(AFP) – US residents will be able to enter its national parks like the Grand Canyon and Yosemite for free on President Donald Trump’s birthday in the latest move by his administration to elevate his profile. But Americans will lose the current privilege of doing the same on two national days commemorating civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr and the end of slavery.
The Trump administration says the changes, which take effect January 1, are part of the president’s push to put Americans first. The National Park Service is also increasing entrance fees for non-residents. Critics say changes to the list of what the administration calls “patriotic fee-free days” serve to promote the president while downplaying the US history of slavery and its civil rights struggle.
In 2025, the list of free days included Martin Luther King Jr Day, which falls on the third Monday of January, and Juneteenth on June 19, which commemorates the day in 1865 when the last enslaved Americans were emancipated. A Department of the Interior statement said the eight free days in 2026 will include Trump’s June 14 birthday — he turns 80 next year — which also happens to be Flag Day, marking the adoption of the US flag in 1777.
Cornell William Brooks, a former president of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People, said that it was an insult to Martin Luther King Jr. “The raw & rank racism here stinks to high heaven,” he wrote on X. Trump, who often trumpets how his support grew among Black voters in the 2024 election, has a long history of self-promotion that is gathering steam as he approaches the end of the first year in his second term.
Last week, the Washington-based United States Institute of Peace was named after him. The White House has also recently suggested naming a new stadium for the Washington Commanders NFL team after Trump, and some Republican lawmakers even support putting his face on the $100 bill.
The United States has 63 national parks, which are congressionally designated protected areas under government control. Last year, more than 330 million people visited. From 2026, the cost of an annual entry pass will be $80 for US residents and $250 for non-residents. Non-residents without a pass will have to pay $100 per person to enter 11 of the most visited parks in addition to the standard entrance fee.
© 2024 AFP
