Speaking after the legendary US Navy Blue Angels roared overhead, President Trump ushered in the weekend of July 4 on Friday night at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota with a total condemnation of “extreme left fascism” and a defense of “Judeo-Christian principles”. “
“This monument will never be desecrated,” Trump declared with cheers and applause. “These heroes will never be disfigured. Their legacy will never, never be destroyed. Their achievements will never be forgotten. And Mount Rushmore will forever be an everlasting tribute to our ancestors and to our freedom.”
The president claimed that recent attacks on the nation’s monuments, along with “canceling culture” and the rise of the Marxist ideology of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, were symptoms of a “left-wing cultural revolution” that threatened to “topple”. the American Revolution. “BLM explicitly defends the destruction of the” family nuclear structure, “which Trump said was, in fact, the” cornerstone of American life. “
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“We only knelt before Almighty God,” Trump said, in a clear shot at the athletes who kneel in protest during the national anthem. “We will not be intimidated by bad and evil people. It will not happen.”
“We just kneel before Almighty God. We will not be intimidated by evil and evil people. It will not happen.”
Trump characterized endemic efforts to end and humiliate dissent as a form of “totalitarianism” and an “attack on our magnificent freedom,” and promised that “it will stop very quickly.”
Hours before he spoke, CNN, echoing the New York Times, derided Mount Rushmore as a memorial to slavers on stolen native lands.
“This movement is openly attacking the legacies of every person on Mount Rushmore,” said Trump, referring to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
Trump also announced plans to create “a new monument to the giants of our past.”
He said he would sign an executive order to establish a national garden of American heroes: a “vast open-air park” with statues of the “best Americans ever to exist.”
“From tonight and from this magnificent place, let us move forward united in our purpose and dedicated again in our resolution. We will raise up the next generation of American patriots.”
Trump’s comments followed a series of protests and riots across the country that led to the destruction of numerous monuments, as well as the termination of high-level academics and policy experts simply for challenging Black Lives Matter.
“They want to silence us,” Trump said, as applause from “America!” It exploded “But we will not be silenced … We want a free and open debate, not to cancel culture … Their goal is not a better America. Their goal is to end the United States … But just like in past centuries, the people American will stand in his way. “
“His goal is not a better America. His goal is to end the United States … But just as in past centuries, the American people will stand in his way.”
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Trump specifically praised the FBI’s recent arrest of the “leader” for several attacks on the statue, as well as his executive order to increase punishment for those who disfigure the monuments.
“Tonight, when we gather here tonight, there is a growing danger that threatens every blessing that our ancestors fought so hard for, fought for and bled to death to ensure,” Trump said, warning of a concerted attempt to “erase our history. “and” indoctrinate our children. “
That was an apparent reference to the public schools’ decision to teach false information from the New York Times “Project 1619”. The author of that project has recognized her own racism against whites, and historians have denied the project’s central claims.
“They think that the American people are weak, soft and submissive,” the president continued, applauding, “but no, the American people are strong and proud. And they will not allow our country and its values, history and culture to be taken.” from them.”
“Those who seek to erase our heritage want Americans to forget our pride and our great dignity, so that we can no longer understand ourselves or the destiny of the United States,” Trump said.
It is time, Trump said, that American politicians summon “courage” to face the moment.
President Donald Trump watches the planes fly over the Mount Rushmore National Monument on Friday, July 3, 2020 in Keystone, South Dakota (Associated Press)
“For our honor, for our children, for our children, we must protect and preserve our history, our heritage and our great heroes,” he continued.
Protesters arrested
The small town of Keystone, which is a couple of miles from the monument, was packed with people on Friday hoping to catch a glimpse of the fireworks and the President. Many wore pro-Trump shirts and hats. Few wore masks.
“This will be in the first four of July that I’m talking about,” said Mike Stewhr, who brought his family from Nebraska.
The event drew thousands of spectators, most of them without masks, even as coronavirus cases increased across the country. The president spoke before a grand fireworks display, the first to be held on the site in more than a decade.
Hours before Trump arrived, protesters blocked a road leading to the monument. Authorities worked to move protesters, mostly Native Americans, protesting that the Black Hills of South Dakota were taken from the Lakota people against treaty agreements. About 15 protesters were arrested after missing a deadline set by the police to leave.
President Donald Trump speaks at Mount Rushmore National Monument on Friday July 3, 2020 in Keystone, SD (Associated Press)
Trump received a show of support in South Dakota, with the state Republican Party selling T-shirts with Trump at the memorial alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
But concerns about the risk of coronavirus and the wildfire danger from fireworks, along with protests by Native American groups were also present.
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Republican Governor Kristi Noem, a Trump ally, said that social distancing will not be required during the event and that the masks will be optional. Event organizers were to provide masks to anyone who wanted them and planned to screen attendees for COVID-19 symptoms.
In his speech, Trump largely avoided references to the coronavirus, focusing on the nation’s history and its lessons for the present.
“We will never give up spirit and courage, and the cause of July 4, 1776,” he said. “On this basis we will remain firm and unwavering.”
Fox News’s John Roberts and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
