Trump’s MAGA mess is not the 250th birthday America deserves

Most people have probably experienced the disappointment of getting a birthday present that wasn’t a good fit or didn’t reflect much care on the part of the giver. Now multiply that feeling by millions. That’s how I feel watching the way Trump and his team have hijacked, corrupted and otherwise botched our nation’s 250th birthday.  

The milestone anniversary of the Declaration of Independence should have been a nonpartisan national moment of reflection on our history. It could have and should have been a celebration of our survival and progress. It could and should have been a shared recommitment to building a nation in which democratic values are thriving, and the principles of the declaration and the promises of the Constitution are a reality for everyone in America. 

Some of that is actually happening — in schools, communities and museums around the country. And some of those activities are sponsored by America 250, the organization created with bipartisan support from Congress a decade ago to lead the commemoration. 

But that didn’t work for Trump, who is out to purge public conversation of anything that doesn’t make him feel or look great. He demands glitz, bombast and, above all, opportunities for self-aggrandizement.

So last year he issued an executive order creating his own Task Force 250, which is working alongside the private Freedom 250 to raise corporate funds and organize Trump’s flashy pet projects, like the upcoming UFC cage fight on the White House lawn on the president’s 80th birthday.

Among the projects backed by Trump’s Freedom 250 are an evangelical Christian religious revival tour and........

© The Hill