Posted in: CBS, Opinion, TV, TV | Tagged: cbs, opinion, trump

CBS Giving Trump Alt-History Primetime Spotlight for America's 250th?

CBS airing an American history competition sponsored by Trump and Department of Education head Linda McMahon should be raising red flags.

With America's 250th birthday on the way, you can expect to see a whole lot of celebrating  – in a whole lot of different ways – going down between now and July 4th (and a few days after). That means you can expect to see a whole lot of red, white, and blue on your television screens. We've been tracking what's been announced so far to make sure our coverage is ready, and one caught our eye – and not for any good reasons. On Tuesday, June 30th, David Ellison's Paramount Skydance-owned CBS will air the Presidential 1776 Award, described as "a nationwide civics challenge created to celebrate America's top high school students and their knowledge of our nation's founding principles." With the finals taking place at the White House, the competition is meant to "test their knowledge of the Constitution, America's founding principles, and defining moments in U.S. history. And that's where the red flags start popping up everywhere, because this is an effort being spearheaded by Trump's Department of Education head, Linda McMahon. – folks who've made it clear that they have their own views on how American history should be taught.

The CBS press release for the Presidential 1776 Award offers some reasons why this deserves more of a heads-up. It seems this initiative is just one of McMahon's efforts planned for the 250th celebration. In addition, Trump's Department of Education is sponsoring something called "History Rocks! Trail to Independence Tour," and that's where things get really interesting. Partnering with Freedom 250, McMahon coordinated the effort with America 250 Civics Education Coalition – a coalition of over 50 organizations that, to put it mildly, have a bit of an "alternative take" on U.S. history that portrays white people in a much more positive (despite not being accurate) light.

The roster of folks offering their version of the nation's 250 years includes the American First Policy Institute, Turning Point USA, Hillside College, and many more – a lineup of folks not exactly looking to do a deep dive into what America's history is all about (but with a whole lot of Jesus thrown into the mix). Here's an example of what McMahon is all about to give you a sense of why there's nothing good that could come from giving steaming piles of gaslighting and retconning like this a primetime spotlight.

During an appearance on FOX Business's Mornings with Maria, McMahon made it clear that schools aren't doing enough to get kids to love the flag, love their country, and forget about all of the "messy" stuff – like slavery, Japanese internment camps, our treatment of Native Americans, and more. "We don't teach love of country. We don't say the Pledge of Allegiance. We are not creating that same sense of patriotism." That's where "History Rocks!" comes in, with McMahon sharing that, "We're going across the country with our 'History Rocks!' tour, and we are focusing on civics, education, and love of country" (as opposed to focusing on making sure teachers are being paid their value, that kids aren't going to school hungry, that school districts have what they need to educate the next generation of scholars, or other "silly" things like that).

One thing that McMahon has been pushing is the idea that history lessons include "all sides" – a position that created an embarrassing moment for McMahon during the summer of 2025. During testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives' Education and Workforce Subcommittee, Rep. Summer Lee followed up on a question to McMahon about whether a school teaching African American history would be in violation of Trump's anti-DEI policies, offering examples. When asked if teaching students about the 1921 Tulsa race massacre would be a violation, McMahon responded, "I do not think that African studies or Middle East studies or Chinese studies are part of DEI if they are taught as part of the total history package. So that if you're giving the facts on both sides, of course, they're not DEI."

Considered by many as the single worst incident of racial violence in American history (sadly, that's saying a lot considering our history), the Ku Klux Klan-fueled Tulsa massacre would result in the destruction of over 1,000 homes and businesses, and an estimated 300 people being murdered. You can see how taking an "all sides" approach to a topic like this would be impossible – unless you're into giving airtime to racist pieces of trash looking to defend mass murderers. Apparently wondering the same thing, Lee followed up by asking a very key question: "Do you know what the Tulsa race massacre is?" McMahon's response? "I'd like to look into it more."

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