This is an absolute communications nightmare.

If you don't know, there are two programs running side-by-side this summer to celebrate the American semiquincentennial.

1. America250 is the commission established in 2016 by Congress to celebrate the event, mostly at the grassroots level, with a variety of events in July 2026.

2. Freedom 250 is the Trump-backed organization established to make the 250th anniversary of American Independence bigger and cooler.

Donald Trump was upset throughout 2024 and 2025 that there had been virtually no advertisements or messaging about America's 250th birthday celebration.

As such, one of his first acts in office was to sign Executive Order 14189 on January 29, 2025, to establish Task Force 250. Trump was named chair and JD Vance was named vice chair. As part of his "Big, Beautiful Bill," Trump also secured $150 million in funding for this venture, compared with only $25 million earmarked for America250.

Freedom 250 was launched as the public-private partnership for this venture. Trump has spent the last year trying to get Americans excited for the events, calling it "the most spectacular birthday party the world has ever seen."

The schedule includes concerts, a Great American State Fair, special events at National Parks, an Indy 500 race, high school "Patriot Games" for high school athletes, a mobile museum, the opening of a Teddy Roosevelt Museum, a huge armada of tall ships sailing into New York Harbor, and a UFC fight on the National Mall.

America250, meanwhile, is slow-rolling a bunch of events that you probably haven't heard of and probably will forget about. These include a time capsule presentation at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, a run-of-the-mill fireworks show in D.C., a charity broadcast in New York City, and special exhibits at the Smithsonian.

America250 is also planning a series of local events all over the United States. These include a program called the "Greatest American Cleanup," where Americans volunteer to clean trash in their neighborhoods, as well as a "Homes For Our Troops" volunteer program, and Run America 250 challenges for athletes. America250 is also funding a patchwork of July 4th block parties, reenactments, readings of founding documents, drone shows, and heritage celebrations.

The website is mostly a way for Americans to volunteer at government institutions or government partners. It has also produced three - count them, THREE - songs available on YouTube.

If you are hoping to use the map function to locate local events, be warned that it will crash your browser like it did mine because government websites are the worst!

Trump's Freedom 250 initiative, meanwhile, has already been kicking into high gear, though again, you may not have heard about it. On May 17, Trump held a day of prayer and worship on the National Mall to "rededicate ourselves to ONE NATION UNDER GOD."

This was little more than a blip in the news cycle. The vast majority of Americans, even Christian Americans who care desperately about the spiritual condition of their nation, didn't hear about it.

Still, Trump's initiative includes multiple, well-made websites that clearly lay out the vision and programming of the multi-week event. The Department of the Interior is also participating with events at National Parks around the nation.

The reason singers were pulling out of Freedom 250's "Great American State Fair," to be held June 25 to July 10, is that they (like everyone else) were confused. They didn't realize that Freedom 250 and America250 were separate things, or that Freedom 250 was Trump's thing.

The fair will continue without them, but will still have carnival rides, exhibits, food, and other attractions.

Trump's supporters are blaming Congress for doing the bare minimum for the semiquincentennial, forcing Trump to undertake a hurried, patchwork program that is now falling apart. Trump's critics are saying the original event programming was fine and he didn't need to make it a spectacle.

Meanwhile, the tens of millions of illegal aliens - and the tens of millions of legal ones - don't really care about our nation's birthday plans.

Last but certainly least, there are the leftists who call Trump a fascist Nazi and refuse to celebrate America because they hate the country and any iota of patriotism would turn them into a colonialist oppressor. 👇

At any rate, it has become apparent that no one knows what is happening but they are fighting about it anyway, which ironically seems like a good description of the overall country in 2026. 😵‍💫