Trump Kicks Off America 250 Celebration With Sweeping Defense of Administration
The president ended the patriotic National Mall event with his signature dance.
President Trump launched America’s celebration of its 250th anniversary of independence Wednesday evening with a campaign-style address touting his administration’s accomplishments and previewing a slate of patriotic events planned for the coming year — before making the Washington crowd roar with his signature dance to the disco hit “Y.M.C.A.”
Speaking on the National Mall at the Great American State Fair opening, Mr. Trump declared, “America is back,” calling out the previous administration’s failures.
“Today we have the largest economy on earth. We have the strongest military on earth. We have the most powerful technology on earth. We have the greatest culture on earth, and above all, we have the greatest people on earth,” he said. “Just like those patriots of 1776, over the past 17 months, we have taken power back from the far-off political class.”
The president framed the upcoming July 4 observance as the beginning of a yearlong commemoration of the nation’s semiquincentennial, saying Americans would celebrate “250 years of glorious American freedom” and the principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence.
Much of the speech centered on Mr. Trump’s record since returning to office last year.
He said his administration has restored American standing abroad, secured trillions of dollars in investment commitments, reduced illegal immigration, and strengthened border security. He also cited tax reductions, deregulation, military spending, and energy production as evidence of what he described as a national resurgence.
Mr. Trump also highlighted his administration’s recent controversial agreement with Iran, saying it ended the conflict, reopened the Strait of Hormuz, and ensured Iran “will never have a nuclear weapon.”
“Today Iran has no navy, no air force, no antiaircraft capacity, no missile launches, no manufacturing, and their leadership has been obliterated,” he said. “For the first time in 3,000 years we are finally going to have peace in the Middle East.”
While praising the armed forces, Mr. Trump hinted another task may lie ahead.
“How good is our military? How good is our military?” he asked. “Iran was essentially finished in one hour, Venezuela was finished, and I guess we have other things in store, but we don’t want to get carried away.”
Mr. Trump didn’t elaborate about the “other things,” but on more than one occasion he’s said America’s attention may turn to Cuba at some point, which has been under Communist domination for more than 65 years.
The president linked the Iran accord to economic gains, predicting gasoline prices would soon fall to $2.50 per gallon or lower and noting stock markets have risen.
Turning to domestic issues, Mr. Trump praised immigration-enforcement officials and said the administration had transformed what he called the nation’s “worst” border into its “strongest.”
“For the past 13 months, zero illegal aliens have been admitted into the United States,” he said. “We are removing murderers, gang members, drug dealers, and dangerous criminals by the thousands.”
Mr. Trump also said Washington had undergone a dramatic transformation under his administration, pointing to the removal of homeless encampments, graffiti cleanup, and restoration work at monuments, fountains, and parks throughout the capital.
He reported crews have repaired more than 50 monuments and memorials and are renovating Lafayette Square, in front of the White House, while continuing work on the Reflecting Pool near the Lincoln Memorial after what he described as vandalism.
Mr. Trump outlined several projects intended to commemorate the 250th milestone, among them a new White House ballroom, a triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery, the National Garden of American Heroes, and the Spirit of ’76 exhibition at Freedom Plaza.
“This is the very beginning of the Golden Age of America,” Mr. Trump said. “This anniversary is a time to be proud of our past, but it is also a time to lift our sights, expand our ambitions, and raise our expectations of what America can be.”
The president recognized several cabinet members and congressional leaders attending the event, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services chief Mehmet Oz.
Mr. Trump also promoted the ongoing World Cup, congratulating FIFA President Gianni Infantino and wishing the U.S. men’s team success in its next match.
The speech also revisited several administration priorities, including expanded domestic energy production, lower prescription-drug prices, increased military spending, school choice, elimination of federal-government diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, and efforts to return education policy to the states.
Mr. Trump announced festivities on the National Mall would continue through July 10, featuring state exhibits, military demonstrations, patriotic performances, a FIFA fan zone, and a rodeo. He also promoted “the largest fireworks display in world history” July 4, the Patriot Games for high-school athletes, and a Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington this summer. His speech featured a flyover including B-2 bombers and F-35 fighter jets; more flyovers are planned.
The inaugural Great American State Fair event initially had a different date — and a different flavor — when announced in May. Country-music star Martina McBride pulled out of the planned June 25 kickoff concert shortly after she was named as a headliner. The “Independence Day” singer said she’d been told the event would be nonpartisan. Rocker Bret Michaels, who won Mr. Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice 3” reality show, said he canceled over security concerns.
That led the president to suggest he would headline the opener, and headline it he did, with a just-under-30-minute talk introduced by Lee Greenwood singing “God Bless the U.S.A.,” a theme song Mr. Trump used in 2024 campaign rallies. “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band played him offstage with another campaign-trail hit, Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.,” sung as uniformed Marines recreated its famous hand gestures.
Closing his address before that song, Mr. Trump invoked the nation’s founders and generations of Americans who fought in wars, built infrastructure, and expanded the country over the past two and a half centuries.
“We are one people, one nation marching into one magnificent future under our great American flag,” Mr. Trump said before repeating his familiar campaign pledge: “We will make America powerful again. We will make America wealthy again. We will make America healthy again. We will make America strong again. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again, and we will make America great again.”
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