These are the things we will look back on and try to explain — how the country’s treasured spaces were taken, one by one, by a single man to mark his birthday.
In two weeks, on June 14th, a UFC match will be held on the South Lawn of the White House.
Since 1777, June 14th has been Flag Day. This year it is also Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.
Plans are for the UFC fighters to walk from the Oval Office to the octagon. The weigh-ins will be staged the day before on the ellipse, and the press conference at the Lincoln Memorial.
A great arch will rise over the cage, and a marching band will be seated ringside.
This is all part of America 250, the officially sanctioned celebration of the country’s two hundred and fiftieth year. The event itself is titled Freedom 250. An IndyCar race will run past the White House. A state fair will fill the National Mall.
The nation’s birthday and Trump’s own appear to have become the same occasion.
We saw this last year, when on June 14th, a sparse military parade rolled through a rainy Washington for the Army’s 250th anniversary, on his 79th birthday.
Two years, two celebrations of the country, both arranged around the day he was born.
The South Lawn has long been thought of as the people’s ground. The Mall is the people’s ground. The monuments belong to all of us – but for one weekend, at least, they belong to him.
These are the things we will look back on and try to explain — how the country’s treasured spaces were taken, one by one, by a single man to mark his birthday.
Notes To My Future Self 