The South Dakota event on July 3 is one of several 250th anniversary celebrations centered around President Donald Trump.
Fireworks will be set off again at Mount Rushmore to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026
Fireworks will return at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota for Independence Day celebrations in 2026.
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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will headline a pre-Independence Day celebration at Mount Rushmore on July 3, adding speeches under the granite face of four important presidents to the schedule of events surrounding the nation’s 250th anniversary.
A White House official told USA TODAY that President Trump will be heading to South Dakota to attend an event at the national monument organized by Freedom 250, a group that works with the administration to organize commemorative events.
The celebration will include fireworks, a military band, high-flying flights, a tribute to the military and a speech from the president that the organization said will mark the country’s 250th anniversary and chart a course for America’s next chapter.
“Mount Rushmore pays homage to the leaders who shaped the American experiment and ensured the blessings of freedom for future generations,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement shared with USA TODAY. “As we approach our 250th anniversary, there is no better place to celebrate our accomplishments and look forward with optimism to the next chapter in American history.”
Mount Rushmore will host a fireworks display on July 3 for the first time since 2020, when President Trump attended during his first term. The National Park Service and the state of South Dakota are coordinating the celebration.
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Other President Trump 250th Anniversary Events
President Trump is increasingly putting himself at the center of the extravaganza surrounding the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th.
He hosted the Ultimate Fighting Championship contest at the White House as a commemorative event and hosted a rally on the National Mall to celebrate the opening of the Great American State Fair. The June 24 rally was held in place of a series of concerts that were canceled after musicians began withdrawing over political concerns.
President Trump will travel to Medora, North Dakota, on July 1st for the dedication of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, and will hold another rally on the National Mall on July 4th.
Last year, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Florida) introduced a bill that would put President Trump’s face on Mount Rushmore, along with those of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Theodore Roosevelt. President Trump has said in the past that he thought adding himself to the monument was a “good idea.”
The last time a fireworks display was held at Mount Rushmore, Native American groups protested, and former President Joe Biden’s administration rejected subsequent attempts to set off fireworks at the national monument. The National Park Service announced in 2022 that tribal groups had raised concerns about “adverse impacts to traditional cultural landscapes.”
Contributed by Eve Chen and Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY. Dominique Dausch, Argus Leader
