How MAGA transformed America's 250th birthday into a salute to 'egoistical maniac' Trump

Mother Jones reports January 6 rally planners are organizing the nation’s 250-year celebration in Washington, DC, this weekend, and notes MAGA has managed to commandeer the nation’s birthday.

Four and a half years ago, former President Donald Trump aide Megan Powers was on the permit for the infamous January 6 Ellipse protest, where Trump demanded Vice President Mike Pence overturn the 2020 election. So was Hannah Salem Stone, another former Trump White House staffer now involved in running the Saturday parade. Both were later subpoenaed by the House January 6 committee for questioning. In 2021, both women also worked closely with Event Strategies Inc., a Trump-aligned firm that oversaw arrangements for the January 6 rally.

This year, Event Strategies is working with America250 to oversee logistics for Trump's military-style parade and other activities. The permit application for the parade lists Powers, a general contractor for America250.org Inc., as a point of contact as she helps the nonprofit organize the publicly funded, multiyear America250 commemoration of the country’s semiquincentennial.

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“While the involvement of January 6 rally planners might seem to undermine the parade’s patriotic billing, it is fully consistent with the stunning transformation taking place within America250,” write Mother Jones authors Amanda Moore and Dan Friedman. “In recent months, the putatively nonpartisan group has seen an influx of MAGA loyalists. And what was once planned as a unifying celebration for all Americans has morphed into a militarized exaltation of Donald Trump—its website trumpeting a photo of Trump’s head alongside the presidents on Mount Rushmore.”

Mother Jones also points out that America250.org Inc. brought on as a senior adviser Chris LaCivita, the former Trump campaign co-chair who once masterminded the “swift boat” smear campaign targeting John Kerry’s Vietnam service. It also onboarded former Fox News pundit Monica Crowley, who suggested the crowd sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Trump amid activities.

“With these changes, the wildly expensive parade—on which the Army alone has said it is spending up to $45 million—and the upcoming anniversary celebrations have become a source of job and contract opportunities for Trumpworld operatives,” writers say.

The “cascade” of MAGA-connected individuals surrounding America250 “is a further example of how corrupt Trump is,” Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) told Mother Jones. “It’s a damn shame A250 has to be blemished with Trump … It’s unfortunate that this egoistical maniac is the president when we are supposed to be showcasing our country in a bipartisan or nonpartisan way.”

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Read the full Mother Jones report at this link.