In the run-up to America’s 250th birthday, we thought President Donald Trump risked peaking early by hosting an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bonanza on the White House lawn on Sunday. It turns out we were wrong. By Monday morning, the president upped the ante, announcing that he’ll be celebrating the semiquincentennial by hosting a “Trump rally” on the National Mall on July 4.
To the foreign soccer fans spread all over the country for the World Cup, it could appear there are two Americas celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary—a sort of split-screen version of the republic.
One version of America celebrates the spectacle of Trump’s UFC battle, in which one fighter accused Michelle Obama of being a man. (French visitors, already aware that American podcaster Candace Owens is accusing their First Lady of something similar, could be forgiven for thinking such accusations are a regular part of American debates. In reality, it happens only rarely.)
