DOYLESTOWN, Pennsylvania — Betsy Halsey, 63, still keeps mementos from America’s 1976 bicentennial in her childhood bedroom. But the retired teacher says her deep opposition to President Donald Trump means she has no interest in marking the nation’s 250th birthday.
“I don’t want to be at the same party with people feeling enthusiastic about where our country is going,” said Halsey, who lives in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and regularly votes Democratic.
Just a short distance away in Langhorne Manor, 70-year-old Republican and laundromat owner Dan Marrazzo has a very different outlook. He plans to celebrate by cooking for friends and family, convinced that America is doing well under Trump. “The poorest person in America has a better lifestyle than some of the richest people in the rest of the world,” he said.
As the country approaches its semiquincentennial — marking 250 years since the July 4, 1776 Declaration of Independence from Great Britain — the sharp political fault lines of the Trump era are putting pressure on what has long been a unifying summer tradition: honoring the nation’s founding with fireworks, parades, and patriotic decorations.
With Trump placing his stamp on the official anniversary events, and with his second term defined by contentious positions on immigration, the economy, and foreign policy, many citizens are finding it hard to separate the celebration from the controversy.
“The very idea of celebrating has become political and partisan,” said Beverly Gage, a historian at Yale University. “What is striking about our moment is how widespread the pessimism seems to be.”
A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that one in five Americans say they will not celebrate Independence Day this year — including roughly a quarter of Democrats and 8% of Republicans. Additionally, two out of five Americans do not believe the country will survive another 250 years.
To get a clearer picture of how Americans are feeling ahead of the anniversary, Reuters spoke with more than two dozen residents, activists, historians, and elected officials in Bucks County, where both Halsey and Marrazzo live.
Once considered a political afterthought, Bucks County has become a snapshot of the cultural and partisan divisions tearing at the fabric of the country. Located in Pennsylvania — a critical swing state — the county was won by Trump in 2024 by fewer than 300 votes out of roughly 400,000 cast.
Trump has made himself a central figure in the birthday festivities. Last year, the White House launched Freedom 250, a public-private partnership to coordinate anniversary events, even though a congressionally chartered commission called America250 had already spent years developing plans.
Freedom 250’s flagship event is the Great American State Fair, a two-week exhibition on the National Mall. Trump held a campaign-style rally to open the fair and is scheduled to deliver another on July 4 itself — drawing criticism that he is converting the national celebration into a political showcase.
Several states led by Democrats and a number of musical performers declined to take part, citing concerns about the event’s close ties to Trump. The U.S. Mint is also planning to release a 250th anniversary commemorative gold coin featuring Trump’s image.
Back in Bucks County, college professor and former Democratic school board member Tabitha Dell’Angelo, 56, said she has no plans to celebrate July 4 this year — a departure from her usual routine — because of her concerns about the country’s direction.
“I love my country. I am a proud American,” she said. “But this version of the celebration does not feel like it’s about America, but instead a celebration of Trump.”
The county is home to some of the nation’s most storied Revolutionary War landmarks, tucked among its river towns, wooded neighborhoods, and farmland. Yet it has also been a battleground over unproven claims of election fraud, debates about book bans, and disagreements over how American history should be presented in classrooms.
Residents said that despite the holiday’s traditional themes of shared identity and history, it has done little to ease their worries about divisions at both the local and national level. Many are wrestling with fundamental questions: Are there still common values that hold Americans together? Or has partisan loyalty overtaken patriotism?
Jim Worthington, 69, a Trump supporter and health club owner, said he cannot understand why anyone would choose to skip the 250th anniversary celebrations. He believes the simple fact of America’s long existence is reason enough to celebrate, regardless of who holds office.
“This is a celebration of 250 years of history, the greatest experiment in the history of the world,” Worthington said.
Doylestown Councilman Connor O’Hanlon, 30, a Democrat, pointed out that his generation has grown up entirely in an era of intense partisanship, shaped by “an overall nihilism and cynicism about the direction our country is going in.” Still, he believes July 4 should be an opportunity to reflect on shared values — though some of his neighbors are doubtful many remain.
Doreen Stratton, a writer and activist in Doylestown, can trace her family roots to the earliest days of the republic — her great-great-grandfather was among the small number of free Black residents living in Philadelphia in 1776. She now worries that decades of progress, particularly for Black Americans, is being reversed under an administration that has rolled back certain civil rights protections for minorities.
“I almost look at it like I’m in mourning,” she said of the approaching holiday.
The conflicting emotions have put local event organizers in a difficult position: how do you mark the occasion without pushing people away?
Dick Creter, whose nonprofit America Celebrates is organizing festivities in New Hope, Pennsylvania, and neighboring Lambertville, New Jersey, said multiple people have reached out wanting assurance that the events would stay nonpartisan.
“I think that to let the celebration of our 250 go by without embracing it, regardless of your political stance, is a mistake,” Creter said.
Historians point out that previous milestone anniversaries also fell during troubled times. In 1876, the country was still healing from the wounds of the Civil War. In 1976, the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal had badly damaged public trust in government.
“One thing I’m very aware of is how poor people are at judging their own historical moment,” said Yale’s Gage. “The story of some of the deepest moments of crisis in America were followed by the moments of deepest change.”
At Washington Crossing Historic Park in Bucks County, a stone marker commemorates the famous 1776 crossing, when George Washington led his troops through a Christmas night snowstorm across the Delaware River to launch a surprise attack on British-allied German soldiers in New Jersey — a turning point in the Revolutionary War.
In preparation for the 250th anniversary, the park conducted research into the contributions of women, Black soldiers, and civilians to the war effort, responding to questions from visitors, said Jennifer Martin, executive director of the nonprofit that manages the park.
“It’s important that we are telling accurate stories, and that we are not allowing the political climate to influence how we tell histories,” she said.
John Godzieba, a retired police officer who has portrayed Washington in reenactments at Washington Crossing for more than 15 years, believes most Americans will find a way to come together on the day — even if only briefly.
“Maybe on July 5, they’ll go back to being angry and disenchanted about the country,” he said. “But I think on July 4, they will be here.”
