On July 3, 1776, the Founding Father and future president John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, that the signing of the Declaration of Independence “ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.” To that list, Donald Trump has added an IndyCar race through the streets of Washington, mixed-martial-arts fighting on the South Lawn in front of the White House (following a weigh-in at the Lincoln Memorial), and, he hopes, the beginnings of a triumphal arch by the Potomac to eclipse the one that Napoleon ordered erected in Paris.
Yes, America is celebrating its 250th birthday, which should be a time for its citizens to come together, but Trump has other ideas. At the kickoff of the year-long official festivities, held at the Iowa State Fairgrounds last summer, the president chose to attack Democrats in Congress who opposed his agenda. “They hate Trump,” he said. “But I hate them, too, you know that? So it’s sort of, it’s—I really do, I hate them. I cannot stand them because I really believe they hate our country.” (Trump is choking back his loathing for another of his nemeses, the press, to attend the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner this weekend.)
