The Cheapening of America: Trump’s Independence Day Spectacle

While the fireworks crackle, the regime peddles lies, cruelty, and distractions, turning patriotism into a circus while dismantling the country piece by piece.

Good morning and happy Independence Day! Today we remember the promise of a country built on freedom, dignity, and a government accountable to its people. Or, at least, we should. Instead, the regime in power would like you to celebrate America’s birthday with a UFC cage fight on the White House lawn while billionaires toast themselves with your tax cuts, your healthcare, and your children’s futures.

You read that correctly. Donald Trump, ever the showman, says he’s “dead serious” about hosting a full UFC fight outside the White House for America’s 250th birthday. The symbolism could not be clearer: America, reduced to a circus, with the people as the audience and the regime as the ringmaster, selling tickets to the highest bidder while the country rots under the bleachers.

The cheapening of America didn’t end there. The regime also wants you to believe it just “eliminated taxes on Social Security.” They even had the Social Security Administration blast out an email bragging that the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” is “a landmark piece of legislation that delivers long-awaited tax relief to millions of older Americans,” claiming it “ensures that nearly 90% of Social Security beneficiaries will no longer pay federal income taxes on their benefits.” That’s a lie. What actually happened? A temporary deduction that helps some seniors for now, doesn’t repeal the taxation of benefits, phases out for higher incomes, and expires in 2028. The regime can’t even give seniors a permanent fix, but they’ll happily send a propaganda email pretending they did, all so Trump can stomp around the campaign trail saying he “ended taxes on Social Security” when he absolutely did not. But hey, the regime got its headline and its talking point for the rallies, while seniors are left just as uncertain about their retirement as ever.

Meanwhile, Marjorie Taylor Greene is out there in a tactical vest, giving away a gun, screaming about “stopping socialism” and the “trans agenda” while she votes to rip healthcare and food assistance away from her own voters in the dead of night to fund permanent tax cuts for billionaires. Remember, these folks will tell you they are “pro-life” and “Christian” while cutting food from hungry kids and Medicaid from sick people in rural America. All while holding a gun giveaway. You can’t make this up.

Trump spent part of his Independence Day week on the phone with Vladimir Putin, emerging “very disappointed” when Putin refused to back down on Ukraine. This, as the U.S. pauses arms shipments to Kyiv while Russia escalates attacks, leaving Ukraine and its people hanging. Trump blamed “inadequate stockpiles” for the delays, which begs the question: Who exactly is minding the logistics of our military defense systems while the regime sends out campaign emails and plans UFC fights on the White House lawn? America, “leading from behind” has a new meaning under Trump: enabling authoritarians while claiming “toughness,” letting Putin bomb Ukrainian cities while pretending to be a strongman for the cameras.

If you missed it, the regime also passed the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” this week, adding $3.4 trillion to the deficit while slashing healthcare and nutrition support. It makes tax cuts for billionaires permanent and throws crumbs at seniors with that temporary deduction they’re falsely advertising as a tax repeal. This bill will hurt the working class, the elderly, and the poor while enriching the ultra-wealthy, all under the banner of “freedom.” Happy Independence Day, indeed.

And because this is the land of irony, Elon Musk is now threatening to launch an “America Party” to “break the uniparty” while standing to gain billions from the tax cuts the regime just passed. Billionaire populism is the ultimate hustle, and they know you’ll click on it.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, meanwhile, continues to posture about “supporting law enforcement” while refusing to install the legally mandated plaque honoring the officers who defended him and his colleagues from Trump’s violent mob on January 6. After passing the “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” Johnson stood at the podium bragging, “This bill gives law enforcement, including ICE, the tools they need to keep Americans safe,” praising “our brave officers who risk it all every day to uphold the rule of law.”

This from the same party that pardoned violent cop-assaulting rioters and now can’t be bothered to honor the officers who stood between them and the gallows Trump’s supporters built outside the Capitol. They can pass bills to rename airports after Trump and declare his birthday a holiday, but they can’t hang a plaque acknowledging the men and women who defended democracy on January 6, because it’s politically inconvenient for them to remember who the real criminals were that day.

Speaking of those pardoned rioters, Edward Kelly, who received one of those precious Trump pardons for his role in January 6, just got sentenced to life in prison for plotting to assassinate FBI agents. The regime’s “law and order” party pardoned extremists who then went on to attempt murder. Tell me more about how they’re “backing the blue” and keeping America safe.

If that’s not enough, Trump is now threatening to slap tariffs of up to 70% on America’s trading partners starting in August, with letters going out this week to at least a dozen countries. These tariffs, part of Trump’s so-called “reciprocal” trade agenda, would be the highest yet floated outside of China, a sharp escalation from his previous cap of 50%, and could hit everything from groceries and clothing to medical supplies and electronics. It’s a move that will raise prices at your grocery store and pharmacy, disrupt supply chains, and destabilize global markets, all under the banner of “America First.” Another “tough guy” act that leaves American families paying the price for a strongman’s fragile ego.

All of this, wrapped in flags, accompanied by fireworks, shouted over stadium speakers, broadcast on social media, and sold back to you as “freedom.”

This is the cheapening of America in real-time, orchestrated by a regime that values power over people and spectacle over substance, all while telling you that the real threat is immigrants, drag queens, and the poor people next door trying to feed their kids.

On this Independence Day, remember: patriotism is not about UFC fights on the White House lawn or screaming into a camera while waving a gun. It is about ensuring your neighbors can see a doctor, that kids have enough to eat, that your elders can retire with dignity, and that we pass on a country better than the one we inherited.

That is worth fighting for, and writing about. Carpe Momentum