Trump signs order to plan nation’s 250th anniversary celebration, punish those who vandalize statues

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump is making plans to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence and create a new national sculpture garden while reviving efforts to harshly punish those who vandalize or destroy existing statues and monuments.

Trump signed an executive order Wednesday establishing a White House task force to plan what he says will be a “grand celebration worthy of the momentous occasion of the 250th anniversary of American Independence,” which the country will celebrate on July 4, 2026.

Trump will serve as chair of the task force, which will include a long list of senior administration officials, including cabinet secretaries.

The order also revives Trump’s plans to build a “ National Garden of American Heroes ” with statues memorializing 250 historical figures.

Trump first announced plans for what he said would be “a new monument to the giants of our past” in a 2020 speech celebrating Independence Day at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. It was to have featured sculptures of dozens of American historical figures, including presidents, athletes and pop culture icons.

Trump himself curated the list of who was to be included — Davy Crockett, Billy Graham, Whitney Houston, Harriet Tubman and Antonin Scalia, among others.

No site was selected, however, and the garden was never funded by Congress. President Joe Biden abolished the task force after his election.

Trump’s announcement had come at a time of conservative backlash against efforts to take down statues dedicated to Confederate leaders and slave owners in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and subsequent protests.

“The National Garden will honor American heroism after dozens of monuments to Americans, including Presidents and Founding Fathers, have toppled or destroyed and never restored,” said a White House document on the order shared with The Associated Press ahead of the signing.

Wednesday’s action also puts back into place an executive order Trump signed in 2020, and which Biden also overturned, that was aimed at protecting monuments, memorials and statues from destruction and vandalism.

Trump had signed the order during the protests over racial injustice that year after police thwarted an attempt by protesters to pull down a statue of former President Andrew Jackson in a park across from the White House.

That earlier order had called on the attorney general to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law any person or group responsible for destroying or vandalizing a monument, memorial or statue. It called for the maximum prosecution of anyone who incited violence and illegal activity, and threatened state and local law enforcement agencies with a loss if federal dollars if they failed to protect monuments.

Wednesday’s order cites “Recent examples of conduct necessitating reinstatement of this order” in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza, including a demonstration last June, when protesters demanding a ceasefire vandalized statues and structures around the White House with graffiti.

Plans of the expected signing were first reported by Fox News.

During his 2024 campaign, Trump had talked about creating a yearlong “Salute to America 250” celebration. He said that on his first day back in office he would convene a task force that would be responsible for coordinating with state and local governments to plan festivities, beginning this Memorial Day.

He said he wanted the plan to include a yearlong “Great American State Fair” in Iowa, featuring pavilions that would “showcase the glory of every state in the Union, promote pride in our history, and put forth innovative visions for America’s future.”

And he said he wanted to launch “Patriot Games” — sports contests featuring high school athletes from across the country that he said would “allow young Americans from every state to show off the best of American skill, sportsmanship, and competitive spirit.”

Jill Colvin, The Associated Press