With warships, flyovers and a burst of patriotic pageantry in New York Harbor, US Vice President JD Vance used a July Fourth speech to deliver a pointed rebuke to Americans who dwell on what he called the nation’s flaws.
His remarks came as dozens of tall ships from more than 20 countries entered New York harbour for celebrations marking 250 years since the Declaration of Independence was signed on 4 July 1776.
“You will hear a couple small but loud voices today speak obsessively not of our national greatness, but of our national imperfections,” Mr Vance said from the USS Kearsarge.
“They’ll talk about America’s sins with the anger and zeal of a brimstone preacher, but without any of the grace or forgiveness that must be present in the Christian faith,” Mr Vance said, adding that these critics “misunderstand the essence of America”.
The vice president’s message closely tracked that of US President Donald Trump, who a day earlier had used sharper rhetoric to denounce “radicals and extremists” he said were endangering the country’s identity, warning of “a resurgence of the communist menace in our land.”
Together, the speeches underscored the tension at the heart of the anniversary: a sweeping national celebration unfolding against a backdrop of deep political division.
US Vice President JD Vance delivering his speech in New York earlier
Military aircraft thundered across New York Harbor, including the Blue Angels, the US Navy’s flight demonstration squadron, with some planes trailing red, white and blue through the sky.
Yet the celebrations faced another challenge as a punishing heat wave across the eastern United States threatened to disrupt July Fourth events over the weekend.
In New York City, the heat index – the apparent temperature when humidity is factored in – stood at 41C in mid-afternoon.
Across the country, millions of Americans are marking the nation’s 250th birthday, a milestone arriving at a fraught political moment and one that Mr Trump is determined to shape in his own image.
In Washington, the traditional fireworks show on the National Mall – framed by monuments to the founding fathers – has been expanded and promoted as the biggest in the event’s history.
Mr Trump has also added roaring military flyovers and an unusual campaign-style political rally to the July Fourth programme.
The US President, who turned 80 last month, has shown little concern about the extreme heat.
“It’s going to be approximately 107 degrees out, and I’m going to go and I’m going to make a really long speech – just to show that I can do anything,” Mr Trump said in the run-up to the revelry.
Patrick Thompson, a teacher in the Washington suburb of Alexandria, Virginia, said he planned to celebrate with a traditional barbecue, but would skip the national fireworks display.
“We still want to celebrate the country and be patriotic and it’s exciting,” Mr Thompson, a father of two teenagers said.
“But it’s so weird because it’s got this… strange mar over it because of Trump and just like the 250 thing that turns out to not be what anyone hoped.”
Speaking at Mount Rushmore, Donald Trump claimed there was ‘a resurgence of the communist menace’
‘Renewed attack’
Late yesterday, Mr Trump travelled to the Mount Rushmore monument in South Dakota, where he addressed the nation beneath the granite faces of four celebrated predecessors – George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.
He praised American exceptionalism and saluted the country’s past leaders, while arguing that the nation’s identity faced a “renewed attack” from domestic “radicals and extremists,” directing particular anger at what he called a “resurgence of the communist menace.”
The Republican leader has returned to that argument repeatedly in recent weeks, as the anti-establishment left wing of the Democratic Party notched a series of victories in US primary contests.
Yesterday, Mr Trump said there has been an effort in recent years to “beat the American spirit out of us, alienate us from our history”.
His wording was less incendiary than the anti-immigrant rhetoric he has used in some earlier speeches, but the broader message was unmistakable.
Donald Trump visited the iconic Mount Rushmore monument in South Dakota
“You do not have to be born here, but you do have to love what we have built,” he said.
Pope Leo XIV – the Catholic Church’s first US pope, who has sparred with Mr Trump over his administration’s immigration crackdown – used the occasion to say that his vision of the American dream includes an inclusive society.
“Defending human life also includes welcoming, protecting and assisting immigrants, whose hopes, sacrifices and contribution have formed part of the history of this country from its very beginning,” the Chicago-born pontiff said.
In London, King Charles III said Britain and the country formed from its former colonies would “continue to defend our shared values.”
Fireworks pictured over Mount Rushmore following Mr Trump’s speech
Celebration and reflection
For many Americans, the 250th anniversary is not only a celebration but also an invitation to take stock.
After two and a half centuries shaped by triumph and tragedy, slavery and freedom, civil war and world wars, multiple surveys suggest the country remains sharply divided over where it stands and where it is headed.
A Quinnipiac University Poll showed 61% of Americans thought the US was not living up to the ideals stated in the Declaration of Independence – though even opinion on that was divided, with most Republicans thinking it did, and most Democrats thinking it didn’t.
“There’s too many people that hate on each other, steal from each other. They don’t love each other,” said Los Angeles-based artist Johnny Presley.
“I’m sick of the way this country treats people. I’m sick of the way this country treats its foreign neighbors,” he added. “I’m sick of a lot of damn things.”
For others, including American-Iranian educator Karisa Tavassoli in Atlanta, the foundations of the American dream still feel real.
“I have safety, I have freedom of speech, I have freedom of religion, I can wear whatever I want as a woman,” she said.
“There are many flaws here, but we have something very special that’s worthy of protecting,” she added.Alonzo Coby, a member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, is grateful to be able to celebrate 250 years of the United States.
“But I want people to remember that Native Americans have been here a lot longer than 250 years,” he said.
