Has Trump Changed Democracy Forever? We Asked 11 Historians.; Politico, July 4, 2026

POLITICO MAGAZINE, Politico;  Has Trump Changed Democracy Forever? We Asked 11 Historians.

Experts on U.S. history look to the past — and the future.

"From a fledgling republic to a global superpower, the United States has constantly reinvented itself over the last 250 years.

Americans have expanded democracy and driven innovation. They’ve also confronted war, economic upheaval and long struggles over equality and justice.

Now, the country faces a new era of uncertainty: Americans are debating the United States’ role in the world, losing faith in its institutions and grappling with deep political and cultural divisions. In this moment, the semiquincentennial gives us the opportunity to evaluate the latest iteration of America — and how we got here.

To mark America 250, we asked 11 historians and writers to reflect on the lessons U.S. history has taught us. They told us what grade they’d give the current state of American democracy, what it means to be an American today and what the country needs to last another 250 years."

Full Text: Pope Leo XIV’s Letter on the 250th Anniversary of America’s Founding; National Catholic Register, July 3, 2026

 National Catholic Register; Full Text: Pope Leo XIV’s Letter on the 250th Anniversary of America’s Founding

"Editor's Note: Ahead of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, Pope Leo XIV penned a letter marking the historic moment. The letter, dated June 25 and released by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on Friday, is reprinted in full below."

House Democrats accuse Trump of 'hijacking' America's 250th birthday for his own gain; NPR, July 2, 2026

Rachel Treisman, NPR; House Democrats accuse Trump of 'hijacking' America's 250th birthday for his own gain

"As America's birthday celebrations kick into high gear, so too do criticisms of the preeminent national group organizing them, Freedom 250.

Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee published a 55-page report Thursday accusing the group of aiding President Trump in turning America's milestone into a "hotbed of corruption and self-enrichment" through tactics that potentially amount to criminal fraud.

It's titled "From Vanity to Insanity: How the White House Cheated the American People out of their 250th Birthday.""

Trump Is Making the 250th Small; The Atlantic, June 24, 2026

Tom Nichols, The Atlantic; Trump Is Making the 250th Small

"To the extent that Trump’s appearance was about anything besides Trump, it was about a kind of vulgar nationalism. Trump cannot comprehend patriotism, the love of one’s country. Instead he defaults to nationalism, the sour and hostile glorification of one’s own nation over everyone else’s. He does this because he views the world the way he apparently has viewed most things in his life: as a competition...

All Trump had to do tonight was walk out on the stage and remind the American people that the nation and its ideals are bigger than all of us. He could have told us that we are blessed to live in freedom and plenty. He could have reminded us that the survival of the American experiment, and the freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution, are miracles that bless every person who lives here.

Instead, he told America that he is great, and that because he is great, America is great, and thanks to him, it is now better than everywhere else. And then a handsome man in a bright military dress uniform sang “YMCA” to him, as the president of the United States danced and smiled."