President Donald Trump warned of a “communist menace” at Mount Rushmore on July 3, kicking off America’s 250th birthday celebrations with a speech that cast communism as the nation’s greatest threat since its founding.
“Communism is a mortal threat to American liberty,” Trump said beneath the carved faces of four presidents in South Dakota. “It is the greatest threat to our country, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor, and 9/11.” He added that the threat came from both ideology and “newcomers to our country who embrace ideas totally opposed to our way of life,” according to Reuters.
Trump’s Mount Rushmore speech represented his most sustained argument on the communist threat in recent days. “We resolve and swear for all to hear that the citizens of the United States of America will vanquish communism quickly,” he said, before pivoting to midterm strategy. “We can only lose the midterms if we allow ourselves to lose the midterms.”
The speech came as Trump has seized on recent primary victories by democratic socialist candidates to escalate attacks on Democrats. Four progressive candidates, including three democratic socialists, won competitive Democratic primaries in New York City and Colorado, with similar wins in Kentucky, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas, according to Reuters. Trump previously called those victories “the greatest threat to our country since its founding.”
Trump drew sharp contrasts in his rhetoric, stating directly: “You can be a communist, or you can be a patriot. You cannot be both.” He framed American identity itself as under attack, arguing that the nation’s founders and their legacy faced an existential challenge from what he portrayed as resurgent communism.
The Mount Rushmore event, organized by the Freedom 250 initiative, featured fireworks and music alongside Trump’s remarks. At the South Dakota location, the temperature was a cool 65 degrees Fahrenheit, in contrast to a searing heat wave affecting Fourth of July celebrations across much of the country, according to Reuters. Trump was scheduled to address a crowd on the National Mall the following day ahead of another fireworks display.
Sources
- Reuters — Trump’s full remarks, the quote about newcomers, the context about primary wins in multiple states, and the temperature at Mount Rushmore.
- South Dakota Searchlight — Confirmation that Trump alleged “a resurgence of the communist menace in our land.”
- CBS News — Trump’s direct quote: “You can be a communist, or you can be a patriot. You cannot be both.”
- NPR — Trump’s statement that communism is “the greatest threat to our country, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor, and 9/11.”
