Donald J. Trump
President Donald Trump’s free event to “rededicate” America to God saw his recycled religious video message air to a pile of empty seats.ran for over eight hours on Sunday at Washington’s National Mall.
Billed by organizers as a “National Jubilee Of Prayer, Praise and Thanksgiving,” it included worship songs, appearances by religious leaders and speeches by members of the Trump administration. The event was organized by the White House-backed Freedom 250, which is holding several events to celebrate the nation’s anniversary over the coming months.
House Speaker Mike Johnson was the main Republican to appear in person, with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth pre-recording video messages screened at the event. In the video, Trump read a verse from 2 Chronicles 7:14 that urged people to “humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways.
”However, images captured by Reuters from the event show dozens of empty seats in front of the screens while Trump’s pre-recorded three-minute message was screened, six hours into proceedings. The Daily Beast has contacted Freedom 250 and the White House for details on crowd figures. , 1.2 million people were estimated to have attended former President Lyndon Johnson’s inauguration in 1965, while one million attended the Bicentennial fireworks display in 1976.
Meanwhile, the National Mall was the site of a large-scale demonstration for women’s reproductive rights with the March for Women’s Lives. Up to one million people attended the event in 2004. Although entry was free, the event’s website stated that all attendees, including children, had to register through an RSVP form. The live-streamed event showed that crowd numbers fluctuated over the day, though empty seats at the front of the stage were a common sight during performances.
Visitors at the Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise and Thanksgiving on the National Mall as seen from the Washington Monument on May 17, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Rededicate-250 Mike-Johnson Pete-Hegseth National-Mall
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