The fates have granted Donald Trump a rare, historic opportunity to burnish his personality cult. As luck would have it, the biggest showman ever to occupy the White House will be in charge of the upcoming celebrations for the 250th anniversary of American independence.
True to form, Trump is making the semiquincentennial – an ungainly word for what ought to be a fabulous occasion – all about him. Ignoring the words of the Founding Fathers about how “all men are created equal”, the President has embarked on a round of self-glorification that would make them blush with shame.
Against the backdrop of rising food and fuel costs that have shut many Americans out of Trump’s proclaimed “golden age”, gaudy plans for commemorative gold coins, passports and $250 bills bearing his portrait (if the law can be overcome), and a series of brash, Maga-themed events, are dividing rather than uniting the country.
Freedom 250, which is organising the celebrations, claims to be showcasing “the triumph of the American spirit” and the “everyday Americans” who 250 years ago “chose to fight for a simple idea: power belongs to the people”.
But with Trump seeking to bottle that patriotism and stick his own name on it, the Home of the Brave would appear to be meekly accepting that its elected ruler can bulldoze through history and reset the nation in his own image. It’s a strange reversal of fortune that has led Sean Wilentz, professor of American history at Princeton, to claim: “We’re no longer living in a truly democratic regime.”
