Trump plans patriotic surprise for America’s 250th birthday

NEWS AND OPINION:

Former President Donald Trump is already making some patriotic plans for the U.S. should he win the 2024 election.

“President Trump pledges to honor America’s founding in 1776 with a full year of celebration. President Trump will on Day One convene a White House task force called ‘Salute to America 250,’ responsible for coordinating with state and local governments to ensure an entire year of festivities across the country from Memorial Day 2025 to July 4th, 2026,” according to a written guide summarizing Mr. Trump’s master plan, released by his campaign Thursday.

“Three years from now, the United States will celebrate the biggest and most important milestone in our country’s history — 250 years of American Independence,” Mr. Trump said. “That’s why as a nation, we should be preparing for the most spectacular birthday party. We want to make it the best of all time,” Mr. Trump said in a related video.

He hopes to organize sporting contests for high school athletes, work with the state of Iowa to host a “Great American State Fair,” and would personally host a global event to celebrate the big anniversary. Mr. Trump also wants to bring back the National Garden of American Heroes — a statuary park project that originally surfaced while he was in office.

Mr. Trump would also ask religious communities to pray for the nation — and requests that citizens “come together and rededicate ourselves as one nation under God as we chart a course toward the next 250 years of American history,” according to his statement.

DEBT LIMIT: THE AFTERMATH

Some are not so impressed with the House, which passed a bill Wednesday night that would suspend the national debt ceiling until after the 2024 election.

“At a time when American families are suffering from the inflation and interest rate crisis, Congress voted to give [President] Biden a blank check on the debt limit — ensuring that our nation will rack up at least $3.5 trillion in new federal debt before the debt ceiling suspension ends,” said Richard Stern, director of The Heritage Foundation’s Hermann Center for the Federal Budget, in a written statement shared with Inside the Beltway.

“Lawmakers went from the solid down payment of the Limit, Save, Grow Act to very limited savings and growth that does too little to rein in our federal government’s out-of-control spending,” he said.

“Even the few pro-growth policies are overshadowed by the loss of the REINS Act, failure to incorporate all of the Lower Energy Costs Act (H.R. 1), the failure to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act’s green tax subsidies, and flawed reforms to TANF,” he said, referring to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

“The vote falls far short of addressing the outcry from the American people to shrink the government and allow them to keep the fruits of their labors,” Mr. Stern said.

Background information on the legislation and more can be found at Heritage.org. Check the “explore issues” pull-down menu at the site.

FOR THE LEXICON

“$34 trillion debt can.”

This intriguing phrase comes to us from PJ Media writer Stephen Kruiser, whose latest column is “House Kicks $34 Trillion Debt Can Down the Road Under Cover of Night.”

He centers on the aforementioned “Fiscal Responsibility Act,” which passed the House on Wednesday night.

“Can we all just pause for a moment and marvel at the ability of our politicians to give names to bills that describe the opposite of what is really happening? They do it with straight faces too. I think ‘Fiscal Responsibility Act’ just knocked ‘The Inflation Reduction Act’ out of first place in the running for ‘Most Inappropriately Named Legislation of the Biden Era,’” Mr. Kruiser observed.

THE TALKERS HAVE A SAY

It is a yearly event that underscores the persistent presence of talk radio in the U.S.

“Some 65 luminaries from the business are set to speak at a content-heavy day of fireside chats, solo addresses, 16 panel discussions, workshops, award presentations, new equipment showcases and endless networking opportunities,” advises Talkers, a news organization that tracks the industry.

The annual meeting takes place Friday at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, and includes a showcase moment with Newsmax founder and CEO Christopher Ruddy and an appearance by Fox News host Brian Kilmeade.

The event opens with the national anthem and closes with a discussion about the shaky future of AM radio as major automakers consider dropping the familiar feature from future vehicles.

FOXIFIED

Fox News has marked its 119th consecutive week besting cable news rivals, according to Nielsen Media Research, earning an average of 1.3 million prime-time viewers in the week of May 22-28.

In comparison, CNN averaged 411,000 prime-time viewers and MSNBC, 1.1 million. Fox News also aired 71 of the top 100 cable newscasts during the week.

The standout programs were “The Five” with 2.6 million viewers, “Jesse Watters Primetime” (2 million) and “Hannity” (1.8 million). Fox News also led the entire cable realm in daytime viewing hours, drawing an average of 1.1 million viewers and besting such non-news competition as ESPN, HGTV and TNT.

WEEKEND REAL ESTATE

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POLL DU JOUR

• 81% of U.S. adults are “dissatisfied with the way things are going in the U.S.”; 95% of Republicans, 81% of independents and 67% of Democrats agree.

• 84% of Whites and 73% of non-Whites agree.

• 81% of women and 79% of men also agree.

• 18% of U.S. adults are satisfied with the way things are going in the U.S.; 4% of Republicans, 18% of independents and 33% of Democrats agree.

• 15% of Whites and 25% of non-Whites agree.

• 17% of women and 20% of men also agree.

SOURCE: A Gallup Poll of 1,011 U.S. adults conducted May 1-24.

• Follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.