By Travis Gillmore
Contributing Writer
DES MOINES, Iowa — President Donald Trump praised the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in a speech at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, marking the start of a yearlong celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.
“There could be no better birthday present for America than the phenomenal victory we achieved just hours ago, when Congress passed the one big beautiful bill to make America great again,” Trump said on the eve of Independence Day.
“We’ve saved our country,” he said after taking the stage, pumping his fists while singer Lee Greenwood belted out “God Bless the USA.”
The event in Iowa marks the first in a yearlong series of nationwide celebrations honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, culminating in a show-stopping bonanza in Washington next July 4. Organized by the America250 Commission, the patriotic-themed gathering in Iowa featured music, fireworks and fair food.
The president also announced that the commission will host a Great American State Fair on the National Mall in the summer of 2026.
“This will be a unifying, patriotic, family-friendly event that will feature exhibits from all 50 states and attract visitors from around the world,” according to a statement from the White House.
Local fairs in states and counties across the country will participate in lead-up events to the big celebration.
A National Garden of American Heroes park featuring statues of 250 historical figures will honor the nation’s history on a new outdoor monument space funded by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
To help encourage healthy activity, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is tasked with organizing an event known as the Patriot Games.
High school athletes will compete in a nationally televised event, according to the White House.
The president said special events are planned at parks and battlefields nationwide. And every department and agency will participate in festivities, with federal buildings festooned with patriotic decor, the statement from the White House said.
Trump also teased a UFC fight at the White House, with thousands of spectators.
He said a newly signed executive order that raises park entrance fees for foreign tourists will help fund the events.
“The national parks will be about America first,” Trump said.
With Independence Day looming, he spoke of a need to honor the flag, the founding fathers, and the principles the nation was built on.
Chants of “U.S.A.” flooded the fairgrounds on multiple occasions.
In a warning to those seeking to undermine the United States — and referencing the primary win of New York state Rep. Zohran Mamdani in the race for New York City mayor — the president denounced communism.
“As president of the United States, I’m proclaiming here and now that America is never going to be communist in any way, shape, or form, and that includes New York City,” said Trump, who hails from the city.
Mamdani, a Democrat, is a self-described democratic socialist and has denied the accusation that he is a communist.
At the fair ahead of the speech, thousands of attendees wore Trump merchandise, with red, white and blue garb marking the colors of the day.
The choice of Iowa for Trump’s message also carried political weight after he won its 2024 caucuses in a landslide and carried it by 13 points in the general election last November.
One organizer said the gathering is also meant to bring the nation’s approximately 340 million citizens together.
“We selected Iowa because it is America’s heartland, and the entire purpose of America250 is to unite the country,” U.S. Ambassador Monica Crowley, the group’s principal media representative, said in a statement.
The first Iowa state fair was held in 1854, just a few years after statehood was achieved.
The fair is one of more than 2,000 state, county and local fairs held every year nationwide, with many featuring patriotic themes and traditions.
“They are all about America,” Jeremy Parsons, CEO of the Iowa state fair, said during opening remarks. “Quite frankly, fairs represent the very best of our nation.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
