Work continues on a structure for the upcoming UFC fight that US President Donald Trump will host as part of the 250th anniversary of the United States on the South Lawn of the White House as seen from the Washington...Work continues on a structure for the upcoming UFC fight that US President Donald Trump will host as part of the 250th anniversary of the United States on the South Lawn of the White House as seen from the Washington Monument in Washington, DC, on May 31, 2026. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)MORE LESS
America’s 250th birthday is coming up, and, just as the Founders intended, our anniversary celebrations will be decked out in gold and the face of our ruler.
President Trump is going full developer mode over the renovations he’s making to Washington, D.C. in preparation for the Freedom 250 events “celebrating the triumph of the American spirit.” He spent much of a recent Cabinet meeting gushing over work being done to power-wash the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and coat it with “American flag blue” paint.
In addition to painting over the pool, other preparations include making decorative repairs to nine of D.C.’s ornamental fountains and a $5 million project to coat four huge bronze horses stationed outside the Lincoln Memorial with 23.75 gold leaf. Much of the $100 million in funding for these beautification projects will come from the National Park Service’s coffers, NOTUS reports. (Freedom 250 is separate from America 250, a bipartisan commission created by Congress a decade ago to plan celebrations for the country’s semiquincentennial; per NOTUS, the Trump administration redirected tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds intended for America 250 towards his Freedom 250 celebrations.)
As far as entertainment goes, celebrations include a UFC fight on the White House grounds scheduled for Trump’s 80th birthday; a 16-day exposition called the Great American State Fair on the National Mall that will feature “pavilions celebrating all 56 states and territories”; and a concert series featuring the likes of Vanilla Ice. (TBD on whether that ends up happening, since at least five artists dropped out as soon as the lineup was announced.)
Check out some photos of what the administration has got lined up for America’s 250th below, via Getty Images.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum speaks during an event to announce the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington course featuring cars and drivers from the NTT INDYCAR Series, on Monday, March 9, 2026. The race on August 22-23 will be part the country’s 250th anniversary celebration. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Attendees during Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise and Thanksgiving, on the National Mall, on May 17, 2026, in Washington, DC. Leading up to the America 250 celebration later in the year, thousands gathered on the Mall for a day of scripture, testimony, and prayer organized by Freedom250. (Photo by Graeme Sloan/Getty Images)
Freedom250 hats and other souvenirs are seen for sale, during Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise and Thanksgiving (Photo by Graeme Sloan/Getty Images)
An attendee carries refreshments during Rededicate 250. (Photo by Graeme Sloan/Getty Images)
A banner with a portrait of Donald Trump is displayed on the front U.S. Department of Labor Frances Perkins Building on May 30, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
The Dome of the U.S. Capitol Building is visible as workers continue to build out Freedom 250’s Great American State Fair infrastructure on the National Mall on May 14, 2026 in Washington, D.C. The 16 day World’s Fair-scale celebration of America’s 250th birthday will run from June 25 to July 10, 2026, uniting all U.S. states and territories. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
The Dome of the U.S. Capitol Building and a faux-column temporary facade is visible as workers continue to build out Freedom 250’s Great American State Fair infrastructure. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Construction for Freedom 250’s Great American State Fair on the National Mall is seen from the Washington Monument. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
Statues like this have been placed at Freedom Plaza by the Department of the Interior in preparation for the country’s 250th anniversary celebration. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy unveils Amtrak’s Freedom 250 Acela Train at Union Station on May 07, 2026 in Washington, D.C. The new Amtrak train departed from Union Station and headed to William H. Gray III 30th Street Station in Philadelphia with a group of 4th graders and Secretary Duffy for the train’s inaugural ride. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
Workers continue to paint the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on the National Mall. President Trump has initiated numerous construction projects on federal government properties in Washington, including demolition of the White House East Wing to build a ballroom and re-painting the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting pool blue. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Work continues on painting the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool a shade of “American Flag Blue.” The paint job is slated to be completed by the 250th birthday of the United States on July 4th. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Cranes work on the construction of a structure on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on May 29, 2026, for the upcoming UFC fight that US President Donald Trump will host as part of the 250th anniversary of the United States. On the right side, construction continues on the White House ballroom ordered by US President Donald Trump. (Photo by Anne Lebreton / AFP via Getty Images)
The Lincoln Memorial and Memorial Bridge are visible as Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) the ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee, speaks at the site of Trump’s proposed triumphal arch to commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary on May 14, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia. Survey work has begun for a proposed 250-foot arch informally dubbed the “Arc de Trump” that would sit in a roundabout near Memorial Bridge on the Arlington, Virginia side of the Potomac River between Arlington Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
One of four bronze horse statues near the Lincoln Memorial. The Trump Administration is spending $5 million to coat the sculptures with a new layer of gold for the America’s 250th anniversary. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
Allegra Kirkland
is TPM's deputy editor for audience and strategy, based in New York. She returned to TPM after six years at Teen Vogue, where she served as the Politics Director, overseeing all aspects of the team's political coverage.
Perfect response!!
I was at Woodstock in 1969 and I heard Richie Havens. I remember …not crying, but having tears run down my face during that song. All these years on and it happened again listening to your link…
Freedumb 250
Most people don’t know there’s a b at the end.
So, when fees are collected at national parks, where is that money supposed to go?
Richie Havens. Freedom
Perfect response!!
I was at Woodstock in 1969 and I heard Richie Havens. I remember …not crying, but having tears run down my face during that song. All these years on and it happened again listening to your link…
Freedumb 250
Most people don’t know there’s a b at the end.
So, when fees are collected at national parks, where is that money supposed to go?
Instead of boasting about “no tax dollars” for the reflecting pool, it should say “stolen from other National Parks.”
No matter how much gold Trump throws on things, he cheapens everything he touches. So America have fun on our White Trash birthday party.