Fourth of July live: Trump slams communism in Mount Rushmore speech marking America’s 250th birthday

Fourth of July live: Trump slams communism in Mount Rushmore speech marking America’s 250th birthday Trump declared from Mount Rushmore, ‘We are the strongest and most powerful country on Earth’. - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments President Donald Trump kicked off America’s 250th Independence Day with a late-night speech from Mount Rushmore in which he called out a new/old enemy within the United States — communism. Trump spoke from the South Dakota landmark on Friday night, not long before the clock hit midnight on the East Coast to start July 4 celebrations. The president noted the success of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln as he spoke on a stage with the monument in the background. “These men could have only been made in the USA,” Trump said. The president’s address occurred as Independence Day activities continued across the nation. That included in Washington, D.C., where his Great American State Fair has turned into a dud. High temperatures led to the closure of the fair on Friday afternoon. The event has been panned by critics who have noted the shoddy construction, falling sets and lackluster offerings. Saturday will continue the July 4 celebrations at the National Mall, where Trump has promised a large fireworks show. The schedule for the day’s events may be pushed back, however, due to the extreme heat. He is also set to give an address around 9:45 p.m. The fireworks show is expected to begin after he finishes. Bill Clinton warns against ‘serious threats’ to democracy under Trump in July 4 statement In a message commemorating the nation’s 250th anniversary of its independence, Former President Bill Clinton said the country recognizes the milestone “amid another period of deep division, renewed questions about America’s future and role in the world, and serious threats to our own institutions and to our democracy itself.” His mentioned Trump’s anti-immigration campaign, war in Iran and retribution campaign against his political enemies. “The people in charge have unleashed masked agents on American communities to seize people from their homes, workplaces, and the street,” he wrote. “They have started an unconstitutional war on a whim, with no clear objectives or exit strategy, and zero regard for the consequences to the lives of millions of people around the world,” Clinton continued. “With the help of lifetime appointees to the Supreme Court and a compliant Congress, they have weaponized government to settle personal scores, prosecute enemies, stamp out free speech, and made the federal government a new profit center for themselves and their allies,” he added. “Their New Deal is socialism for the super-rich (and their own enrichment) even if it means increasing poverty, inequality, and illness at home and around the world. They also want to rewrite history to ignore and outright deny our past flaws while banning books that say otherwise from our libraries. And they select even our military leaders based on their version of political correctness over ability.” Trump paints his political foes as 'godless Communists' in Mount Rushmore speech In his speech at Mount Rushmore, President Donald Trump targeted recent far-left Democratic primary election winners using rhetoric not heard since the Cold War. Calling communism “the enemy of July 4, 1776,” he went on to declare: “Communism is a mortal threat to American liberty. It is the greatest threat to our country, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor or even 9/11." “You can be loyal to Karl Marx or you can be loyal to America. You can be a communist or you can be a patriot. You cannot be both,” Trump said. “It’s death, tyranny, and the pursuit of evil. The godless communist morality states that anything is justified to bring about inhuman visions and to really propose what’s good. They don’t want good, they don’t love God and they don’t want God, they don’t love religion and they don’t want religion and they won’t have it. But we will not let them win.” He did not name any Democrats specifically but the comments come after a week of railing about a resurgence of Communism after NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s slate of three insurgent socialist-backed challengers pulled off upsets. See the scene from Donald Trump's speech at Mount Rushmore Trump brags about second amendment rights President Donald Trump spent most of his Friday night speech from Mount Rushmore discussing the strength of America and its past. He also addressed the nation’s Constitution, saying it is only as strong as the people upholding it. “The United States of America will always be the land of free men and women, and we will never ever fail,” Trump said. Americans love freedom and cherish independence, Trump said. He said that citizens do not need permission to say what they want, worship how they choose and to keep guns. The president then claimed his administration has saved Second Amendment rights. “Americans believe in self-reliance,” Trump said. “We look at success not with envy…with admiration and we will always earn it.” ICMYI: Shocking July 4 poll finds nearly half of Americans don’t know what they’re celebrating on America’s 250th Nearly half of Americans don’t know what they’re celebrating on the Fourth of July, according to a shocking poll and reported by Rhian Lubin. July 4 marks the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, but 46 percent of Americans and 61 percent of Gen Zers couldn’t tell you that, the Cato Institute's national survey found. Nearly half of Americans don’t know what they’re celebrating on July 4, poll finds Family behind today's 'record-setting' fireworks speaks out The family behind the planned July 4 fireworks in Washington, D.C., has spoken out about the effort to put on the show. "I mean, it is the biggest show that we've done," Rocco Vitale, president of Pyrotecnico, told CBS. "My earliest memories of fireworks displays and doing the Fourth of July was here." The family started planning the show in January. President Donald Trump has said it will be "record-setting" with the number of fireworks that explode. The 40-minute spectacle with 850,000 individual fireworks is expected to begin around 10:45 p.m. Trump talked about military success during his speech As President Donald Trump spoke from Mount Rushmore on Friday night, he highlighted the U.S. and its military strength. Trump noted that the U.S. had won two World Wars and the Cold War. Then he turned his attention to the conflicts since he returned to the White House. “We beat Venezuela in one day,’ he said. Then Trump addressed his recent attacks on Iran and the ongoing peace talks. “And we knocked the hell out of Iran, they are dying to settle. They want to settle so badly.” Seven people needed 'advanced' care at Trump's State Fair on Friday At least seven people who attended the Great American State Fair on Friday needed 'advanced life support,' CNN reported. On Friday, temperatures at the state fair hit triple digits. The lightly attended event was even forced to close for a few hours because of the heat. CNN's Brian Todd noted that the seven people most likely needed aid because of heat-related issues, as reported by Mediaite. Overall, 11 people had to be taken to the hospital, and 44 sought medical care while attending the fair on Friday. CNN’s Kaitlan Collins trolls Trump by reporting on the state fair in the middle of an empty National Mall CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins trolled President Donald Trump’s Great American State Fair by showing just how few people showed up to the weeks-long event. Collins was filmed standing on the National Mall Thursday among a sparse crowd. “For a president who often fixates on crowd size, so far the fair on Washington’s National Mall hasn’t exactly lived up to the hype,” the CNN host said. Read on... CNN trolls Trump by reporting on the state fair at empty National Mall New $400m Air Force One has a new addition for July 4 The new Air Force One, a $400 million plane gifted to the U.S. by Qatar, has a new addition for the Fourth of July – an American flag. “Flag on the top of Air Force One in honor of America’s 250th Birthday!!!” President Donald Trump’s communications adviser Margo Martin wrote on X alongside a video of the flag flying in the wind. 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