President Trump Delivers Speech Marking 250th Anniversary of U.S. Independence

m. EDT on July 4, 2026, after severe weather postponed the scheduled conclusion of Independence Day events. The president noted that attendees returned after an evacuation order and said the American flag still waves. He stated that the founders were great, the cause was just, the people are brave, the culture is exceptional, and the destiny is written by God.

Trump showed several flags, including one carried at the 1777 Battle of Saratoga and the flag that draped Abraham Lincoln's casket. He also displayed a flag from the Lewis and Clark expedition and one that flew over the Brooklyn Bridge. The president highlighted a flag recovered from the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor and one raised during the Battle of Iwo Jima.

He also presented a flag carried on the first landing craft during the D-Day invasion of Normandy.

Trump recognized 11 Gold Star families in attendance and said the nation would redeem the sacrifice of their loved ones. He brought several veterans on stage, including 103-year-old Ken Schubring, 101-year-old Don Graves, and 107-year-old Arthur Rose.

The president recounted the story of William Carney, the first African American recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, and Colonel Paris D. He also mentioned a flag made in Nazi-occupied Belgium that was later saluted by a descendant of Francis Scott Key.