Trump makes national parks free on his birthday and removes the free entrance on MLK Day and Juneteenth.

Donald Trump orders that the national parks in the United States be free on his birthday, while eliminating free admission on symbolic days for the black community such as Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in the country.

Starting in 2026, the Department of the Interior will reform the calendar of "free entrance days" to national parks to include June 14, Trump's birthday and Flag Day, as a new date with no charge for visitors. At the same time, the federal holidays honoring Martin Luther King Jr. and Juneteenth will be removed from the list, which has already sparked criticism from activists and civil rights advocates regarding the message it sends about which dates deserve official recognition.

According to CNN, the measure is part of a broader review of the free admission program, which the administration presents as an effort to promote “patriotism” and redirect benefits towards American families, while increasing the economic burdens on foreign visitors through raises in passes and surcharges at the most visited parks.

The change, however, comes in a context of strong racial and political polarization, so the replacement of two key dates for African American historical memory with the president's birthday is also interpreted as a symbolic gesture of power and a rewriting of the national civic calendar.

Alongside Donald Trump's birthday—falling on June 14, which coincides with Flag Day in the United States—the 2026 calendar for free admission days also adds new dates.

Among the additional days are Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, three days for the Fourth of July weekend, the 110th anniversary of the National Park Service (NPS) on August 25, Constitution Day on September 17, and the birthday of former President Theodore Roosevelt on October 27.

Roosevelt is considered "the conservationist president" and, according to the NPS website, he left a significant mark on the National Park System, including having doubled the number of sites during his term.