Camille Naredo

The 60-foot high faces of (from left to right) U.S. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln are seen carved into the granite at Mount Rushmore National Memorial on July 03, 2026 in Keystone, South Dakota. Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images/AFP 

KEYSTONE, SOUTH DAKOTA - JULY 03: The 60-foot high faces of (from left to right) U.S. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln are seen carved into the granite at Mount Rushmore National Memorial on July 03, 2026 in Keystone, South Dakota. Trump is holding a rally and fireworks show at Mount Rushmore, kicking off a weekend of 250th Independence Day celebrations across the country.   Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by CHIP SOMODEVILLA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Article (news)

President Donald Trump Speaks At Mt. Rushmore To Mark America's 250th On Eve Of Independence Day

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1783134372621AFP__20260704__2284566252__v1__MidRes__PresidentDonaldTrumpSpeaksAtMtRushmoreToMarkA.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="The 60-foot high faces of (from left to right) U.S. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln are seen carved into the granite at Mount Rushmore National Memorial on July 03, 2026 in Keystone, South Dakota. Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images/AFP "/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">The 60-foot high faces of (from left to right) U.S. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln are seen carved into the granite at Mount Rushmore National Memorial on July 03, 2026 in Keystone, South Dakota. <em>Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images/AFP </em></span></span></span></div><p>(<strong>UPDATED</strong>) US President Donald Trump lashed out Friday at what he called a fresh threat against the country&#x27;s identity, taking aim at domestic &quot;radicals and extremists&quot; on the eve of America&#x27;s 250th birthday.</p><p>In a speech dripping with patriotism, Trump lauded American exceptionalism and praised its past leaders, speaking at Mount Rushmore with its giant carved heads of four of his legendary predecessors.</p><p>But he added at the foot of the iconic monument: &quot;As we approach this magnificent anniversary, we see our American identity under renewed attack.&quot;</p><p>He charged that there was &quot;a resurgence of the communist menace in our land.&quot;</p><p>It is a theme that Trump has repeatedly hammered home in recent weeks, as the anti-establishment left of the Democratic Party carried a surge of US primary victories.</p><p>The president has cast the rise of the left ahead of November&#x27;s midterm elections that &quot;communists&quot; are on the rampage, posing a major &quot;threat&quot; to the country.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/7/1/after-250-years-the-american-dream-is-tarnished-but-alive-1544">READ: After 250 years, the &#x27;American dream&#x27; is tarnished but alive</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Undeniable attempt&#x27; -</strong></div><p>Trump said Friday: &quot;In recent years there&#x27;s been an undeniable attempt to change this exceptional character, to beat the American spirit out of us, alienate us from our history.&quot;</p><p>While his language fell short of the more violent anti-immigrant rhetoric he has regularly wielded in past speeches, the underlying message was clear enough.</p><p>&quot;You do not have to be born here, but you do have to love what we have built,&quot; he said.</p><p>The location of Trump&#x27;s speech -- a landmark upon which many suspect he would like to see his own face carved into rock -- strikes a fitting image for a president who views himself as being one of the greats.</p><p>Trump&#x27;s supporters have even introduced legislation to have his likeness chiseled beside those of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.</p><p>At every stage, the 80-year-old Republican has sought to turn the United States&#x27; big anniversary into a celebration of himself.</p><p>On July Fourth, Trump will hold a campaign-style political rally on the National Mall in Washington, along with flyovers by military jets and what he has billed as the world&#x27;s biggest fireworks display.</p><p>For Trump -- the billionaire former reality TV star who became the consummate political showman -- taking center stage is in his blood.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/7/2/-everybody-s-profiting-trump-defends-1bn-crypto-earnings-0923">READ: Trump defends $1 billion crypto earnings</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Really long speech&#x27; -</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="960" height="540" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VEuj8sC77pg?&amp;t=1s&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></div><p>But America under Trump is deeply divided at what should be a time of national unity.</p><p>Trump&#x27;s approval ratings are near historic lows, fueled largely by the war in Iran and the skyrocketing cost of living. His Democratic opponents have castigated him over his immigration policies, family&#x27;s growing wealth and attempts to expand presidential power.</p><p>Trump&#x27;s attempts to stamp his political brand on America&#x27;s 250th anniversary have, meanwhile, not always gone to plan.</p><p>A Trump-linked organization called Freedom 250 has taken control of many of the festivities from the bipartisan America250 group, leading many people to stay away from key events.</p><p>A &quot;Great American State Fair&quot; in the capital designed as a celebration of the country&#x27;s birthday has drawn sparse crowds and widespread mockery for its empty booths.</p><p>A record-breaking heat wave also kept many visitors away, although Trump declared himself undeterred by the heat.</p><p>&quot;On July 4 it&#x27;s going to be approximately 107 degrees (41C) out, and I&#x27;m going to go and I&#x27;m going to make a really long speech -- just to show that I can do anything,&quot; he said Wednesday.</p><p>As the United States marks two-and-a-half centuries of triumphs and tragedies, slavery and freedom, civil war and world wars, surveys show the nation is pessimistic about the chances of realizing the &quot;American Dream.&quot;</p><p>A recent Quinnipiac University Poll showed 61 percent of Americans thought the US was not living up to the ideals stated in the Declaration of Independence -- though opinion on that was divided, with most Republicans thinking it did, and most Democrats thinking it did not.</p><p>&quot;The Fourth of July really is a moment of freedom, but I have to be honest, in these political times, it hasn&#x27;t been as exciting to me,&quot; Amy Kimaara, a 49-year-old special education teacher, told AFP in Los Angeles.</p>

<p>US President Donald Trump lashed out Friday at what he called a fresh threat against the country's identity, taking aim at domestic "radicals and extremists" on the eve of America's 250th birthday.</p>

US President Donald Trump lashed out Friday at what he called a fresh threat against the country's identity, taking aim at domestic "radicals and extremists" on the eve of America's 250th birthday.

Trump says American identity under 'renewed attack' as US turns 250

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Trump says American identity under 'renewed attack' as US turns 250

Mandel Ngan with Danny Kemp in Washington,

Agence France-Presse

Published July 04, 2026 11:18 AM PHT

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Updated July 04, 2026 01:05 PM PHT

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United States

Donald Trump

Mount Rushmore

America

250th founding anniversary

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