DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Shortly after Congress passed tax cut legislation that he supported, President Donald Trump transformed a heartland celebration for the United States’ upcoming 250th anniversary into a celebration of himself Thursday night, surrounded by supporters.
Trump claimed that the incredible win we had only hours prior, when Congress passed the one huge, magnificent bill to restore America’s greatness, was the best birthday present America could receive on the eve of the July 4th holiday.
In a symbolic synthesis of the overwhelming force he has used to transform Washington and the nation, the Republican president will sign the legislation Friday during a picnic at the White House, as fighter jets and stealth bombers that took part in recent airstrikes in Iran fly overhead.
He pumped his fists when musician Lee Greenwood sang Trump’s campaign trail anthem, God Bless the USA, and declared, “We’ve saved our country.” Along with tax incentives, the proposal reduces healthcare and food aid for low-income individuals while increasing funds for deportations.
It was the first act of a year-long celebration to commemorate two and a half centuries of American freedom at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. A huge fair with displays from every state will take place on Washington’s National Mall next summer, marking the culmination of the planning.
“I think that all Americans can come together to celebrate and honor our history as well as our present and our future,” U.S. Ambassador Monica Crowley, Trump’s liaison to the organizing group, America250, stated in an interview.
She gave a tribute to Trump when she took the stage, calling him the heir to the nation’s founding spirit of revolution.
Crowley remarked, “I don’t know what more people want or expect from an American president.” He is literally doing everything that is required of him in his job, and much more.
For hours, thousands of people waited for Trump in temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius). Trump memorabilia, such as Make America Great Again hats, Ultra MAGA shirts, and a pet monkey wearing a miniature Trump shirt, was all over the audience.
Trump heard what sounded like pyrotechnics throughout the speech. Ten days remained till the anniversary of his Butler, Pennsylvania, assassination attempt.
“I hope it’s just fireworks,” he remarked. renowned final remarks.
Trump was speaking through strong protective glass, unlike a year earlier.
“You must always think positively,” he remarked. That sound didn’t sit well with me either.
Trump’s political ecstasy was not deterred by the recall of one of the most troubling periods in recent American history. He boasted about his election triumphs, the recent U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, the falling cost of eggs, and the decrease in the number of migrants crossing the southern border with Mexico.
Trump declared, “This is going to blow it away. We got great marks in the first term.” He claimed that because it makes him think of himself as president, he enjoys referring to his wife Melania as first lady.
The celebrations in the upcoming year are seen by organizers as a means of bridging partisan divides and bringing the nation together. However, considering the nation’s divisions and the adamant Democratic resistance to the more than 800-page package that contains the GOP’s top policy demands, it is an enormous undertaking. The Republican president’s performance is also viewed with more disapproval than approval by American adults.
According to a new Gallup poll, only over one-third of Democrats say they are happy to be American, compared to roughly 90% of Republicans. This represents the largest partisan divide in patriotism in more than 20 years.
According to a June AP-NORC poll, roughly 4 out of 10 American adults are satisfied with Trump’s performance as president, while roughly 6 out of 10 are not.
This year’s cost-cutting measures by the Trump administration could make the festivities more difficult. The National Endowment for the Humanities sent letters to state humanities councils nationwide informing them that their federal grants had been terminated due to reduced financing. Many of those councils had previously allocated a portion of their government money for events at museums, libraries, and schools in order to commemorate the 250th anniversary.
The budget cuts have already reduced some of the planned programming, such as community readings of the Declaration of Independence, according to Gabrielle Lyon, executive director of Illinois Humanities and chair of the Illinois America 250 Commission.
“If you’re not funding the humanities councils, it’s very difficult to understand how we can protect and preserve people’s ability locally to make this mean something for them and to celebrate what they want to celebrate,” Lyon added.
This report was written by Amelia Thomson DeVeaux, AP Polling Editor in Washington. Chris Megerian and Gary Fields, both AP journalists, also contributed.
Sign up for the Today newsletter
Receive all the information you require to begin your day, given directly to your inbox each morning.
