WASHINGTON — Festivities commemorating the 250th anniversary of American independence ramped up across the United States on Friday as demonstrations of national pride — and hints of political polarization — were balanced with efforts to stay safe as much of the country baked under extreme heat.
President Trump was scheduled to travel to South Dakota to deliver a speech and watch fireworks at Mt. Rushmore. And in a novel twist, there will be a ball drop in New York City’s Times Square at midnight to usher in the July Fourth holiday with much the same revelry that is typically reserved for New Year’s Eve.
The sound of fighter jets on military flyovers shook the nation’s capital. In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivered his own address on the country’s 250th anniversary that cast America as a nation of contradictions “working each day toward the perfection in which it was conceived.”
“The frontier may be closed, we may have walked on the moon, but the work of fulfilling the values first enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, that work endures, and it belongs to us all,” Mamdani said, sitting behind George Washington’s desk at City Hall and surrounded by a diverse group of recently naturalized citizens.
In Washington, 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.”
“I love DC,” said Brooks, of Vero Beach, Florida, while taking a break from the heat with his siblings inside the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. “I love the fact we’re doing it right.”
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.
But for all the celebrations, there are also serious safety considerations as potentially record heat grips much of the Midwest and East Coast. 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, and the Great American State Fair, on the National Mall in Washington, shut down for a few hours.
The National Weather Service has issued an extreme heat warning for much of the Midwest, mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
Amtrak canceled some trains in the Northeast due to excessive heat that could affect the tracks.
The weather service said peak heat indexes, which combine air temperature with humidity, of up to 115 degrees Fahrenheit were possible.
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.
Even the celebrations themselves have not quite escaped the divide.
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, which has gained attention for the relatively small crowds it has attracted.
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.
Also, Friday, the first U.S.-born pope recalled America’s tradition of welcoming migrants and promoting religious freedom.
Pope Leo XIV prayed for the United States to recommit itself to its founding ideals of protecting life and human dignity as he participated remotely in an event at the National Constitution Center, which provides a nonpartisan platform for constitutional education and debate.
The Philadelphia-based center gave Leo its annual Liberty Medal in recognition of his “lifelong work promoting religious liberty and freedom of conscience and expression around the world — ideals enshrined by America’s founders in the First Amendment.”
Wearing the medal around his neck, Leo spoke to the center from Rome. He planned to spend July 4 itself at a symbolically significant location, given the Trump administration’s crackdown on migrants: the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, the destination of hundreds of thousands of migrants fleeing conflict, hardship and poverty.
Sloan writes for the Associated Press. Associated Press writers John Hanna in Topeka, Kan., Michael Casey in Cambridge, Mass., Calvin Woodward in Washington and Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this report.
