President accused of partisan rhetoric and warnings over midterms during 250th anniversary address.President Donald Trump delivered a speech at Mount Rushmore on Friday night as part of celebrations marking 250 years since America’s declaration of independence, in remarks that have drawn strong criticism from opponents over their tone and content.
The speech
Speaking in front of the monument, Trump described Americans as a distinct “breed” of people, tracing their identity back to “Athens, Jerusalem, and Rome.” He said: “America has a destiny like no other because we are a people like no other. For whatever reason, that’s just the way it is.”
He went on to describe early settlers as having brought with them “values, traditions, and customs transmitted over the centuries in Britain and stretching back even further to Athens, Jerusalem, and Rome,” who, he said, forged “a uniquely American character, a new breed of citizen.”
Critics noted that the speech did not reference slavery or the presence of Indigenous populations already living in America prior to European settlement.
Warnings over the midterms
The speech also touched on the upcoming midterm elections in November, with Trump referencing legislation his administration has been pushing through Congress. The bill, known as the SAVE America Act, would require strict photo identification for voter registration, expand federal oversight of voter rolls, and significantly restrict postal voting — a practice Trump has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, is vulnerable to fraud.
The legislation currently lacks the votes needed to overcome a Democratic filibuster in the Senate, and Trump has been pushing Republican lawmakers to eliminate the filibuster altogether in order to pass it.
Addressing the midterms directly, Trump said: “We can only lose the midterms if we allow ourselves to lose the midterms, if we are foolish, stupid, and unwise. But if we terminate the filibuster, as we should do, and immediately vote for the SAVE America Act, then we will not lose an election for a hundred years.”
Comments on Democratic opponents
Trump also used the speech to criticise left-leaning Democratic candidates, singling out recent primary successes associated with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani. He described such candidates as “communists,” “Marxists” and a “menace.”
He said: “As we approach this magnificent anniversary, we see our American identity under a renewed attack a generation after we fought and won the Cold War against the menace of communism.” He continued: “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. These are not mere political disagreements like differences over taxes or regulations. Communism is a mortal threat to American liberty. It is the greatest threat to our country, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor, or even 9/11.”
He added that those he described as communists would be “sent into exile,” telling the crowd: “We’re not going to let them take up too long or too much of our time as they play their games and send them into exile. We will send them quickly away.”
Reaction
The speech drew criticism from opponents, with some civil rights groups characterising elements of the rhetoric as ethnonationalist. Trump’s remarks have also been linked by critics to the influence of deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, whose policy positions have previously been described by civil rights organisations as ethnonationalist.
Separately, on the day of the speech, members of the white nationalist group Patriot Front marched through Washington DC. Several hundred masked participants gathered at Union Station and marched along the National Mall, carrying flags including inverted American flags and Confederate banners, while chanting “reclaim America.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom also commented on Trump’s condition in an interview published by the Meidas Touch website, saying the president was in “physical and emotional decline” and warning that “the worst is yet to come.” Newsom said: “Vigilance doesn’t even begin to describe what our posture needs to be over the course of the next few months. Across the spectrum, this guy is failing and increasingly flailing, and it’s self-evident that decline from a physical, and an emotional, and a sort of cognizant perspective. But the power he continues to wield is real and we have to be absolutely mindful that the worst is yet to come, this is just the beginning.”
