The United States turned 250 on Saturday, and the country marked the milestone much as it has marked the Fourth of July for generations: with parades, concerts and fireworks. What set the semiquincentennial apart was its scale, a punishing heat wave across the East, and a holiday-eve speech from President Trump that mixed celebration with sharp political warning.
A speech beneath the four presidents
President Trump opened the anniversary weekend with a roughly half-hour address at Mount Rushmore, coupling praise for American power with a vow to confront what he called a resurgent communist movement, NBC News reported.
"There is now a resurgence of the communist menace in our land, including from newcomers to our country, who embrace ideas totally opposed to our way of life and our great success," Trump said, according to South Dakota Searchlight. He called communism "a mortal threat to American liberty" and told the crowd, "You can be loyal to Karl Marx or you can be loyal to America. You can be a communist or you can be a patriot. You cannot be both."
Supporters described the speech as an optimistic defense of American ideals on a landmark birthday. Critics questioned both the message and the venue, arguing that a memorial meant to unify was an odd stage for pointed partisan language during a national celebration. Bloomberg noted that the address leaned as much on grievance as on commemoration.
Record heat scrambles the East
While organizers had planned some of the largest Independence Day events in decades, an extreme heat wave upended the schedule in the mid-Atlantic. Washington's National Independence Day Parade, a centerpiece of the capital's festivities, was canceled outright because of dangerous conditions, with heat index values forecast well above 100 degrees. Several suburban parades in Virginia and Maryland were called off as well.
Organizers of the Salute to America celebration on the National Mall adjusted their timing to limit exposure, opening the Washington Monument grounds later in the afternoon and pushing the fireworks toward the cooler evening hours, NBC Washington reported.
Los Angeles throws a block party
On the West Coast, Los Angeles hosted one of the day's marquee events, an "America's Block Party" concert at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The benefit show featured Chris Stapleton, The Smashing Pumpkins, Maren Morris and Anthony Ramos, with special guest Chaka Khan and Queen Latifah as host, Rolling Stone reported.
The evening closed with a fireworks and drone display, and tickets were priced at $17.76, a nod to the year of independence, according to NBC Los Angeles. Proceeds supported Giving 4th, a charitable initiative tied to the anniversary that encourages Americans to fold a act of giving into their celebrations.
A birthday, and a debate
The 250th arrived at a moment when Americans are still arguing over what the country's founding means and who it includes. Polling released around the holiday suggested many people were hazy on the specifics of what the semiquincentennial marks, even as tens of millions turned out for local events. For a nation built on an argument about self-government, that mix of celebration and disagreement was, in its way, fitting. The fireworks will fade; the debate will not.
