Donald Trump spent Sunday celebrating America’s 250th birthday by turning the heart of Washington into a racetrack, complete with screaming IndyCars, military flyovers and a presidential joyride in “The Beast.”
Trump personally launched the Freedom 250 Grand Prix by executive order in January, directing the Interior and Transportation departments to help map a 1.66-mile course around the National Mall and speed along the necessary permits. On Sunday, drivers tore down Pennsylvania and Independence avenues at roughly 160 mph, circling the Mall 147 times.
Plenty of racing fans loved it. But outside the track, the spectacle prompted an overwhelming native reaction from readers furious that Trump was turning the nation’s capital into his personal playground while Americans face far more serious problems.
“Who would have thought that celebrating our 250th Anniversary would ignore the rich history of our nation’s Capitol and turn it into an amusement park?” one WaPo reader wrote.
Another was even more cutting: “First, it was bigots wrestling on the White House lawn. Today, it’s race cars crashing through the Capitol streets.”
There were legitimate concerns beyond the spectacle. Restaurants reported disruptions from road closures and parking restrictions, a school had to dismiss students early, and preservationists worried that the vibrations from race cars could potentially damage federal art collections.
Meanwhile, Trump took a ceremonial lap around the course in the heavily armored presidential limousine, while Air Force One and four F-35s performed a flyover. Vendors on the National Mall were even hawking $60 “Make Racing Great Again” hats and other MAGA-friendly merch.
One reader managed to capture the absurdity while conceding that an IndyCar race itself could have been a cool way to celebrate the anniversary.
“I think it’s a great idea to showcase sports that are very popular in America,” the reader wrote, before asking why it had to happen beside the museums and worrying about “the war and our family having health insurance and making ends meet.”
At the end of the day, America’s 250th birthday belongs to the country, not Donald Trump, and the National Mall is not another Mar-a-Lago where his will prevails.
With Americans worrying about a neverending war, rising health care cost and other creeping expenses, Trump is still putting on ever bigger shows starring himself.
As one reader put it, quite simply: “Feels like this race is a big distraction from the really big problems we have.”
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