Divided Nation Celebrates 250
America's 250th Anniversary Faces Division, With Many Choosing Not to Celebrate
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America turns 250 on July 4, 2026 — but one in five Americans say they will not celebrate, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. The partisan gap is stark: 25% of Democrats plan to skip the festivities, compared to just 8% of Republicans. A full 38% of Americans doubt the country will even exist as a single nation 250 years from now, TIME reported.
What should be a unifying milestone has instead become a flashpoint. Two competing organizations are planning rival celebrations. Political divisions are shaping who shows up — and who stays home.
Two Rival Organizations Are Fighting Over the Birthday Party
Congress created the nonpartisan **America250 Foundation** back in 2016 to plan a decade of anniversary events. But when President Trump returned to office in January 2025, he signed an executive order creating **Freedom 250** — a separate public-private partnership under the National Park Foundation. The Guardian described it as a "shadow corporation" designed to bypass the bipartisan constraints of the original commission.
The result: America250 is now facing a $100 million funding shortfall, while Freedom 250 received $68 million in taxpayer funds this year, according to Spotlight PA. On July 2, House Democrats released a report titled *"From Vanity to Insanity,"* alleging Freedom 250 diverted money away from the original commission. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) called it "hijacked and perverted into a hotbed of corruption."
The Great American State Fair Opened to Thin Crowds and $25 Pretzels
The centerpiece of Freedom 250 is a 16-day "Great American State Fair" on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Trump headlined its kickoff on June 24, 2026, in a rally-style speech with military flyovers. The fair opened to the public the next day. But social media images confirmed by Snopes showed sparse attendance in its opening week, worsened by extreme heat.
Infrastructure problems added to the trouble. A 110-foot Ferris wheel and several state booths suffered power outages, Forbes reported. West Virginia's air-conditioned pavilion shut down entirely. Food prices drew mockery online — turkey legs cost $23 and pretzels ran $25, according to USA Today. At least six states, including Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, declined to send official representatives.
Bucks County, Pennsylvania Captures the National Divide in One ZIP Code
Reuters traveled to Bucks County, a deeply divided swing region in Pennsylvania, to take the nation's temperature. Dan Marrazzo, a Republican laundromat owner, said the country is thriving. "The poorest person in America has a better lifestyle than some of the richest people in the rest of the world," he said. For him, 2026 is a validation of the American dream.
Just miles away, retired teacher Betsy Halsey sees it differently. "I don't want to be at the same party with people feeling enthusiastic about where our country is going," she told Reuters. Yale historian Beverly Gage put it plainly: the act of celebrating has itself become "political and partisan" — a shift from past anniversaries, which were used to heal national wounds rather than deepen them.
250 Years In, America Is Grilling But Not United
Despite the divisions, 80% of Americans still plan some form of celebration — grilling, parades, fireworks. But the mood behind the sparklers is grim. A full 72% of Americans say the country is headed in the wrong direction, according to AP-NORC. And 46% of Americans cannot correctly identify what the 250th anniversary even commemorates, per a Cato Institute survey.
The 1976 Bicentennial is the historical comparison everyone is reaching for. That celebration came after Vietnam and Watergate — and was still seen as a moment of national healing. In 2026, no such consensus exists. Trump himself called the July 4 events "the most spectacular TRUMP RALLY of them all," according to Spotlight PA — a framing that, for roughly half the country, says everything.
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