By Trevor Hunnicutt
WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump opens a 16-day celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary with a political rally on Wednesday, the start of festivities shaped by controversy over his polarizing approach to governing and efforts to remake Washington.
Eager to pivot from a divisive war in Iran, Trump plans to use the event on the National Mall to tout a country he often takes credit for restoring to greatness ahead of the Independence Day milestone on July 4.
The kickoff underscores how Trump has blurred the line between official commemoration and campaign-style politics, repackaging a public fair in the heart of the nation’s capital around the rally format that has defined his presidency.
The anniversary events have been marked by months of friction, including unconventional programming, the withdrawal of several musical acts and Trump’s renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool near the site of the celebrations.
A RECAST CELEBRATION
The festival initially was set to feature a broad lineup of performers, including Poison frontman Bret Michaels, Young MC and the Commodores, but those acts and others withdrew amid concerns about joining a potentially partisan event.
The revised program now includes musical performances by Lee Greenwood and Christopher Macchio, two artists favored by Trump, and military bands.
The event comes at a difficult political moment for Trump. The nearly four-month-old Iran war has pushed consumer prices to a three-year high and unnerved many voters, and the White House is working to counter perceptions that the term-limited Republican is becoming a lame-duck president.
Just one in four Americans believes the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran was worth its costs, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found, and only 34% approve of Trump’s overall performance in office 17 months into his second term.
Trump has taken a personal interest in the celebrations, installing statues and other features around Washington and ordering a $16 million repair of the reflecting pool. On Tuesday, he said six people had been arrested for damaging the pool.
Trump also hosted mixed martial arts fights on the South Lawn of the White House last week, a spectacle that drew millions of television viewers but most Americans found distasteful.
BREAK WITH PAST PRESIDENTS
Previous U.S. presidents also faced challenges that clouded anniversary celebrations, including a financial panic during John Quincy Adams’ presidency in 1826 and anger in 1976 over inflation, unemployment, the fall of Saigon and a decision to pardon former President Richard Nixon.
Many of those presidents nonetheless used the occasion to emphasize unifying themes. Gerald Ford’s top political adviser ordered speechwriters to avoid any “partisan insinuations” as they prepared for the 200th anniversary.
Ulysses Grant, marking the 100th anniversary in 1876, criticized “errors of judgment” by Southern rebels during the Civil War but also held out an olive branch by calling them courageous in their convictions.
Trump has often taken a different approach, turning remarks before service members, college graduates and sports teams into sharply political speeches, including taking swipes at his Democratic predecessors.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Nia Williams)
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