America’s Final Round

To celebrate 250 years of American independence, Donald Trump brought cage fighting to the White House lawn. Two and a half centuries of democratic aspiration, commemorated with an octagon.

Remember when conservatives were aghast that Barack Obama supposedly disgraced the presidency by wearing a tan suit? Those guardians of presidential dignity have grown remarkably accommodating. Apparently, the problem was never lowering the standards of the office. It was who occupied it.

Trump treats the White House as an extension of his personal brand: another property to decorate, another backdrop for spectacle, another platform for settling scores. Even his display of past presidents includes plaques disparaging his predecessors, turning American history into a taxpayer-supported comments section.

The presidency should ask something of us beyond our appetite for humiliation and combat. An anniversary this significant should invite reflection on the freedoms Americans secured, the injustices we overcame, and the unfinished work of making our founding promises real.

Instead, we get the politics of the lowest common denominator: grievance, domination, applause.

America’s democratic experiment has survived extraordinary blows. Its endurance, however, is no guarantee of its future.

At 250, we should be celebrating the next chapter. Under Trump, it increasingly feels like we’re watching the final round.