President Trump delivered an Independence Day-themed speech in South Dakota highlighting momentous occasions throughout U.S. history.
He delivered an hourlong speech Friday evening in front of Mount Rushmore, which displays former Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt, promising to protect and build new statues in tribute to the country’s history.
“This monument will never be desecrated. These heroes will never be defaced. Their legacy will never, ever be destroyed. Their achievements will never be forgotten. And Mount Rushmore will stand forever as an eternal tribute to our forefathers and our freedom,” Trump began his speech, focusing much of his time on culture war issues.
Amid national unrest since the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, in Minneapolis on Memorial Day, activists have recently claimed that Confederate statues, which pay tribute to leaders such as Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee, ought to be removed. Demonstrators, however, have also attempted to tear down or petition local governments to decommission statues of historical figures such as former Presidents George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Ulysses S. Grant.
In his speech, Trump characterized attempts to tear down statues as “totalitarianism” and talked about what is colloquially referred to as “cancel culture.”
“There is a new, far-left fascism that demands absolute allegiance. If you do not speak its language, perform its rituals, recite its mantras, and follow its commandments, then you will be censored, banished, blacklisted, persecuted, and punished. Not gonna happen to us,” Trump said, alluding to his stated authorization of the government to arrest those who vandalize or destroy statues and that those guilty would face up to 10 years in prison under the Veterans’ Memorial Preservation and Recognition Act.
“This left-wing cultural revolution is designed to overthrow the American Revolution,” Trump said.
Trump pivoted to “set history’s records straight,” paying tribute to each president on the South Dakota mountain by outlining their contributions to the country. He lauded Washington’s performance as a general during the American Revolution, Jefferson’s authorship of the creed written in the Declaration of Independence, Lincoln’s abolition of slavery and preservation of the union, and Roosevelt’s establishment of the U.S. naval fleet and national parks.
“Every child of every color, born and unborn, is made in the holy image of God,” Trump said, calling the words written in the Declaration of Independence “divine truth” and “immortal words.”
Near the end of his Friday speech, Trump announced he would be signing an executive order to honor “the greatest Americans” by creating a new national monument. The details of the monument, titled the National Garden of American Heroes, were released by the White House shortly after the president’s remarks.
Within 60 days, Trump will be given a report on potential locations for the garden, the order states. However, it won’t be available for public access until July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary of the proclamation of the Declaration of Independence.
According to the executive order, the garden will not house modern art, but rather “lifelike or realistic representations. Statues will show Americans like Christian Rev. Billy Graham, civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., abolitionists Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, and former President Ronald Reagan.
“From this night, and from this magnificent place, let us go forward united in our purpose and re-dedicated in our resolve. We will raise the next generation of American patriots. We write the next thrilling chapter of the American adventure. And we will teach our children to know they live in a land of legends, that nothing can stop them, and that no one can hold them down,” Trump said.
“America’s destiny is in our sights. America’s heroes are embedded in our hearts. And America’s future is in our hands,” Trump said.
