The US Freedom 250 festival, a grand celebration of American independence championed by former president Donald Trump, is in disarray after a wave of artists cancelled their appearances. Trump responded on social media with a terse message: “Cancel it.” The festival, planned for July 4th in Washington D.
C., was meant to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. But a string of high-profile withdrawals, reportedly over concerns about Trump’s political associations and the event’s polarising nature, has left organisers scrambling.
For workers and small businesses counting on the event’s economic boost, the collapse is another blow to a struggling post-pandemic recovery. Local vendors, hospitality workers, and event staff who had booked shifts now face cancelled contracts and lost income. The episode underscores how political divisions increasingly disrupt the real economy, leaving ordinary people to pick up the pieces.
