Last night was a great night to be an American. A great night to flip on Fox News and take in the opening festivities of The Great American State Fair.

It was a great night, too, to imagine oneself in the midst of a Patriot-crowded National Mall, there with President Donald Trump’s favorite tenor, Christopher Macchio, and Marine Corps Master Gunnery Sergeant Kevin Bennear, as they teamed up to belt out “Hallelujah,” and to see — and to feel in your bones — that magnificent B-2 flyover right at the end.

Opera singer Christopher Maccio and Master Gunnery Sgt Kevin Bennear sing “Hallelujah” at The Great American State Fair

Incredible performance :heart::us: pic.twitter.com/iWtnaJFOdR

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 24, 2026

Or, if opera isn’t your thing, it was equally great to hear “The President’s Own” Marine Band play the late Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue.”

The Marine Band just played Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue prior to President Trump’s speech to open the Great American State Fair. pic.twitter.com/Jjbt0vhErC

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) June 24, 2026

More specifically, though, it was a great night to listen to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy take to the stage and say what had to be said: “Okay, to start this off, I think we have to give a big round of applause for our military band and singers — way better than those libtards that canceled on us.”

Sec. Duffy at the Great American State Fair: To start this off, I think we have to give a big round of applause for our military band and singers — way better than those libtards that canceled on us. pic.twitter.com/8HmWUZoTae

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 25, 2026

No, no, thank you, Mr. Secretary.

Duffy, the father of nine and the husband of the beautiful and vivacious Rachel Campos-Duffy, was referring to the gutless music artists — including rapper Young MC and country singer Martina McBride — who pulled out last month rather than being associated with a Trump-led celebration of our nation.

And by the way, Duffy also said this: “What fills the human heart? What gives us purpose? We should look for love, get married, and have lots of kids!”

There was something for everyone last night, as we began the sprint to our great nation’s 250th anniversary. Unless, of course, you’re a Trump-deranged leftist — in which case you’d have gnashed your teeth, muttered some expletives, and stormed away from the TV.

On that note, it’s instructive to track the level of patriotism by party among the American people, especially over the years. According to a Fox News poll taken earlier this month, 53% said yes, they’re proud of their country, and 70% said they consider themselves patriotic. In 2024, only 45% of people said they’re very proud of their country. In 2022, the number was 39%. But if we go back to 2011, 69% of the country was very proud of it. Remember, that’s in the middle of Barack Obama’s presidency, and it tells us that Republicans and conservatives tend to love their country regardless of who’s president, while a lot of Democrats only seem to love their country when their guy’s in the Oval Office — a behavior that is small, shameful, and, frankly, pathetic.

“America is back,” said President Trump as he stepped on stage to Lee Greenwood’s anthem, “Proud to Be an American.” The Fair runs today through July 10 and will feature pavilions from all 50 states and 6 territories, a 110-foot Ferris wheel, lots of games, a carousel from the Smithsonian Institution, rodeo competitions, more awesome flyovers like we saw last night, and lots of great American music.

“This anniversary is a time to be proud of our past,” Trump continued, “but it is also a time to lift our sights, expand our ambitions, and raise our expectations of what America can be. We will leave our children nothing less than the richest inheritance, most advanced civilization, and highest standard of living in human history. There’s never been anything like it, but with all of that being said, the best is yet to come.”

After his stemwinder of a speech, Trump finished things up with “The President’s Own” Marine Band playing “YMCA” and Trump himself doing a bit of his now-iconic Trump dance.

Who’d have thunk that a gay band from the ‘70s would insert itself into the American culture in such a way, and be embraced in such a way by a deeply patriotic Republican president? Is this a great country or what?

It is a great country, and earlier in the night, Jocko Willink reminded us of precisely why: “Our forefathers,” he said, “knew that there was something more important than king and crown. Something more important than safety or subsistence. An ideal more important than life itself. The founders of our country, for them, the most important thing was freedom. All men created equal.”

What patriotic American can argue with that sentiment? I certainly can’t.

Switching gears, when I see and contemplate a sunrise over Lake Huron, or a hummingbird up close on the window feeder, I’m reminded that God exists, and that He loves us.

I don’t need to see any other evidence — although it’s all around us and at all times. I don’t need to remember how I felt when I first saw and heard that “heartbeat” ultrasound. Nor do I need to consider what a manifold blessing it is to be an American, nor how undeserved it is, nor what our great nation might look like today had Donald Trump not turned his head at precisely the right time and at precisely the right angle on that Saturday evening nearly two years ago in Butler, Pennsylvania.

But from all these things, I’m reminded that, as Ben Franklin wisely put it long ago, “God governs in the affairs of men.”

Yes He does. And He was certainly there last night on the National Mall.