Demonstrators showed up Friday near the White House — and in cities across the country — pushing back against the Trump administration’s version of how the United States should mark its 250th birthday.
The administration has organized a series of events under the banner Freedom 250, a slate of celebrations tied to the nation’s semiquincentennial. Protesters said they had a different picture in mind.
Not everyone’s celebrating the same thing.
Rallies drew crowds in multiple locations, with the gathering near the White House among the more visible. Demonstrators described their presence as a counter to what they called the administration’s selective telling of the American story — though the specifics of each group’s demands varied by city.
The Trump administration’s Freedom 250 programming has drawn both enthusiastic supporters and sharp critics since it was announced. Opponents argue the events paper over deep divisions in the country; backers say the celebrations are long overdue for a nation that hasn’t staged a major birthday commemoration since the Bicentennial in 1976.
Friday’s protests were organized independently of one another, with no single national group claiming credit for coordinating the day’s turnout. Crowd size figures weren’t immediately available for most locations.
What exactly the administration’s Freedom 250 events will include beyond Friday — and how many protest actions are still planned before the July 4th anchor date — hasn’t been publicly confirmed.
