AMERICA'S 250th IS ABOUT THE COUNTRY NOT THE PRESIDENT

TRUMP RAINS ON JULY 4 CELEBRATION

I love the Fourth of July, the pride, the patriotism of celebrating that extraordinary achievement in Philadelphia 250 years ago.

This year we’ll have a nice family recognition but Donald Trump has made a mockery of any national celebration. It’s all about him, a series of narcissistic and tacky tributes.

Such a lost opportunity for a national day of unity, appreciating our rich history, flaws and all. It’s not to be.

I grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs; my Dad used to take us to the Valley Forge Musical Fair on July 4 with wonderful medleys of patriotic songs.

Years later I vividly remember the celebration of America’s 200th birthday in 1976. This was after bitter political fights over the Vietnam War and Watergate which forced President Richard Nixon’s resignation.

It was a message of unity at a time the country needed it. Much of the credit goes to President Gerald Ford.

That year, on July 4 the President went to Valley Forge, spoke at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall and then to New York to watch the tall ships from around the world sail into New York harbor.

The President of France and the Queen of England, at different times, joined the commemoration. There were special asides. I recall the Washington Star publishing in the old English though I can’t locate a copy.

The President struck an uplifting tone, there was jubilation.

Starting over a decade later, a family highlight was Alan Greenspan’s party at the Federal Reserve Building overlooking the fireworks on the National Mall. Honoring the Fourth of July with American heroes like John Glenn was special.

In contrast to the 200th, Donald Trump has made the 250th all about him. He vowed there would be “the most spectacular Trump rally of them all.” He established an alternative to the congressionally-approved America 250 committee.

Ford went to Valley Forge to honor those Revolutionary soldiers who spent a freezing winter there, Trump staged a UFC cage fight on the White House lawn. A planned musical event was cancelled when most of the artists said they wouldn’t participate in an ode to Trump.

The Administration also is trying to minimize historical realities, like slavery, that don’t fit the narrative. But there’s no shortage of pictures, banners and posters of Trump; it’s like Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang.

His narcissistic remake of the nation’s capital, in commemoration of the anniversary, is a disaster. He is ruining the Lincoln Memorial’s reflecting pool. He’s planning a gaudy 250 foot Arc de Trump in front of Arlington Cemetery, the resting place for so many who served the country.

On July 3, the PBS Fourth will air top flight entertainers and music, the finale will be spectacular fireworks at George Washington’s Mount Vernon. Around America there will be parades, bells ringing, bonfires, firecrackers, recitations of the Declaration of Independence.

That inspiring spirit will be absent in Trump’s Fourth.