The Dictatorship

Trump hails US exceptionalism before veering into darkly political speech to usher in America 250

Published

3 hours ago

July 5, 2026

Trump hails US exceptionalism before veering into darkly political speech to usher in America 250

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump ushered in the 250th anniversary of American independence on Friday with soaring rhetoric about American exceptionalism before veering into a darkly political speech with warnings about a sinister threat of communism that evoked one of the country’s ugliest chapters.

“Communism is a mortal threat to American liberty,” he said from Mount Rushmore. “It is the greatest threat to our country, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor or even 9/11.”

While the language was similar to several other speeches Trump has given in recent days, it was notable for being delivered in a national park that commemorates some of America’s most prominent presidents. And it swerved from the typically apolitical, unifying speeches past presidents like Gerald Ford or Ronald Reagan have delivered during earlier high-profile Independence Day celebrations.

Indeed, Trump’s language evoked the Red Scare of the 1950s, when alleged communists were persecuted and blacklisted from jobs across America, from Washington to Hollywood.

In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, delivered his own address that cast America as a nation of contradictions “working each day towards the perfection in which it was conceived.”

The president’s speech capped an Independence Day eve that was otherwise most notable for a brutal heat wave the gripped much of the eastern portion of the country. Officials have warned those celebrating the holiday to stay hydrated and take air-conditioned breaks as needed.

Philadelphia canceled its Salute to Independence parade Friday. The Great American State Fair in Washington shut down in the early afternoon before reopening at 5 p.m. The Capitol Fourth concert, a mainstay of the holiday in Washington, opened its gates a little later than normal but ultimately moved forward with appearances from Patti LaBelle, Trace Adkins, members of the Artemis II space mission and fireworks over George Washington’s Mount Vernon. An Independence Day parade scheduled for Saturday in Washington was canceled.

Looking for a place to cool off

By early afternoon Friday in Washington, hundreds of people were roaming the grounds of the National Mall, home to The Great American State Fair. They snapped photos of the flyovers and tried to cool off inside tents that offered $9 lemonades and $23 turkey legs. Many were dressed in patriotic colors, their faces glistening with sweat.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivers a speech to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States at City Hall on Friday, July 3, 2026 in New York. (Anna Connors/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

Glenn Brooks, who was pardoned by Trump for his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, said he was “thankful to be participating in this grand event.”

The activity culminates in the main event Saturday, when fireworks will erupt in communities across the U.S., along with backyard cookouts and block parties. Trump will deliver another speech at the National Mall in Washington before what is being billed as a historically massive fireworks show.

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As the rest of the country struggled under stifling heat, the Pacific Northwest enjoyed temperatures in the 60s with even a few light showers.

World Cup soccer fans in Seattle were staying cool Friday as they got psyched up for Monday’s big game between the U.S. and Belgium. In the nearby suburb of Issaquah, Megan Kurowski, 31, brought her two dogs to the dog park so they could get some exercise before she went to work.

Kurowski said she was feeling positive about America’s 250th anniversary and was planning a possible paddleboard to watch the fireworks.

“Everyone’s just, from what it seems, been pretty excited about celebrating 250 years,” she said.

The holiday is unfolding at a unique time in the U.S. The anniversary has served as an opportunity for the country to reflect on its history while also reminding it of the political polarization of the moment.

Visitors walk up the front steps of the Jefferson Memorial while carrying a sun umbrella during an extreme heat advisory, Thursday, July 2, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)

On a holiday of unity, there is an undercurrent of division

In New York, Mamdani, a Democrat, did not mention Trump by name, but parts of his speech appeared aimed at the president’s divisive rhetoric.

“For generation after generation, we have been told that when the world has sent its people to our shores, it has not sent its best,” Mamdani said in an apparent reference to a common criticism from Trump. “Those ideals upon which our nation was built — they are strong enough to endure any authoritarian regime, but only if we reach for them.”

Freedom 250, an organization aligned with the White House, has come to rival America250, a bipartisan group founded by Congress a decade ago. Freedom 250 has organized much of the activity in Washington, including the Great American State Fair. America250 is behind the ball drops unfolding in many cities, including New York, and will host a concert in Los Angeles on Saturday.

About 4 in 10 U.S. adults feel “proud” about the country’s 250th anniversary, according to an April survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Roughly 3 in 10 said “excited” describes their emotions.

Runners wearing Independence Day-themed items jog at dawn past an overlook in Arlington, Va., as Washington prepares for sweltering temperatures, Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Ahead of the holiday, auto technician Joe Fuqua-Bejarano in Topeka, Kansas, sized up “what makes us awesome” as a people. It is clearly not the politics, in his view, but rather resilience.

“We’ve just all got to find unity somewhere, whether that’s in laughter or perseverance, and keep everybody cool,” he said from the fireworks stand where he is doing a booming business as a side hustle.

Christina Zhou, a 25-year-old research assistant from Cambridge, Massachusetts, said she would aim to “think about just things that are happening locally.”

“It feels a little bit more like within our own personal control,” she said.

Jerry Chin of Newcastle, Washington, said he wasn’t aware that the U.S. was celebrating its 250th anniversary and planned to stay low-key around the holiday. He and his wife generally skip the fireworks and instead stay home with their fearful dogs to keep them calm.

“America’s a great place, but there are some concerns,” he said. Chin, 55, and his wife worry about healthcare and issues around staying healthy, but they also stress about politics.

“We’re Democrats, so kind of given up hope,” he said. “Just feel that it is the way it is. I don’t know if there could be change.”

At the National Archives in Washington, visitors made their way through the Rotunda to look at the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights — and to escape the heat out side.

Michael Dresdner, 60, traveled from West Orange, New Jersey, with his wife, Cindi, 57, and about two dozen other people to be part of the America 250 celebrations. He said their group of travelers included people on both sides of the political aisle — and that is what gave him hope for the future of American democracy.

“We are all here, and we all love America,” he said.

___

Peoples reported from New York. Associated Press writers Martha Bellisle in Seattle, Anthony Izaguirre in New York, John Hanna in Topeka, Kan., Michael Casey in Cambridge, Mass., and Calvin Woodward, Didi Tang, Gary Fields and Nathan Ellgren in Washington contributed to this report.

The Dictatorship

The most confusing thing about Taylor Swift’s Madison Square Garden wedding spectacle

Published

17 hours ago

July 5, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The most confusing thing about Taylor Swift’s Madison Square Garden wedding spectacle

Christmas. 4, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT

After months of media speculation, buzz about the guest list and the closure of numerous Manhattan streets on a sweltering holiday weekend, Taylor Alison Swift married Travis Michael Kelce Friday night at Madison Square Garden. While some thought the rumors involving MSG had to be an elaborate ruse, the ultra-famous pop star and the Super Bowl-winning NFL player actually tied the knot at one of the world’s most famous arenas in one of the world’s most famous cities, with NDAs and tents ensuring that the only images the rest of us see from these nuptials are the ones Swift (and, presumably, her husband) approves.

Some concrete information emerged shortly after the ceremony, courtesy of Swift’s longtime publicist. The bride and groom wore Christian Diordesigned by Jonathan Anderson, a statement confirmed. Swift’s brother, Austin, served as the bride’s “man of honor,” and Jason Kelce, the groom’s brother and podcast co-host, was his best man; and the ceremony was officiated by Adam Sandler. Because the wedding singer absolutely should anoint the marriage of the most famous pop singer in the world.

If there is one thing that people have more opinions about than Taylor Swift, it’s other people’s weddings.

As has been the case amid all the media hype preceding this event, every new detail continues to give the public yet another opportunity to deliver their verdict on Taylor Swift, Public Figure. Because if there is one thing that people have more opinions about than Taylor Swift, it’s other people’s weddings. Pretty much every wedding in human history has been deemed wanting by judgmental aunties or guests who found the bride’s dress too revealing or the first dance tacky because it was to Montell Jordan’s “This is How We Do It.” Combine Taylor Swift, a wedding and the internet, and you’ve got a recipe for basically everyone, everywhere, to have opinions about what was right or wrong, even if most people are disinclined to publicly criticize Swift for fear they will be attacked by an angry mob of Swifties.

So let’s start with MSG. It was an unconventional choice for a wedding — partly because most people could not afford to rent out a venue that seats around 20,000, but also because the ideal Swift wedding venue seemingly would be a magical gazebo illuminated by fireflies and populated by thousands of whimsical fairies dressed in cardigan sweaters. Yet MSG is also the rare venue that’s very secure, one that allows celebrities to get in and out largely undetected and whose structure could protect Swift and Kelce from paparazzi helicopters or drones. Vulture recently argued this was basically the only option for a celebrity of Swift’s caliber, who has hundreds of famous friends and wants to get married with whatever modicum of privacy she can manage.

“I’d wager that there are two events sitting back of mind as the couple plans the wedding: the thwarted terrorist plot on the European leg of the Eras Tour and the mess of crowds at Jack Antonoff’s wedding in 2023,” wrote Fran Hoepffner, referring to the pandemonium that ensued when Swift, a guest at Antonoff’s marriage to Margaret Qualley, was spotted at the rehearsal dinner. Hoepffner argued that safety had to be the No. 1 priority and that Madison Square Garden is the closest thing that exists to a Wedding Fort Knox. That is a fair point.

And yet I can’t shake the feeling that Swift and Kelce must have had other options, one of which would have been to plan a small wedding and reception in a private location that didn’t involve getting permits to shut down some of Manhattan’s busiest streets. An extremely successful and famous pop star who has a thing for numerology and a deep commitment to managing her image did exactly that in 2008. You may have heard of her. Her name is Beyoncé.

An extremely successful and famous pop star who has a thing for numerology and a deep commitment to managing her image had a private wedding in 2008. You may have heard of her. Her name is Beyoncé.

She and Jay-Z tied the knot on April 4, 2008a date they reportedly chose because of the significance of the number four (her birthday is Sept. 4; his is Dec. 4.). They invited just 40 guests and held the ceremony in Jay-Z’s Manhattan penthouse apartment. They didn’t release any video footage from the event until six years later, when they included snippets in their “On the Run” tour.

Admittedly, 2026 is a vastly different world than 2008. Then, social media was still in its relative infancy; Twitter had been born only two years earlier. While fans certainly had parasocial relationships with Beyoncé back then, the intensity of fandoms, especially Swift’s, has grown significantly. People not only want to see what Taylor Swift’s wedding looks like, they feel entitled to that imagery, in part because the Instagram industrial complex regularly serves such intimate, exhaustive accounts of wedding days, both celebrity and not. The hunger for any glimpse of this affair invited not just the mainstream and pop culture media to pay attention but also every influencer or amateur celebrity tracker with a cellphone.

Still, other modern celebrities have figured out how to navigate this admittedly absurd landscape. Tom Holland and Zendaya, arguably Hollywood’s biggest power couple at the moment, got married without any fanfare at all. They didn’t officially confirm they had a wedding until Holland acknowledged it in a recent Esquire interview. We still don’t know exactly when it happened or where. And we’ve seen no photos other than fake AI ones, which obviously don’t count. They kept everything locked down tight.

Earlier this year, Swift’s ex Harry Styles, also a globally famous pop star, proposed to actress Zoe Kravitz. Or so Page Six reportedbased on information from an unnamed source. Given that Kravitz has been spotted with a prominent ring on that finger, it seems likely they are engaged. But neither Styles nor Kravitz, the latter of whom attended the Swift/Kelce wedding, has spoken publicly about it. They also did not post photos on Instagram documenting the moment, a la Swift’s announcement that “your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.”

Swift’s success is at the root of her wedding conundrum: Her incredibly personal, confessional songwriting cultivated a fanbase deeply invested in her love life. Getting married without making her happy moment accessible could be viewed by some of her most devout followers as a betrayal. Hence, the Instagram post. But the most powerful thing Swift could have done for the wedding day itself was to draw a hard boundary.

Given this couple’s money and access, this wedding basically had no limits. But ultimately, the question is whether you want your wedding to be an object of public speculation or whether you want a truly private affair. Those options also represent the split between the two primary perceptions of Taylor Swift: She’s either an attention-seeking try-hard or the kind, modest, girl next door. Swift’s apparent preference for the latter view could be one reason why news leaked ahead of wedding-palooza that she and Kelce had donated $26 million to handpicked charitiesincluding several food banks, educational nonprofits and the ASPCA. Those who see Swift as more of a striver may view that incredibly generous gesture as a calculated effort to preempt inevitable criticism about the tone-deafness of having an enormously extravagant wedding on a Fourth of July weekend when many Americans are struggling.

The most powerful thing Swift could have done for the wedding day itself was to draw a hard boundary.

Like most people, Taylor Swift is more complicated than a simple binary. She may be humble and nice. But she also is often a little extra, as we see every time she dances so hard in the audience at practically every awards show. Swift doesn’t ask cameras to focus on her and pull attention from whatever is happening onstage. But she also has to know that is what always happens.

This many years into her extraordinary career, the pop megastar is still figuring out how to navigate her unique reality, and we are all watching. With the knot tied, it’s possible that interest in this couple could calm down. But it’s more likely that the countdowns to a pregnancy announcement have started, because that’s what happens when blurred personal and professional boundaries are a cornerstone of your brand. You feel obligated to share some semi-genuine version of your life for public consumption, as long as the public remains hungry for it.

Jen Chaney is a freelance TV and film critic whose work has been published in The New York Times, TV Guide and other outlets.

The Dictatorship

America is bigger than its government — and Trump

Published

17 hours ago

July 5, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Christmas. 4, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT

ByChristian Schneider

This piece is part of“America in the balance: the fight for our history and future,”a special series from MS NOW that explores where we are as a nation as we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The one thing at which the government truly excels is convincing the public of its own importance. It builds monuments to former presidents. It slaps the name of government officials on buildings across America, adds photos of current presidents to passports and names legislation after members of Congress.

In fact, the U.S. mint rarely adorns any currency with a portrait of an American who didn’t serve in some governmental or military capacity (congratulations to Samuel Morse and Chief Running Antelope for being among the brief exceptions). Not artists. Not scientists who cured diseases or built industries. Politicians. We’ve decided that the highest honor a nation can bestow on its currency is the face of someone who spent his career extracting money from people and deciding how to spend it.

The things we actually do together — the real American accomplishments — happen in the spaces that the spindly finger of the government hasn’t yet colonized.

Progressives like to use a quote commonly attributed to the recently departed Rep. Barney FrankD-Mass.: “Government is simply the name we give to the things we choose to do together.”

But as America celebrates its 250th birthday, it is important to recognize that our nation’s greatness isn’t the result of legislative or executive action. “Government” is actually the things government does for itself, largely in service of its own perpetuation. The things we actually do together — the real American accomplishments — happen in the spaces that the spindly finger of the government hasn’t yet colonized.

The innovations that changed how humans live didn’t emerge from some bureaucratic process overseen by officials who needed another bullet point for a campaign fundraising letter. They came from garages, workshops and basements where people decided to build something without asking permission first. They came from restaurants, factories, laboratories and living rooms where Americans solved problems because they knew if they filled a need, they could make a good living for themselves, their families and their employees’ families.

American greatness evolved not because a narcissistic president jacked up tariffsbut because millions of Americans privately make billions of mutually beneficial economic decisions every day. Businesses incentivized by the prospect of making a buck created products that made everyone’s lives easier and revolutionized the world. There’s a reason Henry Ford, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are all Americans. Amazon.com wasn’t cooked up in a government lab — it was created by a nerd who thought he could sell books on the internet, and it now sells $715 billion worth of products per year.

We created a system in which a person with nothing can build something, and that something might change the world.

Of course, America is currently saddled with the stench of its current presidency and an obedient Congress unwilling to stop his rampant corruption. For many, the country’s 250th anniversary isn’t anything to celebrate; it is instead a reminder of how far we have fallen from our national dignity and sense of decorum. (Ironically, many of the people looking to “Make America Great Again” are willing to put up with levels of coarseness, incompetence and corruption that would have gotten a president thrown out of office during the times the Red Hat Army yearns to return to.)

But America was recently handed a vivid example of how our contemptible government shouldn’t shade who we really are. Foreigners visiting for the FIFA World Cup were struck by polite Americans willing to help them and by businesses competing to serve them well. They marveled at American abundance, from giant department stores to free soda refills to ranch dressing. Like modern-day Alexis de Tocqueville, they beamed about American culture, hospitality and our bottomless well of optimism.

So while the current administration has made us a laughingstock to much of the world, the people who come here to see the real America are astonished at our quality of life. In Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” Mr. Erskine claims America had never been properly “discovered,” only that it had merely been “detected.” Steeped in bad headlines from abroad, our foreign visitors had detected America; they just hadn’t yet discovered it. And when they got to see it for themselves, they found that we are bigger than our government, we just talk about ourselves with much more humility.

Americans are exceptional because American individuals are exceptional. We’ve built a culture that rewards competence and ambition. We value people who solve problems without asking permission first. We created a system in which a person with nothing can build something, and that something might change the world.

That’s the America worth celebrating on its 250th birthday. Not the one that exists in the White House. Not the one where bureaucrats congratulate themselves on stifling a new building project. Not the one represented by reflecting pools or a White House ballroom. But the one that exists in the spaces between government, where Americans are still Americans: ambitious, generous, restless and capable of genuinely extraordinary things.

Naturally, Thomas Jefferson had the right priorities. Nowhere on his tombstone does it mention his time as president, vice president or secretary of state. Instead, it memorializes his founding of the University of Virginia and his authorship of both the Declaration of Independence and Virginia’s statute on religious freedom.

Or consider the tranquility represented by the September 19, 1787edition of the Pennsylvania Gazette, which announced on page one that there was a $100 reward for a stolen silver watch, a cloak and other items. The paper also noted that a small red cow wandered onto the land of John Hannis, with a plea for the owner to come retrieve it.

Buried on page two that day? A news item announcing the passage of the U.S. Constitution.

Christian Schneider

Christian Schneider writes the Anti-Knowledge newsletter. He is a co-host of the podcast “Wasn’t That Special: 50 Years of SNL.”

The Dictatorship

Washington, D.C., is not just a backdrop for Trump’s spectacles

Published

17 hours ago

July 5, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Christmas. 4, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT

Washington, D.C., makes a great movie set: the imposing Lincoln Memorial, the instantly recognizable White House, the obligatory cutaway shot of the Potomac River.

That may be why President Donald Trump is so interested in using it as a backdrop to his increasingly grandiose spectacles.

So far in his second term, he’s staged a military parade through its streets, hosted a UFC fight on the White House South Lawn, driven his motorcade across the drained Reflecting Pool, delivered a political speech at a Freedom 250 celebration on the National Mall and increased the frequency of military flyovers.

His latest stunt is an unprecedented 40-minute pyrotechnics show that aims to break the Guinness World Record.

His latest stunt is an unprecedented 40-minute pyrotechnics show that aims to break the Guinness World Record. Organizers aim to launch more than 850,000 fireworks — compared to the 7,000 at the 2025 show.

Look, I love fireworks, but this is excessive. Large pyrotechnic displays already leave behind air pollution, scatter debris through parks and waterways, stress pets and wildlife and trigger veterans with PTSD. Those costs are real but manageable. This display, however, magnifies them on a staggering scale — and it was announced at the last minute and is overseen by the administration that couldn’t even paint a pool blue.

I understand this is part of the trade-off of living in the nation’s capital. In the 18 years I have lived here, I have never complained when I got stuck in traffic thanks to a presidential motorcade or when the streets around my office were closed for an inauguration or State of the Union.

But Trump doesn’t just use D.C. as a backdrop. He uses it up. He’s torn down the East Wing of the White House, left the South Lawn looking like the aftermath of a death-metal festival and fenced off the Reflecting Pool after filling it with algae. He’s sent armed members of the National Guard into our streets and Metro stations. He’s drained a billion dollars from our city budget and commandeered our police department just because he could.

Most recently, he’s threatened to take over the city simply because he disapproves of the person voters are likely to elect mayor.

In the end, that’s what this is really about. Ninety percent of Washington voted against Trump in 2024, one of the largest margins of any U.S. city. It’s full of young people, renters, college-educated professionals and African Americansa cross-section of the demographics that are least likely to support him. (Its suburbs are also part of Maryland and Virginia, which filters even more potential supporters from its voting pool.)

Trump doesn’t like that. He envisions himself as a grand potentate overseeing the capital city. Like Ozymandias, he wants its residents to build him a great arch and an opulent ballroom and hold elaborate events in his honor.

When that falls through, as with his embarrassing Great American State Fair or failed attempt to rename the Kennedy Centerhe looks for a new spectacle to compensate. The fireworks display is just another attempt to force the city to submit to his whims. As with all his grandiose gestures, it won’t work.

Like his actual hometown, New York City, Trump will eventually leave Washington even more disliked than when he arrived. That clearly bothers him. But no amount of fireworks will change it.

Ryan Teague Beckwith is a newsletter editor for MS NOW.