WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump opened 16 days of celebrations for America’s 250th anniversary Wednesday with a rally-style speech — turning a national commemoration into a highly politicized showcase for his second-term agenda.

The address, on Washington’s National Mall, underscored how Trump has reshaped the anniversary around his own brand of politics and showmanship, blurring the line between official celebration and campaign-style spectacle.

The Republican leader eventually invoked the grand sweep of American history, but the first part of his address was largely indistinguishable from one of his political rallies — albeit delivered in a more subdued tone.

“As we stand on the edge of our 250th year of independence, I am thrilled to declare that America is back,” Trump said, reworking a familiar rallying cry.

“And, as you know very well, a short time ago, we were a dead country. We were dead. Now we’re the hottest country anywhere in the world.”

Trump began with the Middle East, framing the unpopular and widely criticized US-Israeli war with Iran as a major victory for Americans, and called the US capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro one of the “great military raids in history.”

At home, he touted what he described as a booming economy, attacked his predecessor Joe Biden’s record as a “total disaster” and claimed $19 trillion in inward investment — a figure far above even his own administration’s claims.

Trump’s delivery was downbeat for the most part — although he demonstrated much more passion touting his renovations of Washington’s buildings and monuments.

“Every day of my administration, we’re delivering one historic victory after the next for the American people,” Trump said.

The address kicked off the Great American State Fair, a free festival marking the semiquincentennial anniversary of the Declaration of Independence with state pavilions, military flyovers, music and patriotic displays.

The fair, running through 10 July, features exhibits representing all 50 states and six US territories along the National Mall, the stretch of parkland between the US Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial.

Organizers have promised attractions ranging from regional food and cultural displays to a 110-foot Ferris wheel, a restored Smithsonian carousel, military bands and a red-white-and-blue “250” projected onto the Washington Monument.