Donald Trump Unveils Patriot Passports for America’s 250th Birthday in Washington DC

The BBC reported that Donald Trump unveiled new US “patriot passports” for America’s 250th birthday, with the passport pages featuring “an image of himself with his fists on the Resolute Desk with the Declaration of Independence in the background.”

“Trump's face is added to select US passports for America's 250th birthday In a post on social media on Friday, Trump shared a photo of the passport's newly designed pages, one that includes an image of himself with his fists on the Resolute Desk with the Declaration of Independence in the background and his signature below”

BBC

The BBC said the commemorative passports will become available on 6 July and only while supplies last, and that Americans must make an appointment for an in-person visit at the passport agency in Washington DC.

BBC

CNN described how Trump’s return to office as the 47th president reshaped America’s 250th birthday planning, with Next250 organizers reframing their commemoration in response to Trump’s “takeover of the country’s birthday.”

CNN said a communal festival in Washington, DC, on Saturday included “an indigenous opening ceremony” and a march starting at what was once called Black Lives Matter Plaza, while Next250 held its counterprogram down the street from the White House as the National Mall is used by Trump’s “Great American State Fair.”

Mediaite reported that Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) argued that “a lot of Americans don’t feel like celebrating the nation’s 250th birthday next week” because they are “bummed out about President Donald Trump being in the White House.”

Mediaite quoted Kelly saying, “My view on this… is that we have a president that looks for — looks at every opportunity, not as an opportunity to bring the country together, but to further divide us.”

CNN

CNN quoted John Dichtl, president and chief executive of the American Association for State and Local History, saying, “It’s a lost cause to expect anything unifying and exciting coming out of Washington.”

CNN also quoted Linda Sarsour, one of Next 250’s organizers, saying, “The administration doesn’t own the 250th anniversary, nor do they own the story of this country.”

CNN said Freedom 250 was created as a public-private partnership to carry out July 4 celebrations, with Trump declaring on Truth Social that “We have created a public-private partnership. It’s called Freedom 250.”

“Mark Kelly Blames Trump for Lack of Liberal Joy Over America’s 250th Birthday Sen”

Mediaite

CNN reported that Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, said in an interview that he thought it was “problematic” that the White House is forging relationships with nonprofits without congressional authorization.

CNN also said that in May, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told CNN’s Dana Bash that Freedom 250 is “run out of the White House” and only the organization can decide to reveal its donors.

CNN reported that a spokesperson for the National Park Foundation said, “public and private Freedom 250 funds received or expended during the current fiscal year will be accounted for through NPF’s standard financial reporting and audit processes.”