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analysis
The US president turns a historic event into a primitive one-man show.
June 1, 2026, 1:51 p.mJune 1, 2026, 3:55 p.m
In 1776, Americans revolted against their colonial power, Great Britain, because they were fed up with an all-powerful and arbitrary king. It is therefore not without a perverse irony that 250 years later, a pathologically narcissistic US president is turning the celebrations of this successful revolution into an event with the sole aim of glorifying himself. But this is exactly the case.
As luck would have it, Donald Trump was born on June 14th and he will be 80 years old this year. This makes it possible for him to use his big birthday as an opportunity to ring in the 250th anniversary celebrations. He does this in the way of the ancient Roman emperors: He has a huge cage built in front of the White House in which men will fight each other in the style of gladiators.
A huge cage for the gladiators.Image: keystone
It is true that Trump has failed to give the thumbs up or down at the end, as Nero, Caligula & Co. once did. But unlike the fake show fights in the WWE, the men’s fights in the UFC are real and bloody. It’s a bread and circuses event of the worst kind.
It then continues with the Freedom 250 party, a kind of state chilbi that lasts several weeks. The start should have been a monster concert with prominent artists such as the rapper Young MC, the soul group Commodores and the country music singer Martina McBride. However, because they have realized that they are being politically abused, all of them have now withdrawn their promises.
Trump reacts to this rejection the way Trump reacts when he senses resistance: like a defiant toddler. On his Truth Social platform, he posted: “Instead of overpaid singers who no one wants to hear anymore and whose music is boring and who do nothing but complain, we should turn the 250th anniversary celebration into a gigantic MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN RALLY.”
In other words, when the Freedom Party takes place on June 24th, Americans will not be able to enjoy performances by renowned artists. Instead, an aging political star will recite his well-known oldies, accompanied by his equally well-known showmanship, such as the imitation of a transgender woman lifting dumbbells and his spastic movements performed to the YMCA anthem, which he mistakes for dancing.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent with a Trump dollar bill.Image: keystone
Transforming a historic celebration into a dull MAGA party isn’t the only strange thing driven by Trump’s pathological narcissism. He recently wants to have his likeness immortalized on a $250 bill, even though the constitution expressly prohibits a living president from having his image printed on a banknote or coin.
His $1.8 billion bribe fund was born out of the same corrupt mindset. But here too there is resistance. Even in the ranks of the Republicans, prominent members are starting to complain. Former Vice President Mike Pence, who was once unbeatable in his submissiveness, has just accused Trump of betraying conservative ideals in the Wall Street Journal.
What may be more painful for the president is that he is in danger of losing the majority in the Senate. The two senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski have mostly reluctantly supported him. In the case of the bribe fund, however, they could refuse their consent. They could be joined by former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and libertarian Rand Paul. Because they were abandoned by Trump in the primaries, Bill Cassidy and John Cornyn could also refuse their support. This means that the President no longer has a majority in the Senate and can no longer push through his concerns.
Must be removed again: Trump’s name at the Kennedy Center.Image: keystone
Finally, resistance is once again emerging on the legal front. A federal judge has ordered that Trump’s name must be removed from the Kennedy Center. Once again the president reacted like a defiant child. Trump said he no longer wanted to have anything to do with the cultural center. “That is why the Kennedy Center will now collapse, both structurally and financially.”
Politically speaking, “Mad King Trump” is leaving behind more and more scorched earth. His public cabinet meetings have become so embarrassing that the New York Times is letting its readers vote on who embarrassed themselves the most. (By the way, Marco Rubio won.)
The foreign minister, who was once considered at least a half-grown member of the government, is about to lose the last vestiges of his authority. Like Vice JD Vance, he is humiliated and belittled at regular intervals by Trump, because the president does not allow any gods next to him, not even his own son. That’s why he stayed away from his wedding for flimsy reasons.
Like the devil avoids holy water, the president avoids any allusions to a possible successor. In the Financial Times, Jemima Kelly states: “A discussion about who might succeed him is unacceptable to this man’s ego. There can only be one President Trump. And as the golden statue, his gilded ballroom and his jokes about staying in power after 2028 show, he wants to live forever.