Communist or patriot: Trump calls communism 'enemy' in Mount Rushmore speech

US President Donald Trump, in his Independence Eve speech at Mount Rushmore, called communism a “mortal threat to American liberty”, an enemy of the American Constitution, an enemy of July 4, 1776 and “the enemy” in general. He claimed that American identity was facing an attack from the “radicals and extremists” and the menace of communism. He drew a parallel between communism and the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre.

“You can be loyal to Karl Marx, or you can be loyal to America. You can be a communist, or you can be a patriot. You cannot be both,” said Trump in his half-hour speech at Mount Rushmore. Trump swore as part of his Independence Day speech to “vanquish communism quickly.” “Do not let them take too much of your time,” Trump added. The Independence Eve pre-program was disrupted by hail and rain as guests had to quickly seek shelter.

“We come to this beautiful mountain — and it is beautiful — to express our gratitude to those who made it possible, starting with the four men most responsible for reaching this milestone, more than any others,” said Trump.

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Observers note that Trump is using the 250th Independence Day as a platform for his mid-term campaign. Trump did not specifically identify which politicians he was referring to, but in recent days, he had grown increasingly anxious at the victory of the Democratic Socialist candidates in the primaries.

The event was highly exclusive and was attended by roughly 4,800 ticket-holders, who won a highly competitive public lottery held earlier in the spring. There were two aerial demonstrations; Air Force One flew over the crowd twice in low-altitude flyovers. There were performances from military bands and precision drill team demonstrations. At last, the viewers witnessed fireworks lit up over the granite presidential busts.