‘Is He Announcing the Hunger Games?’ Critics Scratch Their Heads Over Trump’s New Youth Games

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“Hunger Games” was trending on social media on Thursday, and it wasn’t because there was news about the latest installment in the franchise landing in 2026. Instead, many found themselves asking whether Hunger Games was jumping from screen to real life with the announcement of President Donald Trump’s so-called “Patriot Games.”

In a Thursday video message, the president announced events that will be included in Freedom 250, a massive celebration of America’s 250th birthday, which will be July 4, 2026. He promised Americans have “never see anything like it, and you’ll never see anything like it again.”

Part of the celebration will be a state fair at the National Mall.

“From June 25 to July 10 of next year, we will host the great American state fair on the National Mall, featuring pavilions from all 50 states, highlighting breathtaking innovations and celebrating America’s exceptional history and culture,” Trump said.

In the fall, the president added, there will be a four-day athletic event featuring “the greatest high school athletes, one young man and one young woman from each state and territory,” called the “Patriot Games.”

While MAGA fans celebrated the first-ever Patriot Games, many critics on social media compared the president’s announcement about young athletes representing different states and territories to the plot of Hunger Games, a dystopian tale where two teenagers (a boy and girl) are chosen from different districts to battle to the death until one survivor remains. Author Suzanne Collins published the first Hunger Games novel in 2008, and a film adaptation was released in 2012, kicking off a still-running franchise.

Events next year will kick off with the lighting of the Washington Monument from December 31 to January 5.

“To help carry out these exciting plans, we have created a new public-private partnership,” Trump said in his video message. “It’s called Freedom 250. Working with states, companies, and organizations across the country, we will renew the patriotism, pride, and pioneering spirit of America and lay the groundwork for the next 250 years of independence and freedom. This will be a time like you’ve never had in your lives, America 250.”