Donald Trump's Freedom Trucks Turn America's 250th Birthday Into a Culture War

President Donald Trump’s “Freedom Trucks” were designed to take America’s 250th birthday celebration on the road. Instead, the rolling museums have become one more flashpoint in the fight over who gets to tell the country’s story.

The six mobile Freedom 250 exhibits are traveling across the U.S. as part of a yearlong salute to the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution. Inside, an AI-generated George Washington reportedly greets visitors with the line, “Thy rights are a gift from God.”

Freedom 250 spokesperson Rachel Reisner told Reuters the organization “is sparking a unifying movement across all 50 states that celebrates the American spirit.”

Critics say the trucks present an overly religious version of American history while glossing over slavery, racial injustice and other parts of the country’s founding story. The content was created by Hillsdale College, a private conservative Christian school, and PragerU, a conservative media organization.

PragerU’s controversial “edu-tainment” videos explicitly espouse conservative and purported Judeo-Christian viewpoints, yet several states, including Oklahoma and Florida, have voted to include their content in public school curriculums.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services, an independent federal agency, provided a $14 million grant for the six trucks, coupled with $10 million from Freedom 250.

Democrats have questioned why federal money went to Freedom 250, a private entity established by the Trump administration, separate from America250, the nonpartisan nonprofit created by Congress to mark the 250th anniversary.

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility has also sued the Interior Department over its refusal to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request seeking documents on Freedom 250 funding and activities.

In one Arkansas community, a Freedom Truck has already put a history museum at odds with a local church whose senior pastor is State Rep. Ryan Rose.

Caroline Speir, executive director of the Fort Smith Museum of History, canceled a planned Freedom Truck visit after learning the truck was not part of America250.

Speir said in a statement the mobile exhibit “did not align with the standards and expectations we set for museum-sponsored programming.”

“The Fort Smith Museum of History is an institution dedicated to preserving and presenting history with accuracy, integrity, and scholarly responsibility,” she said.

“We consider it a great honor,” Rose told News5. “We just felt incredibly honored that they didn't just consider us, but that they chose us to be a suitable host for this event.”