Stealth bomber flyovers, military bands and a presidential speech: Trump turns America 250 kickoff into a campaign-style rally

By — Josh Boak, Associated Press Josh Boak, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/stealth-bomber-flyovers-military-bands-and-a-presidential-speech-trump-turns-america-250-kickoff-into-a-campaign-style-rally Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Stealth bomber flyovers, military bands and a presidential speech: Trump turns America 250 kickoff into a campaign-style rally Nation Jun 24, 2026 1:05 PM EDT WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump sees America's 250th anniversary as a chance to get the country excited again — about Donald Trump. The president is hosting a rally Wednesday on the National Mall in Washington. He has said it will be replete with a military flyover by stealth bombers, military bands, singer Lee Greenwood of "God Bless the USA" fame and a speech by Trump. WATCH: America's 250th anniversary revives questions about religion and the founders It comes as Trump works to convince Americans ahead of critical November midterm elections that he's put the unpopular Iran war in the rearview mirror, with oil prices easing as the Strait of Hormuz has started to reopen in the wake of an interim deal to end the war with Tehran. The rally is designed to kick off weeks of celebrations about America and its 1776 founding as part of "The Great American State Fair" on the mall, the national park that stretches from the U.S. Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial. But Trump's appearance onstage was only announced after several musicians — including Young MC, Martina McBride and the Commodores — canceled their concerts because of concerns the event had become politicized. The president stepped into the void as he hyped his own ability to command a crowd. "I am thinking about bringing the Number One Attraction anywhere in the World, the man who gets much larger audiences than Elvis in his prime, and he does so without a guitar, the man who loves our Country more than anyone else, and the man who some say is the Greatest President in History," Trump posted on social media about his plan to be the event's headliner. In a video posted Monday night, he said the event would be "the biggest rally we've ever had," and declared: "It's our music, our playlist. We don't have a lot of people boring you with songs you don't want to hear. We have the hottest people." Tuesday afternoon, country singer Alexis Wilkins, the longtime girlfriend of FBI Director Kash Patel, posted on X that she would be performing at Wednesday's event. Trump is pressing the case that he's made America better Trump has struggled to deliver the presidency that he advertised to voters — causing his approval rating to dwell at a low 37%, according to the most recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research polling. Democrats say his botched repairs to the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool and the resulting algae outbreak are a sign that he's spending taxpayer money on vanity projects in