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Major media outlets and media pundits accused President Donald Trump of ruining the America 250 and Fourth of July celebrations over the past week, even before the nationwide celebrations.
A direct example came on Friday when 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 seeing red, white and blue,” Givhan wrote. “When combined into a maximalist display of nationalist cheerleading, the colors make my heart ache. Flags on federal buildings are great, but they hang next to banners showing President Trump's frowning face.”
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President 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, DC. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Negative anti-Trump sentiment was also present in an article in The Atlantic on Wednesday. Staff writer Anne Applebaum described how Trump had “inevitably” “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' we normally celebrate on the 4th of July,” Applebaum wrote. “And this affects the rest of us, whether we want it or not. The Congressional celebration, planned for a decade, has been usurped by the president's celebration, funded by private donors and with a political speech by him. Other institutions in and around Washington have postponed or scaled back their 250th celebrations, so as not to get in the president's way. Many people who could have participated will not attend, pay attention or care.”
Although less critical, Washington Post reporters Natalie Allison and Cleve R. Wootson Jr. made similar comments in their article on Saturday, stating that Trump had become “central” to the America 250 celebration.
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A New York Times op-ed lamented that President Donald Trump “ruined” the Fourth of July. (iStock)
“As he has done throughout the anniversary celebration, Trump presented himself as central to the story he wants the country to tell about itself: that America was diminished before him, revived by him, and is now celebrating its founding through its restoration: a promised 'Golden Age.' At Mount Rushmore on Friday night, he told the crowd that he 'almost single-handedly saved' the Second Amendment and that he was going to 'give our country its identity back,'” they wrote.
Former NBC host Chuck Todd grew more furious about Trump's role in the America 250 celebrations during his show Saturday. Todd even went so far as to claim that Trump not only ruined the 4th of July celebrations but also the image of the United States.
“Trump is doing us all a favor by selfishly trying to steal this anniversary from us. Now we see who he really is. So no, it's not the celebration we deserve. It's not the one we could have had. But we have a mirror, and the mirror tells us something. The country is much bigger than Donald Trump. It's bigger than any president, and it's obviously bigger than any political party. And there is no single definition of patriotism,” Todd said.
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Multiple media outlets published criticism of President Donald Trump's Fourth of July celebrations before they took place. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
He continued: “But you still need leaders who understand that you still need citizens who insist on it. And you still need people willing to say that the national story belongs to all of us, not just whoever is in power at any given time. America at 250 may be a missed opportunity. Donald Trump has absolutely sullied the American brand. But America at 275 doesn't have to be.”
Todd also said he felt angry and “betrayed as an American” and that Trump “cheapened” the country.
“That's why I'm so pissed off. Not because I love the country any less, but because I love the idea of America enough to resent seeing it devalued by this man. America deserved better at 250. Someday, I think it will get better. But it's in your hands,” Todd said.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
Trump celebrated America's 250th birthday with a 28-minute speech at Mount Rushmore followed by a 23-minute fireworks show.
“The American dream still lives, and the American flag still flies more proudly than ever above the people who will not give up,” Trump said. “The nation that will not fail, the country that will not fall no matter how hard the enemy tries, we cannot be defeated.”
