August M
With the United States preparing to mark a major historical milestone, the White House has begun teasing plans for a nationwide celebration. One newly announced idea, however, has quickly sparked debate and online comparisons few expected.
The proposal mixes patriotism, youth competition and spectacle, and has already drawn sharp reactions from critics.
President Donald Trump has announced the creation of a new athletic competition called the “Patriot Games”, according to UNILAD. The event is intended to form part of celebrations marking the nation’s 250th anniversary next year.
Trump described the anniversary as “the most spectacular birthday party the world has ever seen,” unveiling the plan in a video released on Thursday.
Nationwide contest
Under the proposal, two competitors, one young man and one young woman from each U.S. state and territory, would take part in the games. Trump said the participants would be elite high school athletes.
“We’re going to have a good time,” Trump said in the video, released by Freedom 250, a national organization coordinating the anniversary celebrations.
He added that the Patriot Games would be “an unprecedented four-day athletic event featuring the greatest high school athletes, one young man and one young woman from each state and territory.”
What the winners will receive has not yet been disclosed, notes UNILAD.
Political framing
According to UNILAD, Trump linked the new competition to earlier military anniversaries, saying: “Already, we’ve had big celebrations to commemorate the 250th birthdays of the Army, the Navy and the United States Marines, but there is much, much more to come.”
He also made a pointed remark about gender categories in sport. “But I promise there will be no men playing in women’s sports. You’re not gonna see that. You’ll see everything but that,” he said.
The games are scheduled to take place in the autumn of 2026.
Familiar comparisons
Details remain limited, but the Freedom 250 website described the event as building toward “the live final day in front of a live audience,” adding that competitors would “light the torch for a new generation of Americans.”
Almost immediately, critics on social media began comparing the concept to The Hunger Games franchise. In the fictional series, two children from each district are selected for a deadly televised contest.
The Democratic Party highlighted the comparison by sharing a clip from the first film in which President Coriolanus Snow explains the games.
“And so it was decreed that each year, the various districts of Panem would offer up, in tribute, one young man and woman to fight to the death in a pageant of honor, courage, and sacrifice,” Snow says in the scene.
Political reaction
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker also weighed in, reposting an image of Snow raising a champagne glass in response to the announcement.
While there is no suggestion the real-life event would resemble the fictional violence, the comparisons have underscored how the proposal has unsettled some critics.
Sources: UNILAD
