Trump’s taking ownership of the ‘America 250’ celebration — it’s a presidential tradition

President Trump is celebrating America’s 250th anniversary in grand style and is drawing scowls from his detractors by putting his stamp on official items such as national park passes and U.S. currency.

Mr. Trump is not the first president to capitalize on America’s milestone birthdays, though he is doing it in his trademark style.

President Ford was all over the bicentennial in 1976, reaping all the political benefits he could that election year amid a difficult campaign to stay in the White House.

President Coolidge put his mark on the 1926 celebration by having his visage grace a commemorative half-dollar coin.

So, it was not entirely out of the ordinary when a federal arts commission last month approved the design of a 24-karat gold commemorative coin bearing Mr. Trump’s image to be issued as part of America’s birthday celebration. The president’s image also will appear on national park passes as part of the birthday bash.

The Treasury announced that it would put Mr. Trump’s signature on all new paper currency “in honor of the 250th anniversary” of the U.S.

Mr. Trump lined up major events for the 250th celebration, including a UFC fight on the White House lawn, an IndyCar race through downtown Washington, military parades and a national tour of the Declaration of Independence.

The Trump Organization has filed several trademark applications related to the celebrations, including for a “Trump 250” image intended for anniversary merchandise. Such items include bumper stickers, tote bags, drinkware, clothing and golf balls. Another application has been filed for a logo featuring Mr. Trump’s name with “a design of five aircraft followed by converging contrails.”

“A number of presidents have set the broad tone for these celebrations, but it’s another thing to start specifying particular events or things that you want to see happen,” said Darrell West, a senior fellow for governance studies at the Brookings Institution think tank. “Trump is very involved in the details in a way that many past presidents have not.”

Critics say the president is exploiting the celebrations. They point to a The New York Times report saying Mr. Trump’s allies are offering perks, including access to the president, to donors who give at least $1 million to help finance the nation’s 250th birthday parties.

“Donald Trump and his henchmen have sabotaged what should be a unifying moment and appear intent on instead creating a highly divisive, corporate-funded, ideologically extremist exercise,” said Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, a liberal think tank.

“Once again, nothing is sacred to the Trump administration, not even the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Everything is for sale to corporate and potentially foreign interests,” she said.

The White House has argued that Mr. Trump’s involvement is necessary to ensure America gets “the spectacular birthday it deserves.”

“The celebration of America’s 250th anniversary is going to display great patriotism in our nation’s capital and throughout the country,” a White House spokesperson said in a statement. “President Trump’s bold vision will be imprinted upon the fabric of America and be felt by generations to come.”

Still, it is common practice for presidents to seize on an American birthday celebration and even exploit it for political gain.

Historian Craig Shirley said Mr. Trump’s efforts to be part of America’s 250th anniversary pale in comparison with how much Ford inserted himself into America’s bicentennial in 1976.

At the time, Ford was in the midst of a brutal primary fight with Ronald Reagan for the Republican presidential nomination.

“What Gerald Ford did was much, much worse. He was all over the 200th anniversary like white on rice,” Mr. Shirley said. “He injected himself as much as possible into the bicentennial because there was a primary campaign and then the general election. He draped the bicentennial all over himself.”

On July 4, 1976, Ford visited George Washington’s Revolutionary War camp at Valley Forge and Independence Hall in Philadelphia, watched the tall ships in New York City, attended naturalization ceremonies at Monticello, delivered a prime-time address to the nation and viewed the Washington fireworks from the White House.

It pushed Ford to the forefront on American screens.

“It would be hard to imagine a greater political windfall for a beleaguered president than the exuberant celebration of the American Bicentennial this week,” The New York Times wrote at the time.

The bicentennial also gave Ford numerous opportunities to woo uncommitted delegates who may have been leaning toward Reagan. Ford invited uncommitted delegates to watch the fireworks in Washington and the tall ships in New York and even attend a dinner with Queen Elizabeth, who made a state visit to Washington as part of the festivities.

“Trump is celebrating America’s founding, and he’s doing a lot with all the celebrations, but it’s not political. It’s not political the way it was for Ford,” Mr. Shirley said.

Perhaps a more apt comparison to Mr. Trump would be Coolidge, also a Republican, who drew criticism for using America’s 150th anniversary in 1926 to attack liberal ideology.

Attending events throughout the year, Coolidge argued in anniversary speeches that the principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were eternal and that efforts by liberals to modify them would cost Americans their freedom.

He often lambasted his liberal opponents by contrasting their ideology with that of the American Revolution. A July 7, 1926, editorial in The Nation, a liberal monthly magazine, criticized Coolidge for using the 150th anniversary for “self-congratulation” and demonizing his opponents.

In the most striking comparison between Mr. Trump and Coolidge, the Treasury issued a commemorative half-dollar featuring the image of Coolidge and George Washington side by side. Coolidge is the only president to appear on a U.S. coin during his lifetime.

President Grant capitalized on America’s centennial in 1876 to distract from the many scandals surrounding his administration, including a conspiracy by officials to steal millions of dollars in whiskey tax revenue and the discovery that his secretary of war had taken bribes from American Indians.

Grant welcomed the emperor of Brazil and issued numerous proclamations about the centennial, including one encouraging towns to prepare historical sketches for the celebration, and attended the first world’s fair in Philadelphia.

The centennial also highlighted Grant’s failures by contrasting his legacy with that of the Founding Fathers.