President Trump's initiative to commemorate the 250th year of the founding of the U.S. kicked off with the projection of images on the Washington Monument during New Year's Eve celebrations in D.C. Wednesday night.
The big picture: The six-day art installation is one of many projects Trump has planned for the yearlong "America 250" celebrations.
WATCH IN FULL: @250Freedom_ presents "The Illumination of America" at the Washington Monument, celebrating 250 years of the United States of America — and looking forward to our next incredible chapter.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 1, 2026
GOD BLESS AMERICA! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/xe5XOzUjmC
Driving the news: "TONIGHT: The Illumination of America on the Washington Monument kicks off the celebration of America's 250th birthday year 🇺🇸," said an official White House account, sharing images from the display, on X.
- Freedom 250, a group Trump tasked with overseeing the anniversary project, in a statement described the display as the "world's tallest birthday candle in honor of our Nation's 250th birthday."
- It's designed to create "an immersive, luminous canvas that narrates our Nation's discovery, expansion, independence, and vision for the future," according to the group.
- "This Washington Monument illumination is the opening signature moment of a year-long series of marquee national events celebrating the triumph of the American spirit."
Of note: Trump is placed front and center at some of the nation's planned celebrations marking 250 years since the signing of the U.S. Declaration of Independence — vowing to host a UFC fight at the White House that's planned for June 14, the date of the president's 80th birthday.
What else to expect: Trump plans to extend semiquincentennial celebrations that are designed to showcase all the U.S. has to offer to the co-hosting of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and even the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, The Atlantic reported in June.
- Meanwhile, you don't have to wait in line on New Year's Eve to see New York City's iconic ball drop — the ball will be relit on the Fourth of July in red, white and blue and an America 250 design will rise above illuminated 2026 numerals, per a Times Square statement.
- The president has proposed plans for what he's named the National Garden of American Heroes.
- And Trump told Politico Wednesday that his idea to build a triumphal arch is coming to fruition, with plans to begin construction "sometime in the next two months."
In photos: Washington Monument lights up for America 250
Go deeper: America's nonstop birthday party
