The six mobile museum trucks are traveling across the country as part of Freedom 250 celebrations, drawing praise from supporters and criticism from Democrats and watchdog groups.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Six “Freedom Trucks” connected to President Donald Trump’s celebration of America’s 250th anniversary are traveling across the country, offering visitors a mobile museum experience centered on the American Revolution, patriotism and the nation’s founding.
Inside the “Freedom 250” trucks, an AI-generated George Washington greets visitors and declares, “Thy rights are a gift from God.” The exhibit’s ceiling displays the words “In God We Trust.”
The trucks have been deployed from Washington State to North Carolina ahead of the July 4 holiday, which marks the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Backers say the traveling exhibits are part of a year-long patriotic tribute to the country’s founding and the legacy of the American Revolution.
Freedom 250 spokesperson Rachel Reisner said the organization “is sparking a unifying movement across all 50 states that celebrates the American spirit and showcases our nation at its best.”
The project has also drawn criticism.
In June, local media in Massachusetts reported that a planned Freedom Truck stop in one town was canceled after some residents objected to the visit.
Critics argue the trucks and other Freedom 250 events present an overly religious version of American history and do not adequately address issues such as slavery and racial injustice. Democrats have also raised concerns about the use of taxpayer money and private donations for Freedom 250 events, saying the funding lacks transparency.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services, an independent federal agency, provided a $14 million grant for the six trucks. That funding was paired with $10 million from Freedom 250.
A group of Senate Democrats sent a March 3 letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum asking why federal money was directed to “a private entity that is unaccountable to the American people.” The senators also asked whether public funds were being commingled with private donations “potentially raised from foreign sources.”
Senate aides said the lawmakers had not yet received a response.
House Democrats have also been examining whether money appropriated by Congress for “America 250” events has been diverted to the White House’s Freedom 250 celebration.
“The soaring achievement of our secular enlightenment-based founding is obscured by a gauzy Christian nationalist fiction,” Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., said during a House hearing while discussing Freedom 250-sponsored events, including the truck museum presentation.
Republicans disputed Democrats’ characterization during congressional hearings.
Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., pointed to the Declaration of Independence’s statement that “all men are created equal” and “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.”
In May, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility sued the Interior Department over the agency’s refusal to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request seeking documents about Freedom 250 funding and activities.
The group has raised questions about reports that federal workers were used to promote a private organization, that public funds were used to advance a partisan agenda and that access to Trump was being sold.
“All these decisions on what events, what money to spend, the money comes in, where it goes out, it’s all in a black box,” PEER senior counsel Aaron Lloyd said in a telephone interview. “I want the government documents that explain what money went where.”
The White House did not directly respond to questions about the role of religion in the truck exhibits or other 250th anniversary celebrations. In an emailed statement, spokesman Davis Ingle said “2026 will feature a renewal of patriotism and national pride.”
On May 17, one Freedom Truck was parked near the U.S. Capitol for “Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving.” The truck’s exterior featured imagery based on the painting “Washington Crossing the Delaware.”
A White House website also promotes a Freedom 250 “America Prays” page, encouraging visitors to dedicate one hour per week to praying for the United States and its people. The page lists “pray.com” as a participating organization. The religious social networking site says it collects user information that may be shared with outside firms.
The content inside the Freedom Trucks was created by Hillsdale College, a private conservative Christian liberal arts college, and PragerU, a producer of “edu-tainment” content promoting Judeo-Christian values.
PragerU has produced videos on topics including election security and mail-in ballots, echoing allegations Trump has made since his 2020 loss to Joe Biden. Another PragerU video questioned Pride Month celebrations by LGBTQ communities.
PragerU did not respond to requests for comment about its financial arrangements with Freedom 250.
Some historians have questioned the emphasis on religion in the 250th anniversary materials promoted by the Trump White House.
Kate Carte, a Southern Methodist University history professor specializing in early American history, said Protestant British loyalists and American patriots both believed they were acting in line with their religious values during the Revolution.
But Carte said the conflict itself was not centered on religion.
“The conflict between Britain and the colonies really had nothing to do with religion,” Carte said.
She added that America’s founders “were very aware that religion could be really divisive” and therefore chose not to establish a national religion.
A 2023-2024 Pew Research Center study found that 62% of U.S. adults identify as Christians, including 23% who identify as evangelical Protestants. About 29% of adults are religiously unaffiliated, including atheists, agnostics and those who describe themselves as “nothing in particular.”
The Freedom Trucks remain part of a broader slate of events marking America’s semiquincentennial, even as the project faces questions over its funding, historical framing and relationship to the Trump administration’s official anniversary programming.
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