The previously planned event for the country’s anniversary will feature the president’s playlist and his keynote address, he said.
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President Donald Trump said Monday he would be closely involved in a marquee celebration of the country’s 250th anniversary, casting the July 4 event on the National Mall as one of his own rallies.
“We are going to host the most spectacular TRUMP RALLY of them all, a ‘TRIBUTE TO AMERICA,’” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. The event will feature the planned largest fireworks show in history, call attention to Trump’s changes to the Lincoln Memorial’s Reflecting Pool, and feature a selection of patriotic and classic songs — including Trump’s own playlist, the president added.
“There will be incredible Flyovers and Airshows featuring our Top Military Pilots and Equipment, and I will deliver keynote remarks that you will not want to miss,” Trump wrote. The event is set to be between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, he said.
The White House did not immediately respond to questions about Trump’s framing of the event as one of his rallies.
Trump has increasingly recast the 250th anniversary celebrations around him and his preferences. After many performers withdrew from the Great American State Fair, one of the anniversary’s marquee events, saying they did not realize how closely it was associated with Trump, the president said he would headline the event himself. The White House also hosted a “Freedom 250″ UFC event — one of Trump’s favorite sports to attend — on the president’s 80th birthday Sunday night.
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Some supporters have cheered Trump’s efforts to shape the nation’s anniversary, calling Sunday night’s fight at the White House an opportunity to inspire Americans.
“Fight for freedom. Fight for our way of life. Fight for America,” the Homeland Security Department — led by Markwayne Mullin, a former MMA fighter — wrote on X.
Democrats have said Trump’s expanding role in the anniversary celebrations is inappropriate and potentially unethical, opening investigations into sponsorships of some of the events.
Freedom 250, a public-private partnership the White House launched last year, had previously announced the July 4 event, calling it the nation’s “premier Independence Day celebration” but making no mention of Trump’s involvement.
“Set against the iconic backdrop of the National Mall, Salute to America will bring together citizens from every corner of the country to honor and celebrate the United States,” Freedom 250 wrote in a release this month.
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