Bipartisan America250 vs. Trump's hyperpartisan Freedom250

This may explain why some of the musicians thought they were signing on to something very different and then quit in disgust.
1) America250
https://america250.org/news/america250-announces-presidents-bush-obama-first-ladies-as-honorary-national-co-chairs/
"Aug 1, 2024
Washington, D.C. — Today, America250 announced that President George W. Bush, Mrs. Laura Bush, President Barack Obama, and Mrs. Michelle Obama will serve as Honorary National Co-Chairs of the official bipartisan entity charged by Congress with planning the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

As Honorary Co-Chairs, President and Mrs. Bush and President and Mrs. Obama will lend their voices to the nationwide effort to mark this historic milestone.

The participation of these two Presidents and First Ladies in this initiative, who collectively led the country through the first 16 years of the 21st century, shows a continued dedication to service and commitment to their country.
....
The U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission was established by Congress in 2016 to plan and orchestrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The bipartisan Commission, chaired by former Treasurer of the United States Rosie Rios, is comprised of bipartisan members of congress and private citizens and is working with America250.org – the nonprofit supporting organization – to engage Americans across the country in designing the largest anniversary in our nation’s history. America250 continues planning its multi-year-long commemorative activities leading up to the Semiquincentennial, engaging all 50 states and 6 U.S. territories, the private sector, and national and community-based organizations to achieve our mission." ....(more)
2) Then, after Trump was elected....
https://thewayofimprovement.blog/2026/02/04/what-is-the-difference-between-america-250-and-freedom-250/
...."Last year, America250 brought on MAGA-­aligned staffers like Trump campaign fundraiser Meredith O’Rourke and Monica Crowley, a former Fox News ­pundit who serves as the chief of protocol in Marco Rubio’s State Department. The organization also dismissed its liaison in charge of coordinating with federally recognized tribes. Numerous advisory councils—each dedicated to making the anniversary events resonate with different groups of Americans—were removed from America250’s website.

The YWCA, previously listed as a partner, disappeared from the group’s website in June. So did Advancing American Freedom, a conservative advocacy center founded by Mike Pence, the erstwhile VP who, according to the White House’s new January 6 page, perpetrated a “betrayal of the president” when he declined to help steal the 2020 election. A representative told us Advancing American Freedom had not realized it had been removed.

Other partners have chosen to sever ties. America250’s programming had become “heavy on spectacle and with no clear lasting public benefit,” the American Association for State and Local History said in a July letter explaining why it was ending its relationship with the organization. As John Dichtl, the association’s president, told us, “America250 became sharply partisan, and increasingly less helpful to the many state 250 planning commissions.”
....
Faced with sporadic pushback from a congressional commission overseeing America250 and from career officials at various agencies, Trump is now seeking to evade even these modest constraints. In December, he launched a new organization, Freedom 250, that could implement his most outlandish anniversary events without the inconvenience of legislative oversight or mandatory bipartisanship. For the president’s 80th birthday this year, Freedom 250 will help organize a UFC fight on the White House lawn.

“Freedom 250” is “sponsored” by Exxon Mobile, Deloitte, and Mastercard, among others. Its “partners” include the American Gem Trade Association, Hillsdale College, the Museum of the Bible, the National Religious Broadcasters, Moms for America, the America First Policy Institute, American Heritage Girls, Prager University, the Ashbrook Center, the Union League of Philadelphia, and Moms for Liberty. Notice the large number of conservative organizations on this list of sponsors. “Freedom 250” claims to be non-partisan, but it is not.

Here, again, is Friedman and Moore:

By January, Freedom 250—which Trump’s team controls—seemed to have taken charge of the most visible anniversary celebrations, including a series of events promoted by the Interior Department. In memos sent out that month, the National Park Service told its employees to replace “America250” references and logos displayed online and in public with Freedom 250 insignias. “Freedom 250 is the Administration’s primary branding for all federal agencies participating in 250th activities,” states one of the documents. Another memo encourages employees to add Freedom 250 logos to their email signatures—displacing the America250 logos that once resided there.

“American250 is out,” said one NPS official. “Now it’s all Freedom250.”

Read more here.