America 250 or Freedom 250?
By Frank F Islam & Ed Crego, June 11th, 2026 (Image credits: Tom de Boor, JNCGPT54)
“The greatest misconception about the American Revolution is that it was something that united Americans. It leaves out the reality that it was a civil war among Americans.”
— Historian Alan Taylor
The United States of America has never really been united. From its founding, our country has been a divided nation.
That divide, which has been in existence for 250 years, has widened and deepened significantly during Trump’s second term in office, as he does things which appeal to him and his MAGA base, and ignores or overrides nearly everything and everyone else.
Trump’s establishment of Freedom 250 through an executive order on January 29, 2025 to compete with America 250, established by Congress in 2016 to be the national organization to commemorate and celebrate America’s sesquicentennial, demonstrates and personifies the nature and extent of that divide.
“We’ve all come to look for America.”
— Simon and Garfunkel
America 250’s mission and vision statement, in part, declares:
We aim to inspire our fellow Americans to reflect on our past, strengthen our love of country, and renew our commitment to the ideals of democracy through programs that educate, engage, and unite us as a nation.
When it created America 250 ten years ago, Congress established a U.S. Sesquicentennial Commission to “to plan and orchestrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.” That “nonpartisan” Commission is composed of four U.S representatives; four senators; sixteen private citizens; and twelve ex-officio members from the three branches of the federal government and its independent agencies.
America 250 has a number of initiatives it’s sponsoring across the country in 2026, such as America’s Field Trip. America’s Field Trip was a nationwide contest for students in grades 3–12 to share “their perspectives on what America means to them.” 250 winners of that contest have been awarded field trips to historical or cultural landmarks or a cash prize.
The initiatives will culminate with events approaching or in the week of July 4. Those events include: America’s Block Party to be hosted by citizens in neighborhoods and communities across the country. America Gives — “a movement to transform Independence Day into the largest single day of charitable giving in U.S. history.”
The bipartisan nature of the America 250 celebration is made clear by the fact that 75% of the elected representatives in the U.S. Senate and House signed on to be members of the America 250 Congressional Caucus.
“Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.”
— Kris Kristofferson
Donald Trump’s Freedom 250 stands in stark contrast to America 250. In true Trumpian fashion, his executive order states that the purpose of the order is “to provide a grand celebration worthy of the momentous occasion of the 250th anniversary of American Independence on July 4, 2026.”
The order also centers everything on the President and his acolytes, establishing a “White House Task Force Celebrating America’s 250th Birthday.” Trump is chair of the Task Force, JD Vance is the Vice Chair, and its members are the secretaries of various agencies and other White House-related individuals. The order names one specific initiative: building and rebuilding a National Garden for American Heroes.
Other initiatives that have or will be undertaken under the auspices of Freedom 250 include: Freedom 250 Rededicate: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise and Thanksgiving, held on the National Mall; Freedom 250 UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), held on the south lawn of the White House; and Freedom 250 Grand Prix Of Washington, DC, an Indy-style car race held on the National Mall.
Those events are Trump and Washington, D.C-centered, and intended to be spectacles for the President and his ardent MAGA supporters. Finally, there is the Freedom 250 Great American State Fair concert that created significant controversy and will not be convened as originally planned.
The Great American State Fair
“Song sung blue, everybody knows one.”
— Neal Diamond
The American Great State Fair was scheduled to launch on June 24, with musical acts and concerts on the following days, featuring well-known performers. In late May, more than one-half of those artists — including Martina McBride, the Commodores, and Brent Michaels — decided not to perform.
Ethan Beck and Geoff Edgers reported for the Washington Post that many of those who withdrew cited “the event’s political associations.” Martina McBride posted on social media that she was ”presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading.”
As might be expected, Donald Trump immediately reacted to these withdrawals with fury and anger. He accused those who withdrew as having the “yips,” and proclaimed on Truth Social that he was
…thinking about bringing the Number One Attraction anywhere in the World, the man who gets much larger audiences than Elvis in his prime, and he does so without a guitar, the man who loves our Country more than anyone else, and the man who some say is the Greatest President in History (THE GOAT!), DONALD J. TRUMP, to take the place of these highly paid, Third Rate ‘Artists,’ and give a major speech, rallying the Country forward like I have done ever since being President!
And this supposedly “nonpartisan event” was converted into a MAGA rally. About a week later, on Truth Social, Trump proclaimed, “We will be bringing you, LIVE, the greatest rally EVER! It will be a special event at every level — A Rally to end all Rallies.” That rally will have Trump as the keynote speaker, a few other speakers, and some musicians, such as Vanilla Ice, who have performed for Trump before.
Putting it into perspective, the American Great State Fair might more appropriately be named the American Great State Fare. That’s the case because Americans across the country will pay a price for the damage done to our democracy and American unity by the divide which Trump has perpetuated, and continues to intensify with and through Freedom 250.
The Duty of Concerned Americans
“America, America God shed his grace on thee”
— Michael W. Smith
In conclusion, as stated at the opening of this piece, America has never been a united nation. America 250 was developed to try to bring us together, and to bridge some of the divides — regardless of who we are and where we live. Freedom 250 was created to advance one leader and his supporters’ perspectives rather than to promote unity.
Each citizen will choose whether to celebrate and commemorate America’s Sesquicentennial by embracing the viewpoint of America 250 or that of Freedom 250.
In our opinion, however, regardless of where they stand on the political spectrum, concerned citizens will understand it is their duty to work together with others of similar minds to narrow the existing divide. We believe this bipartisan/nonpartisan collaboration is in the best interest of all the American people and essential for securing our nation’s future.
We have written on this need earlier this year, and will not go into details here. Rather, in closing, we leave you with these thoughts from the song, America the Beautiful:
O beautiful for spacious skies
For amber waves of grain
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.