US President Donald Trump delivers a speech during the Independence Day celebrations at Mount Rushmore in Keystone, South Dakota (July 3, 2026) (Photo: Mandel Ngan / AFP)
America celebrates its 250th anniversary on Saturday, a historic milestone that coincides with a time of deep political and social division in the country.
The independence anniversary also takes place amid a severe heat wave that has put some 160 million Americans under severe or extreme heat warnings. The heat has already disrupted planned parades and street parties in towns and cities across large parts of the country.
Pres. Donald Trump was to address a large gathering on the National Mall in Washington on Saturday night. The event would also include military flyovers and a huge fireworks display.
The event is taking place amid extremely high temperatures, with weather forecasts suggesting that it could rise to around 41 °C in Washington.
The president also visited the Mount Rushmore National Monument on Friday evening, where he delivered a speech under the gaze of the giant granite heads of four of his predecessors: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.
Trump warns about American identity
In his speech, Trump praised American excellence and the country’s past leaders, but also warned that, according to him, the American identity is “under renewed attack”.
He criticized domestic “radical groups and extremists” and said there was “a resurgence of the communist threat in our country”.
In recent weeks, Trump has repeatedly criticized the rise of the left wing of the Democratic Party ahead of November’s midterm elections. He argues that this movement poses a threat to the country’s values and political direction.
The president said on Friday that in recent years there has been an attempt to “beat the American spirit out of us and alienate us from our history”.
“You don’t have to be born here, but you have to love what we have built,” he said.
Celebration and reflection
For Americans, the 250th anniversary offers an opportunity for celebration, but also for reflection on the country’s history and future.
After two and a half centuries of triumphs and tragedies, slavery and freedom, civil war and world wars, various polls point to a nation divided over where it is and where it is going.
A poll by Quinnipiac University showed 61% of Americans believe the US is not living up to the ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence. Even on this, however, opinions are divided: most Republicans believe the country does live up to it, while most Democrats believe it does not.
“There are too many people who hate each other and steal from each other. They don’t love each other,” said Johnny Presley, an artist from Los Angeles. “I’m sick of the way this country treats people. I’m sick of the way this country treats its foreign neighbors,” he added. “I’m sick of a lot of things.”
For others, like Karisa Tavassoli, an American-Iranian educator in Atlanta, the essence of the American dream remains significant.
“I am safe, I have freedom of speech, I have freedom of religion. As a woman, I can wear what I want,” she told AFP. “There are many flaws here, but we have something very special that is worth protecting,” she added.
Alonzo Coby, a member of the Shoshone-Bannock tribes, says he is grateful to be able to celebrate 250 years of the United States.
“But I want people to remember that Native Americans have been here for much longer than 250 years,” he said.