A moment meant for unity becomes a mirror for America's deepest divisions

U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive to attend the 80th United Nations General Assembly, in New York City, New York, U.S., September 23, 2025. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper

President Donald Trump is promoting his Great American State Fair as a pro-America concert intended to celebrate America’s 250 year anniversary — yet there are competing visions for how to celebrate the country’s semiquincentennial.

“One month from America’s 250th birthday, events and celebrations to commemorate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence are as fragmented as the nation’s politics and culture in 2026,” reported Mike Magner from CQ-Roll Call on Sunday. Describing Trump’s event as a “campaign-style MAGA rally” which numerous artists refused to participate in, Magner mentioned that “America250, the bipartisan commission established by Congress to plan for the ‘semiquincentennial,’ remains the central organizer, but its efforts to get all 350 million Americans to participate in various ways have been overshadowed in recent weeks by the White House sponsor of events, Freedom 250.”

In contrast to this event, Magner mentioned a pair of groups called All of U.S. 250 and Next 250, both of which also have their own plans to celebrate America’s anniversary. They are leading a coalition that will celebrate America’s birthday including a “nationwide day of mobilization” on June 27 that features “marches, rallies, cultural activations, performances, artistic installations, youth storytelling projects, teach-ins, faith gatherings and community events” in Washington and all over America.

“We’re framing it as a counter-commemoration ahead of the 250th anniversary and also a movement-building opportunity,” said Trevor Smith, cofounder of a group sponsoring the event, the Black Liberation Indigenous Sovereignty Collective. “We push back against the kind of whitewashed narrative that the administration is pushing.”

Linda Sarsour, co-chair of Next 250, told Magner that “I think for those of us who are working in grassroots movements right now, a lot of our people are feeling scared. They’re also feeling uncertain about the future. And I think what we’re trying to do here is reaffirm an actual certainty that whatever’s happening right now is temporary. We are on 250 years. And guess what? There’s another 250 years coming, and we can shape that by doing the work that we’re doing today.”

Trump’s event has proved so controversial that most of the musical acts have dropped out, with many claiming they were booked without being told that it was going to be closely linked to the unpopular president. Five of the nine booked artists have pulled out including Bret Michaels, Martina McBride, Young MC, the Commodores and Morris Day & the Time.

“I was presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading,” McBride explained when pulling out. Similarly Michaels explained that the event “has evolved into something much more divisive than what I agreed to be a part of,” while Young MC stated that “the artists were never told about any political involvement.”

“It’s a no for me,” posted Morris Day, while the Commodores declared, “Our music has always been our voice and we choose not to publicly affiliate with any single political party. We support the betterment of all Americans.”

By contrast artists like Vanilla Ice, Fab Moran from Milli Vanilli and Flo Rida are still participating.

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