’d like to wear it right now.”
Notably, the Declaration’s first grievance against King George III of Great Britain was his refusal to “Assent to Laws,” conveying the belief that no one—not even a nation’s highest leader—is above the law. Yet President Trump seems offended by such a notion, and he contests it regularly. Trump implies that the law does not apply to him when he posts messages like “[h]e who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” a quote often attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte, the general who declared himself emperor of France in the 1800s. And Trump has proclaimed that Article II of the Constitution grants him “the right to do whatever I want as president,” a statement that not only misreads Article II, but ignores the way presidential power operates with, and is checked by, Article I congressional power and Article III judicial power.
Thankfully, we need not look to President Trump for inspiration on how to mark the Declaration’s 250th anniversary.
Numerous high-ranking Trump administration officials, including Solicitor General John Sauer, have declined to commit to obeying court orders and the administration’s track record reflects this defiance: In just the first six months of the administration, courts in more than 12 cases determined that the administration violated court orders. More recently, a study cited hundreds of instances of administration non-compliance with court orders. The situation has become so dire that many judges have lost confidence in this administration’s representations and are reducing the deference customarily given to federal government lawyers.
Finally, further down in the Declaration’s list of grievances against King George III is that “[h]e has made Judges dependent on his Will alone.” Today, this could describe Trump’s aspirations. He has railed against judges—even those whom he appointed in his first presidential term—when they dare to rule against his administration’s policies. Trump is infuriated when judges honor their oaths of office and follow the facts and the law regardless of where this leads them. After immigration-related rulings halted Trump administration policies, US District Judge James Boasberg found himself the target of President Trump’s call for Congress to remove him from the bench. Trump railed about Boasberg on social media, calling the judge a “troublemaker and agitator,” and suggested that many other judges should be impeached as well.
Trump’s harsh rhetoric even prompted a rare statement from Chief Justice John Roberts, who explained that “[f]or more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.” And it’s not just lower court judges who find themselves targeted by Trump’s invective. After the Supreme Court struck down his administration’s tariff scheme by a 6-3 margin, Trump criticized the court and justices in strikingly personal terms, saying, “I’m ashamed of certain members of the court,” and in reference to Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, “I think it’s an embarrassment to their families, you wanna know the truth, the two of them.”
President Trump has long seemed fascinated by notions of “central casting.” Well, Donald Trump seems a more natural fit for the role of King George III than that of a framer of the Declaration of Independence.
Thankfully, we need not look to President Trump for inspiration on how to mark the Declaration’s 250th anniversary. Inspiration can be found in the broad array of Americans who gathered nationwide to protest autocracy in peaceful No Kings demonstrations; the March 28, 2026 No Kings mobilizations drew an estimated 8 million participants in over 3,000 sites, arguably the largest single-day of protests in United States history.
We can be inspired by the bravery of Minnesotans killed while protesting the mistreatment of immigrant community members, and Minnesotan community-based efforts to help neighbors too frightened to leave their homes in the face of brutal abuses by immigration enforcement officers, ones that call to mind the Declaration’s complaint that King George had “sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.” And who isn’t inspired by countless Americans who joined interfaith vigils to protest the inhumane and lawless detention of people at facilities like Florida’s infamous “Alligator Alcatraz”?
These members of the American family, true patriots, honor a Declaration that ends with the promise to “mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” They understand that embedded within our Declaration of Independence lies a Declaration of Interdependence. Now that’s something to celebrate.
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‘Fitting Metaphor’: Giant Falling Panel Nearly Crushes Dancers on Trump’s 250th Anniversary Stage
One journalist called it "the kind of thing somebody can genuinely be prosecuted for if someone dies, which is not uncommon if you slap it together like this."
Jul 03, 2026
In what some described as a "fitting metaphor" for the state of the US, a large panel fell from the stage at President Donald Trump's 250th anniversary extravaganza, nearly crushing a group of young dancers during a rehearsal.
A video of the falling piece of debris was posted to social media Thursday by the independent journalist Aaron Parnas, who wrote, "The stage is falling apart at the rehearsal for Freedom 250's July 4th celebration."
The giant panel interrupted a patriotic dance number, making a loud crash and sending bits of dust and shrapnel flying just feet behind the troupe of what appeared to be about two-dozen performers on the event's Salute to America stage, where many of the festival's biggest acts are taking place.
“We’re grateful to report that everyone is safe,” a Freedom 250 representative said. “We take the safety of our performers, crew, volunteers, and guests extremely seriously.”
He added that "additional safeguards and senior technical oversight are now in place as preparations continue.”
HuffPost deputy editor Philip Lewis said it was "literally a miracle no one was hurt."
From a scourge of algae in the reflecting pool, to the rash of headline acts bailing from their performances, to the persistent low attendance, and empty booths, the festivities—commandeered by the Trump-aligned Freedom 250 operation—has been seemingly marred by one indignity after another.
Power outages have led the supply of ice cream to become liquefied by the heat, and a faulty generator has led the giant Ferris wheel to run only intermittently.
A model of the president's planned "Arc de Trump" has been mocked as "a sad, peeling mess" by Margaret Hartmann of New York Magazine, who noted the creasing vinyl, cracking wood, and caulk oozing out the sides. The mid-festival addition of a series of improvised columns did little to stop it from being referred to as a "Temu arch."
Other buildings were haphazardly overlaid with vinyl covers designed to look like three-dimensional pieces of classical architecture.
An interim report published Thursday by Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee emphasized the festival's dual role—in addition to being a monument to Trump's ego—as yet another opportunity for his donors and allies to profit.
Through the newly created Freedom 250 group, the report alleges, Trump has used the event to sell sponsorship packages promising VIP access, speaking roles, private receptions, and photo opportunities with the president.
It also points to federal contracts for Trump-connected event vendors, official merchandise sales through a Trump campaign vendor, and event-registration data routed through a firm founded by former Trump digital strategist Brad Parscale.
The company in charge of the State Fair's production is Event Strategies, Inc.—a firm run by a group of longtime Trump aides. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, it has received taxpayer funds through the National Park Foundation, though it remains unclear how much the company has made.
It's also unclear what, if any, oversights may have led to the dangerous stage mishap. However, the use of an opaque private charity to fund the festival appears to have enabled corner-cutting elsewhere.
According to the Democratic report, the UFC arena on the White House South Lawn “bypassed layers of [National Park Service]-mandated environmental review,” allowing the commercial fighting organization headed by Trump pal Dana White to save time and money, which led to a lawsuit last month seeking to stop the event.
Journalist Ryan Grim said that if there have indeed been safety rules flouted, the falling panel is "the kind of thing somebody can genuinely be prosecuted for if someone dies, which is not uncommon if you slap it together like this."
Many found the short video deeply resonant—a microcosm of the unprecedented elite enrichment that has taken place during the second Trump administration, subsidized by bone-deep cuts to social safety net programs that have made life more precarious for millions of people, including many children.
Political commentator J Aubrey said that it was "hard to imagine a more fitting metaphor for our rapidly decaying society."
There is, unnervingly, still plenty of time for a deadly incident to occur at the fair.
The president's Independence Day celebration is slated to culminate in the launching of 850,000 firework shells from near the reflecting pool and several other sites along the Potomac River.
The National Park Service has projected the display would cause “very unhealthy” conditions around central DC, including particulate pollution that can harm those with asthma, according to documents uncovered by The Washington Post.
Soaring temperatures have also put Washington under severe drought, turning the surrounding area into a potential tinderbox. DC Water has said it was coordinating with federal officials in the case that a forest fire breaks out.
"It only takes one small spark landing in dry vegetation under the right conditions to start a fast-moving wildfire," April Newman, a public information officer at Cal Fire, told Axios.
Trump himself, who recently turned 80 years old and is rumored to be in poor health, is also not immune to the dangers.
The president declared that on Independence Day, "when it's going to be approximately 107 degrees out... I'm going to make a really long speech."
That speech, scheduled for 9:45 pm ET, will take place on the Salute to America stage.
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Trump-Inspired Commemorative Social Security Cards Denounced as Latest 'Political Propaganda' Effort
"The Trump administration is putting the logo of a semi-private, partisan entity, which is widely reported to be corrupt, on the Social Security cards of newborn babies."
Jul 02, 2026
As the Social Security Administration's unveiling Thursday of a 250th anniversary commemorative Social Security card coincided with a congressional report on President Donald Trump's use of the semiquincentennial to enrich himself—including by deceiving donors—advocates demanded answers from Trump officials on the decision to turn "Social Security cards into political propaganda."
The SSA unveiled the new cards, set to be issued to all babies born between July 2-December 31, 2026, and the "Freedom 250" logo that will be emblazoned on them, tying the government documents to the semi-private entity that has pushed for Trump's far-right agenda to be at the forefront of the country's 250th anniversary celebration.
Nancy Altman, president of the advocacy group Social Security Works, noted that in the 90 years since the first Social Security card was issued in 1936, "the design has never been politicized."
"Now, the Trump administration is putting the logo of a semi-private, partisan entity, which is widely reported to be corrupt, on the Social Security cards of newborn babies. They claim ‘no additional cost to families or taxpayers’, but the cost has to come from somewhere."
A commemorative Social Security card with a Freedom 250 logo. (Photo by Social Security Administration)
Altman referred to a report released Thursday by the US House Natural Resources Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, titled "From Vanity to Insanity: How the White House Cheated the American People Out of Their 250th Birthday."
The 55-page report found that Freedom 250, which is funded through taxpayer dollars as well as donations from a number of companies with regulatory business before the government, including Palantir, ExxonMobil, and Oracle, secretly diverted funds intended for the congressionally chartered, bipartisan initiative America 250, and misled donors by providing them with Freedom 250's banking information instead.
"This is abuse of Social Security, a nonpartisan institution which Trump claimed he would not hurt."
The report also detailed how Freedom 250, with former employees of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has collected Americans' personal data and has "sold access to the president and courted foreign money in America's name."
"Freedom 250’s website quietly collects an extraordinary amount of information about the people who visit it," reads the report. "Its own privacy disclosure states that Freedom 250 collects everything a user shares with it and, when a user or devices permits, tracks precise geolocation data down to 'latitude, longitude, velocity, [and] bearing.' It logs each click across the site and captures the information users type into forms, including home addresses and contact information, and sends it back to the server of the organization that designed and created the website—in this case the National Design Studio, staffed by ex-DOGE employees."
The subcommittee explained how Freedom 250 "circulated sponsorship packages starting at $500,000 and climbing above $10 million, backed by a 'historic photo opportunity' with President Trump. Its CEO solicited foreign governments, corporations, and individuals at the World Economic Forum in Davos to fund the president’s priorities. If foreign funds reach the president's vanity projects, the report finds the conduct would clearly violate the Constitution's foreign emoluments clause."
Altman emphasized, in light of the committee's findings, that "DOGE has been found in court to have mishandled our private Social Security data, and these cards may provide another opportunity for that abuse of Americans’ most personal, sensitive information."
The use of the Freedom 250 logo on Social Security cards is "corrupt and inappropriate," said Social Security Works.
The group called on SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano to disclose whether the administration is paying a licensing fee to Freedom 250, release "any and all contracts between the Social Security Administration and Freedom 250," and reveal whether Freedom 250 will have "access to data associated with beneficiaries of Social Security cards bearing their logo."
"This is abuse of Social Security, a nonpartisan institution which Trump claimed he would not hurt," said Altman. "Like issuing passports with Trump’s visage and signature, putting his name on the Kennedy Center, and destroying the East Wing of the White House, turning Social Security cards into political propaganda reveals yet again Trump’s contempt for the American people he is supposed to be serving.“
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A Hollow Song For a Hollow President
Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" promotes a version of patriotism that gets reduced to signing a blank check for whatever our leaders choose to do, but his isn't the sole patriotic ballad to chose from.
Jul 02, 2026
After musician after musician pulled out from President Donald Trump’s “Freedom 250” concert, he was left with Lee Greenwood, an opera tenor, a couple of military bands, and Kash Patel’s girlfriend. The anthem that made Greenwood a star, “God Bless the USA,” was written in 1985 during the height of the Cold War. It begins with the specter of loss—“If tomorrow—all the things were gone, I’d worked for all my life/ And I had to start all over with my children and my wife.” Then the wounds disappear before they’re felt: “I’d thank my lucky stars to be living here today/ Because the flag still stands for freedom and they can’t take that away.”
Ronald Reagan made the song his campaign theme while launching a new age of American inequality by systematically busting unions and cutting taxes for the wealthiest. Greenwood treats layoffs and the resulting toll on ordinary lives as a mere inconvenience. As the refrain shifts from violins and a church organ to a military march, he repeats, “I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free/ And I won’t forget the men who died who gave that right to me.”
Honoring those who died resonates powerfully. Those who risk taking bullets to defend our country deserve respect for their service and sacrifice. Yet this gives us no special grace over citizens of other lands. And doesn’t answer the question of whether or not it was necessary to put them in harms way to begin with. Because Greenwood says nothing about what freedom might demand of us, it becomes just an empty phrase, blessing all that our leaders may do, no matter how arrogant or destructive.
We were defending freedom in this view, when supporting dictators from Chile’s Augusto Pinochet to the Iranian Shah whose brutal rule laid the groundwork for the current theocracy and the war of choice that we hope has now finally ended. We’re supposedly defending freedom now as Trump cozies up to dictators like Russia's Vladimir Putin, Turkey’s Recep Erdoğan, and Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman, and while Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents grab innocent people off America’s streets. When Greenwood sings, “There ain’t no doubt I love this land. God Bless the USA,” he never suggests what qualities of justice would redeem the love he declaims.
Hard as it is, we’re stronger for engaging the difficult questions about who we’ve been as a country and who we want to be.
Greenwood wrote the song after we invaded the 95,000-person country of Grenada, wanting to reflect “the spirit of America being proud.” Reagan made it his campaign theme, and Greenwood has been singing it at Republican rallies and conventions ever since. Trump calls it “the greatest hit of all time” and sold a “God Bless the USA Bible,” (printed in China) that contains the song. Because Greenwood says that just living in America makes us free, his version of patriotism gets reduced to signing a blank check for whatever our leaders choose to do. It’s a perfect match for this or any president who seeks to erase all limits on their power.
But Greenwood’s isn’t the sole patriotic ballad to choose from. The late Waylon Jennings’ “America” reached No. 6 on the charts the year “God Bless the USA” first came out. Written by Sammy Johns, the song affirms connection to native soil, as Jennings repeats, “America, America,” slowly and tenderly as if to a woman he loves; then admits, softly, “You’ve become a habit to me.” But he also makes tough demands—recounting his own history as an Anglo yeoman “from down round Tennessee,” then continuing, “But my brothers/ Are all black and white/ Yellow too/ And the red man is right/ To expect a little from you/ Promise and then follow through/ America.”
In a similar vein, “America the Beautiful” writer Katherine Lee Bates celebrated “purple mountain majesties,” but actively opposed America’s imperial adventures, so added lines like “God mend thine every flaw/Confirm thy soul in self-control/Thy liberty in law!” Bruce Springsteen’s whole career has been about honoring the courage and dignity of ordinary Americans, from “The Promised Land” celebrating those with “dreams that break your heart,” to “The Rising’s” portrait of 9/11 firefighters, to the “Streets of Minneapolis” chorus, “Singing through the bloody mist, we’ll take our stand for this land.”
Hard as it is, we’re stronger for engaging the difficult questions about who we’ve been as a country and who we want to be. Patriotic ballads don’t have to be political manifestos. But the best celebrate our diverse and contradictory land and acknowledge that true greatness does not flow like automatic grace. Rather, it’s fulfilled through honoring common responsibility and connection.
With democracy profoundly threatened, we need true patriotism more than ever. We can choose a patriotism of blind adulation. Or we can embrace the songs that demand the most of us.
An earlier version of this piece appeared in The Fulcrum.
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Trump Plans to Make 250th US Birthday 'All About Himself' With Long Speech, Late Fireworks
One journalist said that "this is like the epitome of personalist rule—turning this into an imperial, dictatorial display of self-glorification."
Jun 30, 2026
As the desolate debacle of President Donald Trump's "Great American State Fair" continues against a backdrop of an empty National Mall and Shrek-green Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, criticism of the president's plans for his "most spectacular Trump rally" and record-seeking fireworks show mounted this week as new details of his self-aggrandizing extravaganza emerged.
"Our luck has it that America's 250 was when Trump is president, and we know that a big thrust of these 250 commemorations are in a lot of ways a celebration of Trump and Trumpism, and if it's not direct, it's the vision that Trump and the MAGA movement has of America," Center on Conscience & War executive director Mike Prysner told BreakThrough News on Tuesday.
Media Matters for America senior fellow Matt Gertz told Greg Sargent, who hosts The New Republic's The Daily Blast podcast, that "the fact that we are not going to be able to have a real celebration of America’s 250th birthday—one that respects how far we have traveled, how far we have to go... it’s a real shame that this is what we’re going to get instead: a would-be authoritarian ruler trying to make it all about himself."
On Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration made a late announcement that it would be shutting down air traffic at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport for three hours on July 3 and 12 hours on the Fourth of July "to help ensure the safe and efficient movement of air traffic during celebrations of America's 250th birthday, including the iconic flyovers and fireworks."
During a rally planned for July 4, Trump is expected to speak for at least 45 minutes starting at 9:00 pm. While attendees are advised to arrive very early, they're reportedly not allowed to bring coolers, lawn chairs, bags, or more than one bottle of water on a day when temperatures are forecast to soar to triple-digits.
Trump said earlier this month that a military flyover featuring a 17-aircraft formation will include the $400 million Boeing 747-8 "flying palace" gifted to Trump by the repressive Qatari monarchy.s
US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Fox News on Sunday that the Trump administration is then planning the "greatest and biggest celebration of fireworks ever."
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that 850,000 fireworks will be detonated in a 40-minute show scheduled to start unusually late—after 10:30 and possibly even 11:00 pm. That's 50 times as many explosions over twice the length of a typical Fourth of July fireworks show, which even in a typical year can spark severe anxiety in dogs and other pets and post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans.
Trump DC fireworks won't start until at least 10:30 p.m. Heavy TSA-like security, so people will have to get there way early. It's going to be one-billion degrees. No coolers, no metal/thermal water containers. Enjoy your $20 bottles of Trump water and your tearful, exhausted children! Happy Fourth!
— Rex Huppke (@rexhuppke.bsky.social) June 29, 2026 at 10:52 AM
If Trump's so-called "Great American State Fair" is any indication, there should be plenty of lawn space available on the National Mall for the July 4 events.
While the president posted a self-congratulatory message to his Truth Social Network on Monday, praising the "fantastic job" his administration has done during the first week of the event and claiming the National Mall was "packed with happy people," attendees and journalists reported "light crowds, short lines, and plenty of open space."
This, despite a nationwide ad blitz on Fox and other networks and websites viewed by scores of millions of people.
Some called it the "Great American Fail."
Former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois said in a video posted Monday on Bluesky that "10 years ago I voted to create 'America 250.' But here's the truth: Trump started 'Freedom 250' to replace it, and made it about himself. Trump’s newest stunt? Trying to convince us there’s a big crowd for Freedom 250. But our eyes don't lie."
María José Gutierrez Chavez, trending news writer at the business magazine Fast Company, described "the unbearable emptiness of the Great American State Fair," writing that the purported celebration "looks more like a liminal space."
Gutierrez cited one TikTok user who commented, “I’ve seen graveyards with more people," and another who said that “there were more people in line for the Trader Joe’s summer tote bags."
Meanwhile, the iconic Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a focal point of the semiquincentennial festivities, remains what Common Dreams columnist Abby Zimet described Tuesday as a "fetid debacle" as cleaning up the algae-choked centerpiece proves more difficult than anticipated.
Instead of blaming the no-bid contracted company owned by a Trump donor for the emerald embarrassment, detractors say the president has humiliated himself even further by attempting to pin the blame for his administration's failure on elusive vandals and former President Barack Obama.
Even some Trump supporters have had enough.
"This sucks," Fox News columnist David Marcus said earlier this month following an event featuring daredevil dirtbike jumps and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) cage matches on the White House lawn that critics said looked like they were inspired by the classic Mike Judge dystopian satire Idiocracy.
"This pisses me off," Marcus said after one of the UFC fighters called former First Lady Michelle Obama a man. "You wanna throw out this nonsense at a rally? Fine. Not at an official Freedom 250 event. Disgraceful."
Some are calling on people to eschew the July 4 event in favor of local celebrations.
"This is like the epitome of personalist rule—turning this into an imperial, dictatorial display of self-glorification," Sargent said. "It’s important that Americans reject this and not show up to this."
Gertz concurred, replying, "I think what we have here is a president who does not respect any sort of separation between himself and the country at large."
"He views the idea of celebrating the nation’s birthday as one and the same with celebrating himself," he added.
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Money Flows Reveal 'Trumpified' 250th Celebration Rife With 'Grift, Self-Dealing, and Enriching Friends'
"The Trump administration has once again found an avenue to tilt the scales in favor of corporate interests even as millions struggle to believe in the dream of America."
Jun 11, 2026
A report released Thursday reveals that the Trump administration has been using the United States' 250th birthday as an opportunity to shovel more than $100 million in federal contracts and grants to "a network of politicized entities under the control of Trump administration officials and political allies."
The report, produced jointly by researchers at Public Citizen and the Revolving Door Project, reveals how Freedom 250, an organization created by Trump loyalists last year after a failed effort to take over the congressionally-authorized America 250, has been raising money to create a "Trumpified" semiquincentennial celebration.
Since October, the administration has handed out contracts and grants worth nearly $103 million to entities that are either controlled or influenced by Trump insiders including Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, 2024 campaign manager Chris LaCivita, and former campaign finance director Meredith O’Rourke.
In addition to receiving taxpayer cash, Freedom 250 is getting undisclosed amounts in private funding from corporations including ExxonMobil, Oracle, Lockheed Martin, Palantir, and United Airlines, all of which have major regulatory issues before the federal government.
"Freedom 250’s ongoing efforts to raise private money raise a slate of ethics and transparency concerns about whether Trump and his allies are soliciting donations in exchange for access to the administration, including the president," the report notes, "especially since many of the corporations that have joined have major business dealings currently before the administration."
Alan Zibel, research director with Public Citizen and co-author of the report, said that Freedom 250's entire operation revolved around creating a "Trumpified version of the 250th anniversary" that is "mostly about lionizing Trump and catering to his political base."
"The 250th anniversary of the country should be a moment to reflect on the values of the nation," added Zibel. "Apparently, the Trump administration is replacing those values with grift, self-dealing, and enriching friends with taxpayer dollars."
Toni Aguilar Rosenthal, program director with the Revolving Door Project and report co-author, remarked that the Freedom 250 celebrations fit a lifelong Trump pattern of "obsessively scarring everything in his path with his likeness, his name, and his gaudy, dictatorial taste in faux gilding."
"The Trump administration has once again found an avenue to tilt the scales in favor of corporate interests," Rosenthal added, "even as millions struggle to believe in the dream of America 250 years after the signing of the [Declaration of Independence]."
A Thursday report in The Atlantic detailed the tensions between Freedom 250 and America 250, which is still planning to put on its own events in a spirit of nonpartisan celebration of the United States.
While some Republican members of America 250, including former Trump White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, have been trying to make peace with the more MAGA-centric Freedom 250 operation, that hasn't stopped Trump loyalists from taking shots at the group.
"America250 can’t get over the fact that Trump won,” former Trump campaign manager LaCivita told The Atlantic. “They want to apologize for America’s 250th. We don’t.”
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