Trump kicks off America’s 250th celebration with campaign-style rally

President on National Mall rattles off list of apparent victories and says ‘I am thrilled to declare America is back’

Donald Trump kicked off what was intended to be a “spectacular birthday party” for American’s 250th year of independence with a political rally touting his presidency.

“I am thrilled to declare that America is back,” Trump said at the opening ceremony for the Great American State Fair in Washington DC , held on the National Mall. “As you know very well, a short time ago we were a dead country. We were dead. Now we’re the hottest country anywhere in the world. We’re respected by everybody. Nobody’s laughing at us any more.”

He rattled off a list of what he described as victories, including a preliminary deal to end the conflict with Iran, a crackdown on immigration and a tax bill. “In the American Revolution, they had a saying no tax on tea. But with the Great Big Beautiful Bill we did even better,” he said, harkening back to the event’s purpose.

He also boasted about projects he has spearheaded around Washington to beautify the city ahead of its independence anniversary, including his project to make the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool “American flag blue” for the celebrations. The revamp has cost about $14.1m, as the pool has faced setbacks including an algae bloom and peeling polyurethane liner.

Trump repeated a claim, that the administration has offered no evidence of, that the peel was caused by vandals: “Thugs, bad people.”

Before the remarks, attendees gathered on the national mall waved star-spangled flags as the US marine band drummed up energy.

Popular musical acts including the Commodores, Martina McBride and Young MC had been announced as headliners for the opening ceremony, but they and other performers backed out of the event, citing its political undertone. Some states also opted out of participating in the Great American State Fair over similar concerns.

Opera singer Christopher Macchio and country musician Lee Greenwood, whose 1984 single God Bless the USA has soundtracked Maga rallies for years, took the stage instead.

Alexis Wilkins, the girlfriend of the FBI director, Kash Patel, sang the national anthem. Wilkins, who announced her performance in a Tuesday social media post, had rebuffed online speculation about nepotism factoring into her appearance. “I was invited to sing this anthem on my own accord,” she wrote on X.

Trump has spoken of America’s 250th birthday as an inflection point, a time for the nation to recommit itself to patriotism and faith. But while the events were initially touted as nonpartisan and nonpolitical, many of the scheduled celebrations have morphed into Maga-themed occasions. Those programs include Make America Healthy Again Mondays and an Independence Day celebration that will feature a campaign-style rally hosted by Trump.

The National Mall was also the backdrop for another event celebrating America’s 250th year of independence, a UFC fight that drew ethics concerns over the optics of a for-profit company commandeering a public space.

Freedom 250 is also slated to host another sporting event dubbed the Patriot Games. High school students will compete in physical and mental challenges. Scholarship funding of $125,000 will be awarded to one male and one female champion.

The celebrations come as the Trump administration fields criticism that it has promoted “revisionist” history. Early into his second term, the president signed an executive order to purge the nation’s public monuments of “ideological indoctrination”. Materials referencing slavery, Indigenous people and the climate crisis were removed from parks, although a judge recently ordered the administration to reinstate them.