Trump Declares Communism America's Greatest Threat During America 250 Kickoff At Mount Rushmore
President Donald Trump launched America’s 250th anniversary celebration Friday night with a patriotic address at Mount Rushmore, declaring the United States “the most exceptional nation ever to exist in human history” while warning that communism remains the nation’s greatest modern threat.
Speaking before thousands gathered at the South Dakota monument, with the towering granite faces of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln behind him, Trump used the opening event of the America 250 celebration to champion American exceptionalism, national unity, and the country’s founding ideals.
“At 250 years, America is the oldest republic on earth,” Trump said. “We are the freest people on earth. We have the most righteous and enduring Constitution on earth. We are the strongest and most powerful country on earth. And by the grace of God, the United States of America is the most successful, most accomplished, most exceptional nation ever to exist in human history.”
Trump repeatedly contrasted America’s founding principles with communist ideology, calling communism “a mortal threat to American liberty.”
“Communism is the greatest threat to our country, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor, or even 9/11,” the president said. “We’re not going to let this happen to us. Believe me, we’re not letting it happen, because communism is the enemy of free people.”
He continued, “Communism is the exact opposite of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness — it is death, tyranny, and the pursuit of evil.”
The president also criticized what he described as left-wing efforts to rewrite American history and diminish the nation’s founding legacy.
“As for those who peddle Marxist lies about our heritage, tell our children that we live on stolen land, or that our heroes were oppressors, they’re doing something much worse than slandering our past,” Trump said. “They are slandering and attacking our future.”
The celebration marked the official kickoff of America’s 250th anniversary festivities ahead of Independence Day. The evening featured performances by the U.S. Air Force Academy Band, remarks from South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, military flyovers, and an Air Force One pass over the memorial before Trump took the stage.
Following the president’s address, a fireworks display illuminated Mount Rushmore for the first time in several years, drawing spectators from across the region.
Trump also emphasized that patriotism—not birthplace—is the defining characteristic of American identity.
“You do not have to be born here, but you do have to love what we built,” he said. “You must love our country.”
Closing his remarks, Trump framed the nation’s semiquincentennial not as a celebration of the past, but as the beginning of a new chapter.
“Tomorrow, we reach a milestone like no other, and celebrate with joyful hearts and soaring spirits—because after two and a half centuries, we know that this is not an ending, this is only the beginning of the golden age of America,” Trump said. “Together we will make America bigger, better and stronger than ever before—I promise you that.”
After departing South Dakota aboard Air Force One, Trump returned to Washington early Saturday morning and is scheduled to participate in additional Independence Day events, including the Salute to America celebration on the National Mall.