More than a third of Trump's own Republicans say he should not be star of America's birthday celebration

By PHILLIP NIETO, US POLITICAL REPORTER Published: 19:25, 3 July 2026 | Updated: 19:25, 3 July 2026 As Americans celebrate the 250th birthday of their country, they are tired of Donald Trump trying to make himself the center of the festivities. In the lead-up to the July 4th celebration, Trump has hosted a variety of events on the National Mall in Washington, DC, and at the White House - including his controversial UFC fight on his 80th birthday. The President is marking the holiday with a campaign-style rally at the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument on Saturday night, where he will be the star of the show.  However, a new Daily Mail/JL Partners poll found that 61 percent of voters say Trump should not be the central figure on July 4th, with 37 percent of Republicans believing he should take a back seat.  With more than a third of Republicans expressing a negative view of Trump's presence, the poll further highlights the president's unpopularity heading into the midterm elections. More than 81 percent of Democrats agree Trump should not be the star of the celebration, along with 64 percent of voters who identify as independent. Still some Republicans are on board with the idea of Trump taking the spotlight with nearly half of Republicans, 47 percent, and 15 percent of Independents endorsing the idea.  It's not just his attendance at the celebration that has Americans feeling negative. Voters now believe Trump's entire presidency has made the holiday more divisive. Your browser does not support iframes. A new Daily Mail/JL Partners poll found that 61 percent of voters say Trump should not be the central figure on July 4th, with 37 percent of Republicans believing he should take a back seat Critics argue the high-profile withdrawals could overshadow the celebration itself and turn planning discussions into a referendum on the administration rather than the anniversary The survey found that nearly a third of voters, 31 percent, believe Trump's presidency makes the 250th anniversary feel more divisive than celebratory.  Not all Americans agree. 17 percent said the event felt more historic, while 24 percent reported that Trump's presidency has had no impact on their view of July 4th. Over the last few weeks, a number of artists and songwriters have dropped out of America250 events over fears that participating could be seen as an endorsement of the administration's policies. Your browser does not support iframes. Critics argue the high-profile withdrawals could overshadow the celebration itself and turn planning discussions into a referendum on the administration rather than the anniversary.   Only 15 percent of Republicans agreed that the administration is making the celebration divisive, while 46 percent of Democrats endorsed the idea.  Among independent voters, 43 percent said Trump makes them feel less patriotic, according to the survey. Overall, approximately 52 percent agreed that Trump is undermining the country's patriotism. Republicans, on the other hand, credit the President with making them feel much more patriotic at 48 percent.  The poll was conducted from June 24-26th among an online sample size 1,059 registered with a margin of error of three percent.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.