In Mount Rushmore speech, Trump veers from U.S. exceptionalism to warnings about communism
NPR – Politics
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Summary
President Trump gestures after speaking at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Friday, July 3, 2026, near Keystone, S.D. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump ushered in the 250th anniversary of American independence on Friday with soaring rhetoric about American exceptionalism before veering into a darkly political speech with warnings about a sinister threat of communism that evoked one of the country's ugliest chapters. "Communism is a mortal threat to American liberty," he said from Mount Rushmore. "It is the greatest threat to our country, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor or even 9/11." While the language was similar to several other speeches Trump has given in recent days, it was notable for being delivered in a national park that commemorates some of America's most prominent presidents. And it swerved from the typically apolitical, unifying speeches past presidents like Gerald Ford or Ronald Reagan have delivered during earlier high-profile Independence Day celebrations. Indeed, Trump's language evoked the Red Scare of the 1950s, when alleged communists were persecuted and blacklisted from jobs across America, from Washington to Hollywood. In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, delivered his own address that cast America as a nation of contradictions "working each day towards the perfection in which it was conceived." The president's speech capped an Independence Day eve that was otherwise most notable for a brutal heat wave the gripped much of the eastern portion of the country. Officials have warned those celebrating the holiday to stay hydrated and take air-conditioned breaks as needed. Philadelphia canceled its Salute to Independence parade Friday. "Those ideals upon which our nation was built — they are strong enough to endure any authoritarian regime, but only if we reach for them." Freedom 250, an organization aligned with the White House, has come to rival America250, a bipartisan group founded by Congress a decade ago.
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President Trump ushered in America's 250th anniversary with a darkly political speech that swerved from the typically apolitical, unifying speeches past presidents have given to mark Independence Day. (Image credit: Alex Brandon)
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