Mainstream media and media pundits accused President Donald Trump of ruining America 250 and July 4 celebrations over the last week, even prior to nationwide celebrations.A direct example came on Friday when The New York Times opinion writer Robin Givhan wrote her op-ed titled "Trump Ruined the Fourth of July for Me.""But this year, I can barely tolerate the sight of red, white and blue," Givhan wrote."When combined into a maximalist display of nationalist cheerleading, the colors make my heart ache.
The flags on federal buildings are grand, but they hang alongside banners featuring President Trump’s scowling face." BILL MAHER TELLS LIBERALS TO STOP 'PARTISAN SULKING' AND JOIN AMERICA 250 PARTYPresident Donald Trump speaks during Salute to America, an Independence Day event honoring the nation's 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)The negative sentiment against Trump was also present in an article from The Atlantic on Wednesday.
Staff writer Anne Applebaum described how Trump "inevitably" had "destroyed the nation’s 250th-anniversary celebrations" based on his partisan stance."This year is different, because the White House is inhabited by people who don’t believe in the 'abstractions' that we usually celebrate on the Fourth of July," Applebaum wrote."And this affects the rest of us, whether we want it to or not.
Congress’s celebration, planned for a decade, has been usurped by the president’s celebration, funded by private donors and featuring a political speech by himself.Other institutions in and around Washington postponed or reduced their 250th celebrations, so as not to get in the way of the president.
Many people who might have participated will not attend, pay attention, or care."Though less critical, The Washington Post reporters Natalie Allison and Cleve R.Wootson Jr.
made similar comments in their piece on Saturday, claiming that Trump had made himself "central...