President Donald Trump is preparing to transform America’s 250th anniversary into a personal political spectacle, headlining a rally on the National Mall Wednesday.
The event, framed as a celebration of the nation's 1776 founding, is expected to feature a military flyover by stealth bombers, military bands, a performance by singer Lee Greenwood, and a speech from Trump himself.
The rally comes as Trump seeks to bolster his political standing ahead of crucial November midterm elections. He aims to convince Americans that the unpopular Iran war is behind them, citing easing oil prices and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz following an interim peace deal with Tehran.
Initially conceived as part of "The Great American State Fair" on the national park stretching from the U.S. Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial, the event faced early setbacks. Several musicians, including Young MC, Martina McBride, and The Commodores, canceled their appearances, expressing concerns that the celebration had become overly politicized. Trump then announced his own participation.
Taking to social media, Trump hyped his role, stating: "I am thinking about bringing the Number One Attraction anywhere in the World, the man who gets much larger audiences than Elvis in his prime, and he does so without a guitar, the man who loves our Country more than anyone else, and the man who some say is the Greatest President in History."
In a video released Monday night, he further declared the event would be "the biggest rally we’ve ever had," adding, "It’s our music, our playlist. We don’t have a lot of people boring you with songs you don’t want to hear. We have the hottest people."
Adding to the lineup, country singer Alexis Wilkins, identified as the longtime girlfriend of FBI Director Kash Patel, confirmed her performance at Wednesday's event via a post on X Tuesday afternoon.
Trump is pressing the case that he's made America better
Trump has struggled to deliver the presidency that he advertised to voters — causing his approval rating to dwell at a low 37%, according to the most recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research polling.
Democrats say his botched repairs to the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool and the resulting algae outbreak are a sign that he’s spending taxpayer money on vanity projects instead of the nation's legacy.
Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., said the Trump-affiliated group organizing the 250th anniversary was selling access to special interests and redrafting the nation's founding to the president's liking, based on documents he presented at a congressional hearing earlier this year.
“It should be about bringing us together,” Huffman said. “He's trying to make this 250th celebration all about him.”
Trump’s fondness for showmanship has not been a match for public anxiety about his presidency. Only 33% of U.S. adults approve of his economic leadership, with favorability at 40% on immigration and 34% on Iran.
“It’s clear that Trump’s preoccupations in his second term — from Iran to the Washington reflecting pool — are not those of most members of his base, let alone other Americans,” said Daniel Treisman, a politics professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. “That explains his unusually low approval ratings.”
Trump's rallies can only help him so much without concrete improvements on inflation
Inflation is still higher than what Trump inherited and it has been outpacing wage growth. The budget deficit remains on a path upward that keeps interest rates high. Investments in artificial intelligence are driving growth, but they come with fears of middle-class job losses such that the construction of data centers needed for America’s tech economy have become controversial politically.
Trump has fueled dramas over tariffs, NATO, immigration, ownership of Greenland and his own renovations of iconic buildings and monuments in Washington — generating a flood of controversy that has pushed things the administration sees as accomplishments — such as the capture of Venezuela’s former leader Nicolás Maduro — off the public radar.
James Snyder, a Harvard University professor, has partnered on research showing that past rallies have helped Trump turn out his supporters to vote, in the short-term. But he noted that Wednesday’s rally comes more than four months before the November midterm elections, and is unlikely to have a politically strategic benefit for Republicans.
“I would not expect that the rally would have any clear effect on the 2026 midterm elections,” Snyder said.
Read MorePutin is asking for peace talks. It’s time to kick him while he’s down
Kash Patel’s girlfriend explodes over ethics concerns tied to her role at Trump fair
