President Donald Trump marked the start of America’s 250th Independence Day celebrations with a speech at Mount Rushmore that praised US exceptionalism before turning into a sharp warning against what he called a growing communist threat inside the country.
Speaking on the eve of Independence Day beneath the carved faces of four US presidents in South Dakota, Trump urged Americans to defend the freedoms envisioned by the nation’s founders.
“We stand beneath the monument of these heroes, a true group of unbelievable people, and we rededicate ourselves to being a nation as big, bold, noble, and as great as these American giants,” Trump said.
But the speech quickly shifted into one of Trump’s most forceful attacks yet on progressive Democrats and democratic socialists, a theme he has returned to repeatedly after a series of left-wing primary victories across the country.
“There is now a resurgence of the communist menace in our land, including from newcomers to our country who embrace ideas totally opposed to our way of life and our great success,” Trump said. “We’re not going to let this happen.”
His language echoed the politics of the Red Scare era of the 1950s, when alleged communists were persecuted and blacklisted from jobs across the United States, including in Washington and Hollywood.
Trump also linked his anti-communist message to immigration, saying that some “newcomers” should be expelled from the country.
“We resolve and swear for all to hear that the citizens of the United States of America will vanquish communism quickly,” he said. “We will send them quickly away, and we will continue to build our country bigger and better, stronger than ever before.”
Trump added: “America will never be a communist country!”
The comments came as Republicans grow increasingly focused on the political impact of recent Democratic primary results. Four progressive candidates, including three democratic socialists, won competitive Democratic contests in New York City last week and in Colorado on Tuesday. Progressive candidates have also won races in Kentucky, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.
Trump has described those victories as “the greatest threat to our country since its founding.”
His remarks also came as Americans continue to face persistent inflation and high gas prices since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, while Republican lawmakers worry the conflict could damage the party’s chances in November’s midterm elections.
Trump briefly turned directly to the elections during his Mount Rushmore speech, saying: “We can only lose the midterms if we allow ourselves to lose the midterms.”
On Saturday, Trump was scheduled to address crowds on the National Mall ahead of a major Fourth of July fireworks show, as a searing heat wave disrupted celebrations across much of the country.
