President Donald Trump kicked off the Great American State Fair Wednesday evening by touting America’s success under his leadership and likening his political movement to the American Revolution during remarks on the National Mall.
“Just like those patriots of 1776, over the past 17 months, we have taken power back from the far off political class,” Trump told a crowd gathered in the nation’s capital for the opening ceremony. “They’re trying to gain it back, but it’s not going to happen. We have reclaimed our sovereignty, regained our liberty, restored our prosperity, and we have saved our country in all things. We are once again putting a thing called America first.”
Trump walked out to Lee Greenwood performing “God Bless the U.S.A.” as part of the opening ceremony for celebrations surrounding the nation’s 250th anniversary. The president’s remarks were preceded by military flyovers, including B-2 bombers and F-35 stealth fighter jets, as well as comments from Trump Cabinet members and music from the U.S. Marine Band.
“America is back,” Trump declared to a roaring crowd. “We’re the hottest country anywhere in the world. We’re respected by everybody. Nobody’s laughing at us anymore.”
Trump used his remarks to tout improvements to the nation’s capital, saying homeless encampments and graffiti had been removed, more than 50 monuments and memorials had been repaired and beautified, and dozens of statues had been cleaned since he returned to office. Trump also pointed to repairs at Union Station, Meridian Hill Park, Lafayette Square and the Reflecting Pool, which he said had been “gruesomely vandalized by thugs.”
“The vandals got to it,” Trump said of the Reflecting Pool. “They’ve largely been caught and are being prosecuted. We can’t let that happen to our country.”
Trump previewed several anniversary-related projects as well, including what he described as a new White House ballroom, a “triumphal arc” near Arlington Cemetery, the National Garden of American Heroes in West Potomac Park and a “Spirit of ’76” exhibition at Freedom Plaza honoring figures from the American Revolution.
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Trump framed the nation’s 250th birthday as both a celebration of America’s founding and a launchpad for what he called a new “golden age of America.”
“This anniversary is a time to be proud of our past,” Trump said. “But it is also a time to lift our sights, expand our ambitions, and raise our expectations of what America can be.”
“With all of that being said, the best is yet to come,” he added.
The president was joined at the event by House Speaker Mike Johnson, several Cabinet officials and administration figures, and what Trump described as “countless” members of Congress. Trump called the opening ceremony “a very special night.”
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“It’s my honor to officially kick off the celebration with the Great American State Fair,” Trump said. “It’s going to be great. It’s going to be unbelievable.”
Trump said the fair, which runs from Wednesday through July 10, will showcase all 50 states and six U.S. territories and include military flyovers, patriotic music, high-tech demonstrations, exhibitions, a FIFA fan zone and an “old fashioned rodeo.”
“You get just a little, little tiny glimpse of it tonight,” Trump said after the flyovers. “How good is our Air Force?”
Trump also previewed what he said would be a massive Fourth of July celebration on the National Mall, telling supporters he would return to speak as the country rings in its 250th year with “the largest fireworks display in world history.” He also pointed to additional anniversary events, including the Patriot Games, a competition featuring top high school athletes, and a Freedom 250 Grand Prix race around the Capitol and down Pennsylvania Avenue.
Trump closed by casting the anniversary as a celebration of the generations of Americans who built and defended the country, invoking the Founding Fathers, Patrick Henry, the Revolutionary War, the settling of the West, the building of railroads and skyscrapers, two world wars and the space race.
“This is our heritage. This is our history, and this is the destiny of America to be the greatest, most incredible country ever to grace the earth,” Trump said. “We are one people, one nation, marching into one magnificent future under our great American flag.”
“Happy birthday, America,” he added.