The Statue of Liberty will be removed: a demonstrator in Chicago last July.Image: keystone
analysis
The United States will celebrate its 250th birthday in 2026, precisely during Donald Trump’s presidency. It will be the ultimate acid test for US democracy.
Jan 4, 2026, 7:37 p.mJan 4, 2026, 7:37 p.m
The “Ball Drop” on New Year’s Eve in New York’s Times Square was more special than usual this year. Because the big ball not only fell at midnight, but also shortly afterwards a second timeto launch the “America 250” anniversary. There will even be an extraordinary “ball drop” on July 4, 2026, Independence Day.
The United States is 250 years old. On July 4, 1776, the so-called Continental Congress in Philadelphia passed the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, with which the 13 founding states broke away from the British crown. It was the origin of a nation that would leave its mark on the world.
As director, Rosie Rios coordinates the official “America 250” festivities.Image: keystone
This must be celebrated accordingly, with countless events across the country. But not all Americans are in a celebratory mood. Rather, it is US patriotism that is often irritating to outsiders fallen to a record low. Only 58 percent are “extremely” or “very” proud to be American.
Trump can be celebrated
This is shown by a long-term survey conducted by the Gallup Institute since 2001. Initially it was 87 percent, but since then it has steadily declined. National pride among Democratic supporters and independent voters has plummeted since Donald Trump’s renewed election victory a year ago.
Trump, of all people, will be at the center of the anniversary year as president, and that can be understood literally. Because it’s not founding fathers like George Washington or Benjamin Franklin – they would be horrified by Trump’s shameless abuse of power – who should be celebrated, but rather he himself. He has blatantly explained this more than once.
Back to the monarchy
The triumphal arch planned in Washington is not intended to be built for the glory of the nation, but “for me”. Mockers talk about the “Arc de Trump,” but actually this is no laughing matter. 250 years after the ex-colonists established the world’s first modern democracy, a de facto monarch has taken office in the White House.
The British Queen honored the former colonies with her visit for the 200th anniversary in 1976 and danced with President Gerald Ford.Image: AP
How could this happen? It is worth taking a look back at the last big anniversary year in 1976, when the USA celebrated its 200th birthday.
A deeply insecure country
Even then, the joy of the festival was muted because the country was deeply unsettled. The humiliating withdrawal from Vietnam was just a year ago. President Gerald Ford was a weak figure, notorious for his verbal and real-life gaffes. In addition, the unprecedented economic boom after the Second World War had come to an end.
Instead, the USA suffered from rampant inflation, fueled by a low interest rate policy with which Federal Reserve Chairman Arthur Burns wanted to stimulate the economy. The parallels to today are unmistakable. Inflation is once again affecting the country, and Donald Trump wants a new Arthur Burns as the successor to FED Chairman Jerome Powell.
Dark pages hidden
The US economy has grown strongly since then, but mentally many Americans never seem to have overcome the deep crisis of the 1970s. Fear of decline explains why the slogan “Make America Great Again” appeals to so many, even though Donald Trump could repeat the errors of the time.
Donald Trump wants to be at the center of the anniversary year, including with a triumphal arch.Image: www.imago-images.de
He wants to shape the “America 250” anniversary in his spirit, with “Patriot Games”, which critics compare with the “Hunger Games”.. It is fitting that the Trump administration had all motifs deleted from the planned quarter dollar commemorative coins (quarters), that remind us of the darker sides of history: Slavery, women’s suffrage, civil rights.
How resilient is democracy?
In Trumpism, these things are trivialized or discredited. “Minister of War” Pete Hegseth, for example, shared a video on X in which several evangelical preachers called for to deprive women of the right to vote. The achievements of the civil rights movement are also under pressure, and the motto “Shit happens” applies to slavery in the Trump world.
This contributes to deepening the division in the country. The anniversary will therefore be a fateful year and an acid test for American democracy. Their structures are anything but solid, and Trump is doing everything in his second term to weaken them. But perhaps it is more resilient than one feared.
Cracks in the MAGA movement
There are deep cracks in Donald Trump’s MAGA movement, which Vice President JD Vance, who openly recommends himself as the “heir to the throne”, tried to put together with great difficulty. There are also indications in the Republican Party that people are no longer willing to unconditionally submit to the president and his wishes.
At the AmericaFest organized by Charlie Kirk’s movement Turning Point USA, JD Vance appealed for the unity of Trump supporters.Image: keystone
No one embodies this better than Marjorie Taylor Greene, who from the most strident Trumpist to a critic and is now giving up her seat in the House of Representatives. Trump’s tirade of hatred against the opposition at the memorial service for the murdered Charlie Kirk was her shaken in their Christian faithshe told the New York Times.
Republicans fear midterms
Still are Taylor Greene and her colleague Elise Stefanik Individual cases. But nervousness is growing among Republicans after the sometimes brutal election defeats against the Democrats, especially with a view to the midterms and the congressional elections in November, which are likely to be the real culmination of “America 250”.
They could become a bloodbath for the Republicans, but Trump critics express fears in interviews that soldiers, National Guardsmen and ICE henchmen will be sent in front of or into the polling stations. In itself this is forbidden, but President Trump would only have to declare a national emergency. There is always a reason for it.
Legal squabbles
There are also other worrying indications that Trump could try to manipulate the midterms, from so-called gerrymandering in the individual states to a “purge” of the voter registers. The president has installed people in important positions eagerly spreading his lie about the stolen 2020 election.
The Supreme Court could ultimately decide whether the USA remains a functioning democracy.Image: keystone
In what is supposed to be a jubilee year, there is a risk of violent legal disputes. Courts are still trying to resist Trump’s fantasies of omnipotence. The big question remains whether the Supreme Court, as the highest authority, sees itself as a defender of democracy and the constitution, or whether it will ultimately become an extension of Trump’s politics.
In the end, the conclusion of the analysis as of July 4, 2025 can only be repeated here:
In the best case scenario, the mega anniversary in 2026 will be a party in a deeply divided country. But be prepared for the fact that this year’s Independence Day will be America’s last birthday of freedom. Or at least that universal idea of freedom for which the United States was a beacon for the entire world.