Headlines on National Parks Being Free on Trump’s Birthday Omit That It’s Also Flag Day
“No… it’s because Trump’s birthday happens to fall on Flag Day, you absolute hack.”
As I’ve often said, the mainstream media are nothing if not a predictable lot, and that has certainly been the case in the aftermath of an announcement made by the Department of the Interior on what days entry to national parks would be free for American citizens in 2026.
Just a couple of days before Thanksgiving, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum shared plans for what he described as more “modernized, more affordable National Park access,” which includes “new digital passes, new annual pass artwork, America-first pricing and expanded motorcycle access.”
As part of the Administration’s commitment to enhancing access for American residents, the Department is also implementing America-first entry fee policies. U.S. residents will continue to enjoy affordable pricing, while nonresidents will pay a higher rate to help support the care and maintenance of America’s parks.
The announcement also noted which days entry would be free for American citizens, with the theme centering around patriotic days of the year:
-President’s Day (February 16, 2026)
-Memorial Day (May 25, 2026)
-Flag Day/President Trump’s birthday (June 14, 2026)
-Independence Day weekend (July 3–5, 2026)
-110th Birthday of the National Park Service (August 25, 2026)
-Constitution Day (Sept. 17, 2026)
-Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday (Oct. 27, 2026)
-Veteran’s Day (November 11, 2026)
Not surprisingly, the MSM zeroed in on the “Trump’s birthday” aspect of the announcement in their headlines and tweets while leaving out the fact that Trump’s birthday falls on Flag Day. They also were quick to point out that Juneteenth and MLK Day had been taken off the list of free entry days, with the implication clear that racism was the motivation behind it:
National Parks are now free on Trump's birthday, but not on MLK Jr. Day or Juneteenth https://t.co/pPQId097rm
— Axios (@axios) December 5, 2025
Trump administration makes Trump's birthday a free-admission day for national parks while canceling free admission for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth, according to park service web site. @Katmarwong https://t.co/BH8gC77XT0
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) December 6, 2025
One had to scroll down quite a ways in the USA Today piece Baker linked to to find out that Trump’s birthday coincided with Flag Day. The framing in the first several paragraphs conveniently left it out:
In 2026, Americans will get free admission to national parks on President Donald Trump’s birthday but no longer on Juneteenth and Martin Luther King Jr. Day, according to the National Park Service website.
Previously, the National Park Service included these two federal holidays among its free-entry days for around 100 park sites.
Federally recognized in 2021 under the Biden Administration, Juneteenth has been celebrated for more than a century and a half. The day commemorates the final end of slavery in Confederate states just after the end of the Civil War.
The NPS also added more free-admission days for next year – calling them “patriotic fee-free days” – such as Trump’s birthday on June 14, July 4th weekend and the 110th Birthday of NPS.
Conservatives on social media made sure to call the MSM out over the omission of the inconvenient Flag Day fact in response to their hyperventilating:
Lmfao. It’s also flag day. But racism or something. https://t.co/3k9AN8TvWI
— Josh Holmes (@HolmesJosh) December 5, 2025
No… it’s because Trump’s birthday happens to fall on Flag Day, you absolute hack. https://t.co/VxQ0hgAzBI
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) December 6, 2025
Here's the thing to learn about Peter. He posts things that seem controversial, and then you're forced to read through what he's actually linking to.
Trump's Birthday is also Flag Day. That's the reasoning for national parks making that a free day. https://t.co/eLrZJeTtnJ pic.twitter.com/JCU7unXEOe
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) December 6, 2025
Biden didn’t have President’s Day, Memorial Day, July 4th or Flag Day etc! He only had 6 free days!
It’s the 250th anniversary of our country! So Trumps team picked patriotic holidays associated with that! Trump has 10 free days! pic.twitter.com/bcLX9ZzD3h
— AuntLizR (@r_aunt2512) December 6, 2025
If only there was a way to see if Trump’s birthday falls on the same day as Flag Day when we celebrate the adoption of the American flag. And in 2026 it will be the year of America’s 250th birthday. pic.twitter.com/hGFBGuGEYu
— Jake Avra (@jakeavra) December 5, 2025
Google is your friend… sometimes.
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Comments
Garbage people peddling garbage to the gullible masses
And why shouldn’t it be free on the President’s birthday, regardless of whether it’s another holiday or not?
That would actually be a nice thing to implement. Free national park admission on the current President’s birthday.
No. That would be making the president a king. We have too much of that already and don’t need more.
Yeah. No it wouldn’t.
Yes, it would. Having the government celebrate someone’s birthday is something you do for a king, not for a president or a prime minister.
Milhouse, you are partly correct, except for one American precedent –
President’s Day.
Originally we celebrated it as Washington’s birthday, adding Lincoln in there later to celebrate both at once (instead of separately, currently it supposedly honors “all presidents” past & present.
Like celebration’s of other nation’s kings or queens, we celebrate it on a day other than the actual Washington’s birthday for convenience’s sake – I believe other nations also have moved it off-date to make it a 3-day weekend or so the celebrations are more likely to occur in nice weather.
As an addendum – Personally, I consider the separate MLK and Juneteenth Federal holidays to be cases of ethnic pandering for votes – I’m not saying King wasn’t an important and significant man in our history – but more significant than Lincoln?
King deserves his own holiday – but Lincoln doesn’t?
I obviously don’t object to celebrating Washington and Lincoln, since they are long dead. I don’t even object to celebrating “all presidents”, which presumably means each person celebrates the ones he thinks deserve it. But I very much object to celebrating the current occupant, whoever that might be. That is how kings are treated.
(And yes, in Commonwealth countries the King’s birthday is celebrated on a day that was chosen for convenience, a different one in each country, regardless of when his actual birthday might be. But it’s still a celebration of his birthday, even if it’s on a completely different date. That’s how monarchies work.)
Like Washington’s Birthday. Or Lincoln’s Birthday. Or MLK day, which is as close to his birthday as they can manage it and still force it to be a Monday.
Trump IS a bit of a self-promoter – as are all politicians btw.
But I really really doubt he selected his own birthday as a “patriotic day” and it coincidently was also Flag Day – the other way around seems more likely – if he had been born on July 4th (like Calvin Coolidge) would that also be controversial to the TDS crowd?
Should we NOT celebrate Flag Day because some folks hate Trump?
The other President’s birthday being mentioned makes sense, since T. Roosevelt basically founded the NPS.
No way! A d/prog misrepresented the facts by omitting key details that would undermine the preferred narrative?/S
The misrepresentation here is LI/Stacey basically ignoring the fact that the Department of the Interior explicitly called out the date as being Trump’s birthday. When I first read this opinion piece I assumed that “-Flag Day/President Trump’s birthday (June 14, 2026)” was her writing and not a direct quote from the press release. Even I did not expect the administration was foolish enough to commit that kind of unforced stupidity.
But why did the Park Service press release even mention Trump’s birthday? The free day is for Flag Day, so that’s exactly what it should have said. It shouldn’t have mentioned Trump at all.
Exactly. I had a friend post negatively about this on FB, so I went and looked at the NPS site. Indeed, the press release said Flag Day/Trump’s birthday. I’d like to believe it was somebody in the press office trying to stir controversy. But this date on this was Nov 25th – I think someone would update this and just leave it at Flag Day. It’s an unforced error – yet again.
Or it’s some NPS #resister trying to stir up another Democrat outrage.
Wouldn’t be surprised if someone was just “twisting the knife” so to speak by adding that bit about Trump’s birthday.
If it was then the press release would be retracted and replaced with a new one that doesn’t mention Trump’s birthday except to explain that the person who added it has been fired.