WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s 250th birthday is arriving Saturday with all the fanfare of fireworks and festivities, but also the weight of a politically divided nation and a punishing heat wave affecting millions across the East Coast.
The occasion marks a quarter-millennium since the signing of the Declaration of Independence — one of history’s most iconic statements of democratic ideals. President Donald Trump is playing a prominent role in the day’s events, with plans to address the crowd on the National Mall in Washington before what organizers are calling a historically spectacular fireworks display over the capital.
On Friday, Trump traveled to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, where he delivered a speech warning about what he described as the danger of communism in the United States, with the carved faces of four former presidents visible behind him. “It is the greatest threat to our country, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor or even 9/11,” he said, calling communism “a mortal threat to American liberty.”
Without mentioning Trump by name, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani — a Democrat and democratic socialist who recently supported several winning congressional candidates in their primaries — appeared to take aim at the president during a Friday speech of his own. “Those ideals upon which our nation was built — they are strong enough to endure any authoritarian regime, but only if we reach for them,” he said.
Celebrations are taking place from coast to coast. Fireworks are set to light up the sky over Navy Pier in Chicago and above the New York City skyline Saturday. New York City also hosted a midnight ball drop to kick off the holiday with New Year’s Eve-style excitement. Bristol, Rhode Island, which claims to be home to the country’s oldest Independence Day celebration dating back to 1785, is also marking the day. Out in Los Angeles, Queen Latifah is hosting a concert featuring The Smashing Pumpkins and Chris Stapleton, with Chaka Khan listed as a special guest.
But the celebrations have not been without complications. Dangerous heat forced organizers across the East Coast to scale back or cancel planned events. In Washington, the Great American State Fair had to shut down for several hours Friday afternoon at the height of the heat. The city’s Independence Day parade, originally scheduled for Saturday, was called off entirely.
Meanwhile, the Pacific Northwest was enjoying a completely different kind of Fourth of July. Temperatures in the Seattle area hovered in the 60s Friday, with light rain showers — a stark contrast to the sweltering conditions on the other side of the country.
In the Seattle suburb of Issaquah, resident Megan Kurowski, 31, took her two dogs to the dog park Friday before heading to work. She said the anniversary had people in good spirits. “Everyone’s just, from what it seems, been pretty excited about celebrating 250 years,” she said, adding that she was considering going paddleboarding to watch the fireworks.
The holiday is also overlapping with several other major events. More than a dozen Major League Baseball games are on tap for Saturday. The World Cup — being held in the United States for the first time in 32 years — has matches scheduled in Houston and Philadelphia on Saturday, following Argentina’s dramatic overtime victory over Cape Verde on Friday near Miami. Pop culture fans are buzzing over Taylor Swift’s Friday wedding to football player Travis Kelce at Madison Square Garden in New York City. And Madonna dropped her 15th studio album, a collection of dance tracks.
The festive backdrop, however, cannot fully mask the deep divisions running through American society. Issues of race, class, immigration, and political identity continue to drive a wedge between communities across the country.
In Topeka, Kansas, auto technician Joe Fuqua-Bejarano was selling fireworks as a side business and offered his take on what makes America worth celebrating. For him, it comes down to resilience rather than politics. “We’ve just all got to find unity somewhere, whether that’s in laughter or perseverance, and keep everybody cool,” he said.
Not everyone was caught up in the anniversary excitement. Jerry Chin of Newcastle, Washington, said he hadn’t even realized the country was marking its 250th birthday and planned to spend the holiday quietly at home with his wife and their dogs, who get frightened by fireworks. “America’s a great place,” he said, “but there are some concerns.”
