Trump marks US 250th birthday with patriotic speech and attacks on domestic “communists”

Trump hails US, blasts 'communists' in 250th anniversary speech

United States President Donald Trump hailed America on its 250th birthday on Saturday as the “crowning achievement” of human history, even as he used the event to renew his attack on domestic opponents he branded communists. In a speech delayed by several hours when storms forced the temporary evacuation of crowds in Washington, Trump claimed that under his presidency the United States was “prouder than ever before”. While Trump had promised a huge political rally to stamp his brand on the national celebrations, the 80-year-old Republican largely stuck to a more traditionally patriotic script. “For two and a half centuries, our American republic has stood as the crowning achievement of human history,” Trump told tens of thousands of people on the National Mall. On stage, he hailed also veterans from World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars. But he then hailed the latter two as examples of the battle against “communists” — reprising his message from his speech on Friday night at the iconic Mount Rushmore monument. “Our warriors did not fight communism on battlefields across the word, only to have that menace rear its ugly head right back here in America. We’re not going to let it happen,” he said. ‘Proud to be American’ Trump has repeatedly hammered home the theme recently ahead of November’s US midterm elections, after the anti-establishment left of the Democratic Party won a string of US primary victories. “It’s like a cancer, you’ve got to cut it out,” he added. The US leader also used the speech to boast of the recent military campaigns against Iran and Venezuela, saying Washington had “wiped out” Tehran’s military. But the speech was short by Trump’s standards, at around 45 minutes long. “We love Trump, we loved his speech,” said Richard Sullivan, 70, who came from Virginia with his wife Nancy and was wearing a Freedom 250 T-shirt. “He went through our great history and had a word for the veterans that were here. He makes us proud to be American.” A huge fireworks display began after the speech. Trump has said it will set a record as the world’s largest. Americans braved a scorching heatwave in cities across the east of the country to celebrate the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence from Britain in 1776. Temperatures soared to a record 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39.4° Celsius) in the capital — an all-time high for July 4 — with 160 million Americans under extreme weather warnings, according to the National Weather Service. Inclement weather meanwhile forced fireworks in New York to be pushed earlier, and resulted in evacuations at a concert in Philadelphia and a celebration on the Charles River in Boston. ‘Awesome country’ The elements also threatened to wreak havoc with Trump’s speech as tens of thousands were ordered to clear the National Mall several hours before his address due to approaching thunderstorms. While many streamed toward exits, chaos broke out as other attendees refused to leave or tried to surge back in, where AFP reporters witnessed shouts of “charge!” and “Trump! Trump!” Trump however insisted he was pushing ahead with the speech, telling Fox News that if D-Day veterans in World War II could brave bad weather then so could he. “Experiencing a little heat is a lot less than what a lot of people sacrifice to give us this freedom in this awesome country,” said Randy Cole, 62, a retired civil servant attending festivities in Washington. Yet Trump’s determination to put himself and his political brand front and center of the 250th anniversary celebration had highlighted the deep divisions caused by his second term in office. Those divisions were on full display Saturday near Washington’s Capitol Hill, where masked men — some of them carrying Confederate flags and others sporting logos of the white supremacist Patriot Front — gathered to shout, “Reclaim America!” For Americans, the 250th anniversary offers a moment for reflection as well as celebration. A Quinnipiac University Poll showed 61 per cent of Americans thought the US was not living up to the ideals stated in the Declaration of Independence.

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US celebrates 250th birthday as Trump warns of enemy within

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP)—Millions of Americans celebrated the country's 250th birthday on Saturday a landmark celebration that comes at a time of deep political division, with a president determined to put his stamp on the festivities. Washington's traditional fireworks display on the National Mall lined with monuments celebrating the nation's Founding Fathers has been super-sized, and is being touted as the biggest ever. President Donald Trump has added a program of roaring military flyovers and an unusual campaign-style political rally for July Fourth, which marks the anniversary of the 1776 signing of the Declaration of Independence. The national holiday comes in the middle of a brutal heat wave, with some 160 million Americans under extreme weather warnings, wreaking havoc with planned block parties and barbecues in towns and cities across much of the country. With temperatures in the US capital expected to reach 102F (39C) and the heat index soaring to 110-115F, the Independence Day parade in Washington was canceled. Trump, who turned 80 last month, remains undeterred by the sweltering temperatures. "It's going to be approximately 107 degrees out, and I'm going to go and I'm going to make a really long speech just to show that I can do anything," Trump said in the run-up to the revelry. Patrick Thompson, a teacher in the Washington suburb of Alexandria, Virginia, said he would celebrate with a typical barbecue but added he would not attend the national fireworks show. "We still want to celebrate the country and be patriotic and it's exciting," Thompson, a father of two teenagers, told AFP. "But it's so weird because it's got this... strange mar over it because of Trump and just like the 250 thing that turns out to not be what anyone hoped." - 'Renewed attack' - Late Friday, Trump visited the iconic Mount Rushmore monument in South Dakota for an address under the gaze of four of his legendary predecessors, etched in granite -- George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. While he lauded US exceptionalism and praised the country's past leaders, he also said America's identity was under "renewed attack" from domestic "radicals and extremists," saving particular ire for a "resurgence of the communist menace." It is a theme that the Republican leader has repeatedly hammered home in recent weeks, as the anti-establishment left of the Democratic Party won a string of US primary victories. On Friday, Trump said there has been an attempt to "beat the American spirit out of us, alienate us from our history" in recent years. While his language fell short of the more violent anti-immigrant rhetoric he has wielded in past speeches, the underlying message was clear. "You do not have to be born here, but you do have to love what we have built," he said. Pope Leo XIV -- the Catholic Church's first US pope, who has sparred with Trump over his administration's immigration crackdown -- used the occasion to say that his vision of the American dream includes an inclusive society. "Defending human life also includes welcoming, protecting and assisting immigrants, whose hopes, sacrifices and contribution have formed part of the history of this country from its very beginning," the Chicago-born pontiff said. In London, King Charles III said Britain and the country formed from its former colonies would "continue to defend our shared values." - Celebration and reflection - For Americans, the 250th anniversary festivities offer a moment for reflection as well as celebration. After two and a half centuries of triumphs and tragedies, slavery and freedom, civil war and world wars, multiple surveys indicate a nation divided about where it is and where it's going. A 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 most Republicans think it does, and most Democrats think it doesn't. Outside Washington, New York is hosting an international parade of tall ships, with Vice President JD Vance in attendance, flyovers and its own massive fireworks display. In Philadelphia, lines formed early despite the heat to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed. Concerts will be staged from Boston to Los Angeles. For Karisa Tavassoli, an Iranian American educator in Atlanta, the basics of the American dream still ring true. "I have safety, I have freedom of speech, I have freedom of religion, I can wear whatever I want as a woman," she told AFP. "There are many flaws here, but we have something very special that's worthy of protecting."

19 hours ago