Republicans more likely to celebrate upcoming US 250th anniversary: Survey

A new poll found that Americans registered as Republicans are more likely to celebrate the U.S.’s 250th birthday on the Fourth of July.

Gallup and the bipartisan group With Honor, in collaboration with America250, released a poll on Wednesday showing that 88 percent of GOP voters plan to celebrate the nation’s semiquincentennial.

A smaller share of independents and Democrats, at 60 percent and 54 percent, respectively, say they will celebrate.

These varying levels of participation come amid recent polling that shows many Americans hold dour outlooks on their country and its future. One poll earlier this month showed that fewer Americans view the U.S. as exceptional, while a separate poll Tuesday found that more than one-third of Americans do not think the U.S. will exist in another 250 years.

The With Honor/Gallup poll also shows that 84 percent of American adults 65 years and older say they will celebrate, while 66 percent of Americans 40 to 64 and 54 percent of those 18 to 39 say the same.

Most Americans say they plan to celebrate the 250th with friends and family, at 66 percent, followed by 44 percent who say they will watch coverage of celebrations on TV or social media. Thirty-two percent say they will take part in a neighborhood or community event, and 17 percent say they will participate in an official America250 event or program.

Americans also plan to recognize the 250th anniversary in other ways, with 55 percent saying they will learn more about U.S. history either by reading, visiting a museum or watching documentaries. Another 37 percent of respondents say they will travel to explore different parts of the country.

The unifying nature of various upcoming 250th celebrations has been met with some criticism, as several musical acts and even some states have pulled out of participating in the Great American State Fair, which begins June 25. Most musicians have cited politics and President Trump as their reasons to withdraw from performing.

Nine states –– Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington –– declined invitations from Trump to showcase their states at the National Mall as part of the state exhibitions. Most have cited hefty prices, such as Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore’s office, which told the Rhode Island Current that there were “financial and staffing limitations.”

“[Trump] invited all the states to participate and wants to charge us to go down and put something on his exhibit, whatever he’s creating for Freedom 250, it’s just ridiculous,” Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) told WGBH’s “Boston Public Radio” earlier this month. “This is taxpayer money.”

Trump blasted the musicians and suggested canceling the concert and, on Monday, he revealed that he will hold the “most spectacular TRUMP RALLY” between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument on July 4.

The Honor-Gallup survey was conducted May 12-22 and included 3,199 respondents. The margin of error is 2.1 percentage points.