DES MOINES, Iowa—President Donald Trump praised the passage of the One Huge Lovely Invoice Act in a speech on the Iowa State Fairgrounds marking the beginning of a yearlong celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.
“There could be no better birthday present for America than the phenomenal victory we achieved just hours ago, when Congress passed the one big beautiful bill to make America great again,” Trump stated on the eve of Independence Day.
The president plans to signal the laws Friday throughout a picnic on the White Home, whereas stealth bombers and fighter jets that participated in latest airstrikes in Iran fly overhead.
“We’ve saved our country,” he stated after taking the stage, pumping his fists whereas singer Lee Greenwood belted out “God Bless the USA.”
Home Republicans handed the Senate-approved model of the invoice earlier on Thursday. The laws fulfills a broad swath of the president’s agenda.
The occasion in Iowa marks the primary in a yearlong collection of nationwide celebrations honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, culminating in a show-stopping bonanza in Washington subsequent July 4. Organized by the America250 Fee, the patriotic-themed gathering in Iowa options music, fireworks, and truthful meals.
The president additionally introduced that the fee will host a Nice American State Honest on the Nationwide Mall in the summertime of 2026.
“This will be a unifying, patriotic, family-friendly event that will feature exhibits from all 50 states and attract visitors from around the world,” in accordance with an announcement from the White Home.
Native festivals in states and counties throughout the nation will take part in lead-up occasions to the large celebration.
A Nationwide Backyard of American Heroes park that includes statues of 250 historic figures will honor the nation’s historical past on a brand new outside monument house funded by the One Huge Lovely Invoice Act.
To assist encourage wholesome exercise, Well being and Human Providers Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is tasked with organizing an occasion referred to as the Patriot Video games.
Highschool athletes will compete in a nationally televised occasion, in accordance with the White Home.
The president stated particular occasions are deliberate at parks and battlefields nationwide. And each division and company will take part in festivities, with federal buildings festooned with patriotic decor, the assertion from the White Home stated.
Trump additionally teased a UFC battle on the White Home, with hundreds of spectators.
He stated a newly signed government order that raises park entrance charges for international vacationers will assist fund the occasions.
“The national parks will be about America first,” Trump stated.
With Independence Day looming, he spoke of a must honor the flag, the founding fathers, and the rules the nation was constructed on.
Chants of “U.S.A.” flooded the fairgrounds on a number of events.
In a warning to these searching for to undermine the US—and referencing the first win of New York state Rep. Zohran Mamdani within the race for New York Metropolis mayor—the president denounced communism.
“As president of the United States, I’m proclaiming here and now that America is never going to be communist in any way, shape, or form, and that includes New York City,” stated Trump, who hails from town.
Mamdani, a Democrat, is a self-described democratic socialist and has denied the accusation that he’s a communist.
On the truthful forward of the speech, hundreds of attendees wore Trump merchandise, with pink, white, and blue garb marking the colours of the day.
The selection of Iowa for Trump’s message additionally carried political weight after he gained its 2024 caucuses in a landslide and carried it by 13 factors within the basic election final November.
One organizer stated the gathering can also be meant to convey the nation’s roughly 340 million residents collectively.
“We selected Iowa because it is America’s heartland, and the entire purpose of America250 is to unite the country,” U.S. Ambassador Monica Crowley, the group’s principal media consultant, stated in an announcement.
The primary Iowa state truthful was held in 1854, only a few years after statehood was achieved.
The truthful is one in every of greater than 2,000 state, county, and native festivals held yearly nationwide, with many that includes patriotic themes and traditions.
“They are all about America,” Jeremy Parsons, CEO of the Iowa state truthful, stated throughout opening remarks. “Quite frankly, fairs represent the very best of our nation.”
The Related Press contributed to this report.
For those who discovered this text fascinating, please contemplate supporting conventional journalism
Our first version was revealed 25 years in the past from a basement in Atlanta. At the moment, The Epoch Occasions brings fact-based, award-winning journalism to thousands and thousands of Individuals.
Our journalists have been threatened, arrested, and assaulted, however our dedication to impartial journalism has by no means wavered. This yr marks our twenty fifth yr of impartial reporting, free from company and political affect.
That’s why you’re invited to a limited-time introductory supply — simply $1 per week — so you possibly can be a part of thousands and thousands already celebrating impartial information.
