{"id":1038,"date":"2026-07-03T11:40:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T11:40:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/commercialrelocationpros.com\/?p=1038"},"modified":"2026-07-03T11:40:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T11:40:14","slug":"how-trump-branded-americas-big-birthday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/commercialrelocationpros.com\/?p=1038","title":{"rendered":"How Trump Branded America\u2019s Big Birthday"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

As the United States neared its 250th birthday in recent months, a new spin on the Stars and Stripes appeared outside homes and on banners dangling from government buildings. A twist on what\u2019s known as the \u201cBetsy Ross flag,\u201d with 250<\/span> inscribed within its 13-star circle, the celebratory image scans as neutral yet elegant. But just as the Trump administration overhauled this year\u2019s semiquincentennial celebration with partisan events and political rallies, the Ross flag, too, was co-opted by the White House.<\/p>\n

Read more What I Learned from ROTC<\/a><\/p>\n

Versions of the Ross flag, now a logo for Freedom 250, the White House\u2013endorsed semiquincentennial planner, have been popping up in political contexts and elsewhere. (There are variations of the logo, one with only 250<\/span> in the center, and the other with Freedom 250<\/span>.) Just looking at the design, it might be hard to see what the fuss is about, but those frustrated by Freedom 250 see it as yet another way the White House took control of the celebration from a nonpartisan rival, implicitly excluding Americans who do not agree with the president.<\/p>\n

Last September, America250, the nonpartisan organization authorized by Congress in 2016 to plan patriotic activities for the anniversary, applied for a trademark for the design with 250<\/span> in the center, <\/strong>as shown by U.S. Patent and Trademark Office documents that were cited in a released by House Democrats yesterday. The $5,350 application was for nine usage categories, that include flags, jewelry, digital media, paper goods, printed media, clothing, and toys. Yet in April, America250 quietly transferred ownership of the trademark application to Freedom 250, a public-private partnership created by the White House that has been putting on events with a partisan flair, such as mobile museums that offer a conservative, Christianity-infused retelling of the country\u2019s birth and the Great American State Fair, where conservative and religious groups have booths and visitors can take home a replica U.S. passport with Donald Trump\u2019s face printed in it. According to a person familiar with the matter, the White House\u2019s Task Force 250, the governmental arm behind Freedom 250, made the Ross handover a condition for America250 to receive $50 million from the Interior Department. Only half of those funds have been distributed thus far, Michael Scherer reported last month in The Atlantic<\/em>.<\/p>\n

(The design is on its way to becoming a registered trademark but has been held up by the opposition of a marine-product company that sells an almost identical flag for boats.)<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the Department of the Interior told me in an email, \u201cAs with all of our signature 250 events, resources have been made available to ensure these historic occasions are a success,\u201d adding that \u201cthe Memorandum of Understanding signed with all 250th related entities made that clear and we are proud to be partners in celebrating these iconic events honoring our 250th thanks to the bold leadership of President Donald J. Trump.\u201d Freedom 250 denounced the report from House Democrats wholesale, describing it as \u201cnothing more than a partisan smear from politicians who would rather manufacture division than celebrate America\u2019s 250th birthday alongside the rest of the country.\u201d The Patent and Trademark Office declined to comment, and the White House directed questions back to Freedom 250. America250 did not respond.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration hasn\u2019t exactly been known for its design forte lately. Look no further than the \u201cTemu arch\u201d\u2014a blocky model of the monument that Trump wants to build near Arlington National Cemetery\u2014propped up on the National Mall for the state fair. Yet in demanding exclusive access to the Ross design, Freedom 250 would receive more than a logo: the design has a sort of legitimacy, conferred through a historic symbol linked to the country\u2019s founding and solidified through the ensuing centuries. That a national symbol could effectively become part of a financial ultimatum reflects only how political this birthday party has become.<\/p>\n

Freedom 250 operates separately from the nonpartisan America250, which has largely been planning patriotic events outside of Washington, D.C. The confusion has already sparked controversy, including a number of musical acts dropping out of a concert series on the Mall when they became aware of the political charge of the event organizer, Freedom 250.<\/p>\n

America250\u2019s logo\u2014a red, white, and blue ribbonlike rendering of 250<\/span> that some have likened to the French flag\u2014hasn\u2019t left much of an impression, nor has the commission\u2019s mascot, George the Star. The Ross-flag-inspired Freedom 250 logo, meanwhile, has been spreading. A version of the design has been incorporated into much of Freedom 250\u2019s merchandise, such as totes and T-shirts. The flag appeared behind Trump at his recent rally opening the fair. It is featured on pins that the Department of Interior is reportedly requiring staff to wear. It\u2019s been integrated into the scenery of Washington too. A giant flag, with Freedom 250<\/span> at the center of the stars, hangs outside the Department of Agriculture building, while another version of the design is incorporated into banners lining the Department of Commerce. Both are high-traffic areas near the Mall sure to be populated by many fireworks-seeking tourists this weekend. In the report on Freedom 250\u2019s activities, Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee describe the ubiquity of the Freedom 250 branding\u2014which in some places uses the flag design in its entirety and in others just the circle of stars\u2014as the objective. \u201cSaturating the country with the mark makes the hijacking of a national commemoration appear ordinary through sheer repetition,\u201d they write.<\/p>\n

Read more Patriotism Has Become Too Controversial<\/a><\/p>\n

The design has also taken on a life of its own, seemingly far from Freedom 250\u2019s publicity apparatus. Versions of the flag with just 250<\/span> in the circle are sold both through Freedom 250\u2019s store and in online flag shops. It can be spotted on storefronts and in workspaces. One particularly enthusiastic life-insurance company said that it had donated the spin-off flag to 250 groups across the country, such as the Arkansas State Police and Mississippi\u2019s Ida B. Wells-Barnett Museum.<\/p>\n

The White House encouraged the use of the image through an initiative called \u201cLogo for the People,\u201d which allows groups to apply for the designs, including the flag, and aims to put \u201cofficial Freedom 250 logos and assets in the hands of every community, school, business, and family.\u201d That branding reached even further into the country this week, when the Social Security Administration announced that a Freedom 250 logo would appear on commemorative cards distributed to babies born from yesterday through the end of the year.<\/p>\n

The origins of the 13-star flag have long been disputed. For years, Americans have been taught that Ross, a Philadelphia seamstress, made the first U.S. flag. (Last week, at the Great American State Fair, I spotted a Ross impersonator sewing a 13-star rendering.) Historians say that there is no archival evidence confirming that Ross made the flag and that there were other flags that represented the 13 colonies at war (see: the Grand Union Flag). \u201cIt\u2019s not such a tidy or linear history, because history usually is not tidy or linear,\u201d Marla Miller, a history professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the author of the book Betsy Ross and the Making of America<\/em>, told me. Still, the circular design took hold in the popular imagination, giving it added meaning this anniversary.<\/p>\n

For some vexillophiles, the issue is not so much who is propagating the spin-off Ross flag but the design itself. In adding characters to the flag, some say, Freedom 250 is violating the U.S. flag code, although the code is toothless. As Marc Leepson, the author of Flag: An American Biography<\/em>, told me, \u201cThe President of the United States is not going to get arrested by the flag police.\u201d But for an administration that has preached the sanctity of national symbols and is keen on casting itself as the steward of all things America this summer, the potential breach carries a note of irony.<\/p>\n

Roland Miller, the author of Old Glory: Iconic Flags and the Stories They Tell of America\u2019s 250-Year History<\/em>, told me that the Freedom 250 design \u201cdoesn\u2019t seem kosher.\u201d More than that, \u201cso many people have sacrificed so much to serve our country under the flag,\u201d he said. \u201cAny disrespect, to me, is certainly not patriotic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Scherer contributed reporting.<\/em><\/p>\n

When you buy a book using a link on this page, we receive a commission. Thank you for supporting <\/em>The Atlantic.<\/em><\/small><\/p>\n

Read more The Other Case for Birthright Citizenship<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The White House\u2019s Freedom 250 wrested control of a patriotic logo\u2014and spread it everywhere.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1037,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Trump Branded America\u2019s Big Birthday - Commercial Relocation Pros<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/commercialrelocationpros.com\/?p=1038\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Trump Branded America\u2019s Big Birthday - Commercial Relocation Pros\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The White House\u2019s Freedom 250 wrested control of a patriotic logo\u2014and spread it everywhere.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/commercialrelocationpros.com\/?p=1038\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Commercial Relocation Pros\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-03T11:40:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialrelocationpros.com\\\/?p=1038#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialrelocationpros.com\\\/?p=1038\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialrelocationpros.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3a3374a445f1b5d4852b1d7c15b9fe3a\"},\"headline\":\"How Trump Branded America\u2019s Big Birthday\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-03T11:40:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialrelocationpros.com\\\/?p=1038\"},\"wordCount\":1415,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialrelocationpros.com\\\/?p=1038#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialrelocationpros.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/c9845110d319c9cb3c951412804e8d46.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Culture\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialrelocationpros.com\\\/?p=1038#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialrelocationpros.com\\\/?p=1038\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialrelocationpros.com\\\/?p=1038\",\"name\":\"How Trump Branded America\u2019s Big Birthday - 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