President Donald Trump, speaking in front of Mount Rushmore, used his address on the eve of America’s 250th birthday to warn that there is a “resurgence of the Communist menace in our land.”His speech came just hours after Zohran Mamdani, the socialist mayor of New York, used a speech while sitting behind the desk of George Washington to rail against wealthy elites, immigration authorities, and accuse political leaders of betraying the country’s founding.Trump used his speech in South Dakota to celebrate America as the “oldest Republic on Earth” with the “freest people on Earth,” hailing the United States as “the most successful, most accomplished, most exceptional nation ever to exist in human history.”
“It is not the norm. It is the exception. It is rare. It is priceless, and it is truly miraculous,” he declared in front of the awe-inspiring backdrop featuring the likeness of former presidents Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.But Trump used the occasion to warn that American identity is now under a “renewed attack.”“A generation after we fought and won the Cold War against the menace of Communism, 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.”Declaring communism the “enemy of the Constitution”, he continued: “Communism is the exact opposite of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness—it is death, tyranny and the pursuit of evil.”Painting it as an “ideology of mass theft, mass control, mass lies, and mass murder,” Trump said the choice was simple – either loyalty to Karl Marx, or loyalty to America.“You can be a Communist, or you can be a Patriot. You cannot be both,” he said.He continued: “So on the eve of this 250th anniversary of American Liberty, we resolve and swear for all to hear that the Citizens of the United States of America will vanquish Communism from our shores, and send it into exile once and for all. America will never be a Communist country!”Air Force One performs a flyover at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Friday, July 3, 2026, in Keystone, S.D. (AP Photo/Matt Gade)Marine One performs a flyover above Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Friday, July 3, 2026, in Keystone, S.D. (AP Photo/Matt Gade)Marine One, with President Donald Trump aboard, passes Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Friday, July 3, 2026, near Keystone, S.D. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)Rain runs down a sculpture of George Washington at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Friday, July 3, 2026, in Keystone, S.D. (AP Photo/Matt Gade)UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters perform a flyover as Interior Secretary Doug Burgum speaks before President Donald Trump at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Friday, July 3, 2026, near Keystone, S.D. (AP Photo/Matt Gade)A B-52 plane performs a flyover as Interior Secretary Doug Burgum speaks before President Donald Trump at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Friday, July 3, 2026, near Keystone, S.D. (AP Photo/Matt Gade)An attendee wears an America-themed hat at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Friday, July 3, 2026, in Keystone, S.D. (AP Photo/Matt Gade)Attendees take a photo with a man dressed in a George Washington costume at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Friday, July 3, 2026, in Keystone, S.D. (AP Photo/Matt Gade)South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden, right, greets Interior Secretary Doug Burgum before President Donald Trump speaks at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Friday, July 3, 2026, near Keystone, S.D. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)Donald Trump Jr., and his wife Bettina Trump, listen before President Donald Trump speaks at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Friday, July 3, 2026, near Keystone, S.D. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)President Donald Trump arrives to speak at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Friday, July 3, 2026, near Keystone, S.D. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)President Donald Trump speaks at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Friday, July 3, 2026, near Keystone, S.D. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)An attendee wearing a 250 shirt listens as President Donald Trump speaks at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Friday, July 3, 2026, near Keystone, S.D. (AP Photo/Matt Gade)President Donald Trump speaks at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Friday, July 3, 2026, near Keystone, S.D. (AP Photo/Matt Gade)President Donald Trump gestures after speaking at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Friday, July 3, 2026, near Keystone, S.D. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)Fireworks explode after President Donald Trump spoke at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Friday, July 3, 2026, near Keystone, S.D. (AP Photo/Matt Gade)Fireworks explode after President Donald Trump spoke at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Friday, July 3, 2026, near Keystone, S.D. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)Fireworks explode after President Donald Trump spoke at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Friday, July 3, 2026, near Keystone, S.D. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
