WASHINGTON – During his campaign, President Donald Trump vowed to host an “extraordinary” year-long celebration in honor of 250 years of American independence. On Thursday, he will travel to America’s heartland to inaugurate the patriotic events that will unfold ahead of next year’s milestone anniversary.
The celebration at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines is set to include “spectacular” showcases of American culture and history, live musical acts, and a fireworks display to close the evening, according to U.S. Ambassador Monica Crowley, Trump’s representative for the organizing body, America250.
Organizers hope the upcoming year of celebrations will serve as a means to unite a divided nation and reduce political discord, which is no small feat considering the existing divisions. Thursday’s event takes place as the Republican majority in Congress seeks final approval of a comprehensive tax cut and spending bill, a key part of Trump’s legislative agenda that has faced unanimous opposition from Democrats. Additionally, more Americans disapprove of the Republican president’s performance than those who approve.
Iowa was a “logical choice” for the kickoff, Crowley said, because of its central location and Trump’s affinity for the state, which supported him in each of the last three general elections. She also said Iowa’s middle-of-the-country geography is symbolic of the desire to use the coming celebrations to help bring people together.
“We’ve had so much division and so much polarization over the last many decades, but certainly over the last few years, that to be able to bring the country together to celebrate America’s 250th birthday through patriotism, shared values and a renewed sense of civic pride, to be able to do that in the center of the country, is incredibly important,” she said.
A recent Gallup poll showed the widest partisan split in patriotism in over two decades, with only about a third of Democrats saying they are proud to be American compared with about 9 in 10 Republicans.
About 4 in 10 U.S. adults approve of Trump’s performance as president, according to a June AP-NORC poll, while about 6 in 10 disapprove. That poll also showed a majority of Americans said the June military parade that Trump greenlit in Washington for the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army — an event that fell on his 79th birthday — was “not a good use” of government money.
Crowley spoke to the political and ideological schisms that left the country “torn apart” ahead of its last big birthday celebration, noting that 1976 closely followed the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal that led Richard Nixon to resign from the presidency.
“That moment was critical to uniting the country and moving forward, and I am very optimistic and hopeful that the yearlong celebration that we’re about to launch will do the same thing in this present moment,” she said in an interview.
America’s 250th birthday “is something that I think that all Americans can come together to celebrate and honor our history as well as our present and our future,” Crowley said.
On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, officially marking the 13 colonies’ split from Great Britain.
“We’re gonna have a big, big celebration, as you know, 250 years,” Trump said about the birthday during his Memorial Day address to a solemn audience at Arlington National Cemetery. “In some ways, I’m glad I missed that second term where it was because I wouldn’t be your president for that.”
Video of then-candidate Trump proposing a “Great American State Fair” in Iowa in May 2023 began to recirculate after his reelection last November. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, told the White House earlier this year that Iowa stood “ready” to host the event and that Trump had the state’s full support, according to a draft of Reynolds’ letter obtained by The Associated Press.
The culminating fair instead will be held next year on the National Mall in Washington, according to a White House official who was not authorized to share details publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. But Trump honored his initial proposal with a kickoff in the first-in-the-nation caucus state.
The lineup Thursday night will include Lee Greenwood, according to social media posts advertising the event, whose song, “God Bless the USA,” is a regular feature at Trump rallies and official events. Also attending will be Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
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Fingerhut reported from Des Moines, Iowa. AP Polling Editor Amelia Thomson DeVeaux in Washington contributed to this report.
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