President Donald Trump delivered a speech at Mount Rushmore National Memorial on Friday that highlighted American exceptionalism before shifting to warnings about Communism.
President Donald Trump spoke at Mount Rushmore National Memorial near Keystone, South Dakota, on Friday, July 3, 2026. He marked the approach of America's 250th anniversary with rhetoric about U.S. exceptionalism.
Trump then turned to political warnings. "Communism is a mortal threat to American liberty," he said. "It is the greatest threat to our country, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor or even 9/11."
The address differed from past Independence Day remarks by presidents such as Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan, which were typically unifying. Trump's language recalled the Red Scare era of the 1950s.
In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivered a separate address that described America as a nation working toward its founding ideals.
