President Donald Trump turned a heartland festival for the United States’ upcoming 250th anniversary into a celebration of himself, basking in a crowd of supporters Thursday night shortly after Congress approved tax cut legislation that he championed.

On the eve of the July 4th holiday, Trump said “there could be no better birthday present for America than the phenomenal victory we achieved just hours ago, when Congress passed the one big beautiful bill to make America great again.”

The Republican president plans to sign the legislation Friday during a picnic at the White House, while stealth bombers and fighter jets that participated in recent airstrikes in Iran fly overhead, a symbolic synthesis of the overwhelming force that he’s deployed to reshape Washington and the country.

“We’ve saved our country,” he boasted after taking the stage, pumping his fists while singer Lee Greenwood belted out Trump’s campaign trail anthem “God Bless the USA.” In addition to tax breaks, the legislation boosts funding for deportations while cutting back on health care and food assistance for low income people.

The event at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines was the opening act for a yearlong birthday party to mark two and a half centuries of American independence. The plans will culminate next summer with a massive fair on the National Mall in Washington featuring exhibits from every state.

Organizers see the coming year of festivities as a way to help unite a polarized nation and bridge political divides. But Trump left no doubt during his speech that he views patriotism as inseparable from his own agenda, saying Democrats who voted against his legislation “hate our country.”

U.S. Ambassador Monica Crowley, Trump’s liaison to the organizing group, America250, said in an interview that the anniversary events are “something that I think that all Americans can come together to celebrate and honor our history as well as our present and our future.”

However, when she took the stage to introduce the president, she delivered an ode to Trump, describing him as the inheritor of the country’s original revolutionary spirit.

“I don’t know what more people expect or want from an American president,” Crowley said. “He is literally fulfilling the entire job description, and so much more.”

Trump promised during last year’s campaign to create an epic series of 250th anniversary festivities and convene a task force to coordinate with state and local governments. On Thursday night, he announced plans for the “Patriot Games,” sports contests featuring high school athletes from across the country “to show off the best of American skill, sportsmanship and competitive spirit.”

Trump also suggesting hosting UFC matches at the White House.

A recent Gallup poll showed the widest partisan split in patriotism in over two decades, with only about a third of Democrats saying they are proud to be American, compared with about 9 in 10 Republicans.

About 4 in 10 U.S. adults approve of Trump’s performance as president, according to a June AP-NORC poll, while about 6 in 10 disapprove.