We’re back! Thanks to everyone following our “50 Weeks That Shaped America” series—and those of you who have signed up to receive full-video, ad-free versions of our show every week by supporting This Day.
The 250th is still happening! Here’s how folks are celebrating, commemorating, and conceiving the moment, with some thoughts from Nicole Hemmer!
America 250 Wheel coming to Oklahoma State Fair
The Ferris wheel for America250 is 230 feet tall, which I think we can all agree is annoyingly off by 20 feet. Still, it is the largest portable observation wheel in existence, so that’s cool.
Take your breadcrumbs when you go out to the local harvest festival this year. Festival organizers seem to all agree that mazes are the best way to mark the 250th, and they urge you not to take it as a metaphor for the country losing its way
Park Service Finds Trump’s Arch Could Detract From Dozens of Historic Places - The New York Times
You will be unsurprised to learn that the illegal arch that Trump is planning to erect in Washington, D.C.—it violates both the Height of Buildings Act and Commemorative Works Act—will ruin the skyline and symbolic design of the city. Will that stop him? The crater where the East Wing used to be suggests no.
For Kim Sajet, Trump’s Targeting of Another Smithsonian Chief Is Déjà Vu - The New York Times
Did Howard Zinn Tell Too Simple a Story About American History? | The New Republic
A fantastic deep-dive into A People’s History, which has sparked a fascination with history in so many people. Is it a perfect book? No. But it is a compelling invitation to take a closer look at the past.
Declaration 250 event on Put-in-Bay celebrated America’s true date of freedom
By Nicole Hemmer
Federal prosecutors have dropped charges against the former Olympian arrested for allegedly vandalizing the Reflecting Pool on the Mall in Washington, D.C. Jeanine Pirro, the Fox News host who now serves as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, announced that there could be no prosecution because there was no crime: “The damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism.”
Pirro was simply stating what everyone already knew: that the rushed, corrupt effort to update the Reflecting Pool almost immediately resulted in extensive algae blooms and a peeling paint job.
But the story remains an important moment in the second Trump administration, because it captures so well how Trump exercises power: a public failure, one that is easily traceable to the administration, is transformed into a conspiracy, one amplified in MAGA media and reinforced by improper exercises of federal power. And when someone within the administration refuses to go along with it, they become the new enemy. While Pirro still has her job (for now), Trump dragged her to the White House to excoriate her for saying what was plainly true: that there had been no vandalism. For a small story, it contains plenty of insights into Trumpism in power.
Okay, that’s the end of this week’s America250 Watch.
Reminder: paying subscribers get early access to our 50 Weeks That Shaped America episodes — ad-free and in full video.
Paying subscribers also get bonus content. Below are some more thoughts from Nicole, plus notable dates from history, including several we’ve discussed on past episodes!
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