Trump warns of Left campaign to 'wipe out US history' in Mt Rushmore speech, vows to set up park for statues
President Donald Trump ignored all criticism and defied protests to address a packed audience in front of Mount Rushmore on the eve of the Independence Day on July 3. The poll-bound president used the occasion to project himself as a leader who is fighting a “new far-left fascism” which is hell-bent to erase America’s history and values. The president’s target was the protesters who have refused to calm down in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, a Black American, in Minneapolis in May. Their mission to topple statues of former leaders has particularly irked Trump.
The speech that Trump delivered below the giant faces of four former presidents suggested that his campaign for the presidential election, which is less than four months away, will bank heavily on the grievances of what is perceived to be the silent majority which is not happy with the unrest that has engulfed the US of late.
'America witnessing merciless campaign to wipe out history'
“Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values and indoctrinate our children. Angry mobs are trying to tear down statues of our founders, deface our most sacred memorials and unleash a wave of violent crime in our cities,” Trump told an audience the majority of which did not care to wear masks as a precautionary move against the coronavirus pandemic that has affected nearly 2.8 million people and claimed 129,000 lives.
“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. It is not going to happen to us,” Trump added.
He also said that he was set to sign an executive order to establish an outdoor park which will be filled with statues of the “greatest Americans who ever lived”. His speech touched the accomplishments of famous Americans like Abraham Lincoln and Harriet Tubman and tried to characterize national reckoning over race as something threatening. He recently signed an executive order to protect America's monuments and penalize those who attack them.
The president, who was scheduled to host his second ‘Salute to America’ event in Washington DC on Saturday, barely mentioned the pandemic which saw more than 50,000 cases getting detected on a single day (July 1). Health officials and even former president Barack Obama have urged Americans to observe a modest July 4 this year because of the pandemic but the commander-in-chief was least bothered.
Trump’s pre-I-Day speech, which was attended by thousands and saw fireworks, came on a day when at least five states saw their highest single-day cases. A number of large cities also were seeing alarming spikes in the virus’ spread, making authorities to re-impose shutdown.
Talking more about the culture wars to boost his support base, Trump slammed the left by accusing it of unleashing a “violent wave of crime” in cities across the US. He said the perpetrators took the people of America as “weak and soft and submissive”.