New Trump-created 'Patriot Games' draws comparison to Hunger Games

Donald Trump's latest event announced to celebrate America's 250th birthday is drawing comparisons to the dystopian science fiction series The Hunger Games.

The President spoke Thursday about his newest creation, The Patriot Games, an athletics contest that will be a part of the milestone 2026 celebration.

He called it 'an unprecedented four-day athletic event featuring the greatest high school athletes — one young man and one young woman from each state and territory.'

Many compared the competition to the Suzanne Collins series of books-turned-movies starring Jennifer Lawrence, and suggested it would star elected officials like Gavin Newsom and JB Pritzker. 

'And so it was decreed that, each year, the various districts of Panem would offer up, in tribute, one young man and woman to fight to the death in a pageant of honor, courage and sacrifice,' the Democrats' social media account wrote, quoting the film.

'When we said we wanted more hunger games we meant books,' added one fan of the series.  

In the announcement video, Trump did guarantee that no transgender athletes would take part in the competition, reiterating his previous promises. 

'I promise there will be no men playing in women's sports. You're not going to see that. You'll see everything but that!' 

The event is scheduled to take place in Fall 2026, as part of Freedom 250, which is setting up a nationwide series of events for America's 250th birthday.

'I pledged to give America the most spectacular birthday party the world has ever seen for America's 250th anniversary on July 4th next year,' Trump said. 

'Already, we've had big celebrations to commemorate the 250th birthdays of the Army, the Navy, and the United States Marines, but there is much, much more to come. We're going to have a good time."

Some of the events taking place next year include the opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota to a party on the National Mall to celebrate the FIFA World Cup.

Trump has previously teased big plans to celebrate America's 250th birthday next year, plugging his National Garden of Heroes as a centerpiece of the festivities. 

The President signed an executive order last week calling for the garden to be completed 'as expeditiously as possible' for the US's semiquincentennial on July 4, 2026. 

Trump has said the garden will feature statues of a range of Americans, including old favorites like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr.

But he's added a selection of late celebrities to the mix: basketball star Kobe Bryant, chef Julia Child, singer Whitney Houston and television host Alex Trebek. 

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Trump originally signed the order for the garden in his first term but this was overturned by Joe Biden in May 2021. Congress never set aside funds for the original garden project so the President would need to appropriate the money.

It's estimated to cost $120 million and a possible location has not been determined.

The America 250 organization anticipates delivering across all 56 states, territories, and jurisdictions, culminating on July 4. 

Major corporations, including Amazon, Walmart and Lockheed Martin, are working with the administration to put on the celebration.