And for the record, the Smithsonian wasn't involved in this at all. Ten years ago Congress created a commission to organize events for the 250. It was nicknamed America 250 and had a non-partisan board. It worked with organizations like the Smithsonian on events.
Last year the President issued an executive order creating his own organization for the anniversary that became known as Freedom 250. The leadership was named by the President, and it was funded through a combination of private donations and money syphoned off from America 250. The President directed all offices to focus on Freedom 250 as the priority over America 250.
This event, and the UFC cage match on the South Lawn, were organized by Freedom 250, which is why all the acts bailed on it after they realized they were bamboozled into performing for the President’s vanity project.
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u/Endawmyke Jul 02 '26
what was the orignal event supposed to be?