America250 and Political Messaging

FCC Chair Brendan Carr has launched the "Pledge America Campaign," urging broadcasters to air more "patriotic, pro‑America" programming ahead of the Declaration's 250th anniversary and explicitly tying the voluntary initiative to President Trump's Salute to America 250 Task Force; archival research suggests the FCC has not previously mounted a similar patriotic push before the 1976 bicentennial. Carr proposed concrete examples — starting broadcast days with the national anthem or Pledge of Allegiance, highlighting National Park Service and historic sites, and airing works by U.S. composers (Sousa, Gershwin, Ellington, Copland) — but participation is optional and many major outlets (PBS/Ken Burns, Nexstar, Sinclair, NPR) already have independent 250th projects underway.