Trump remembers the messianic character of the USA from Mount Rushmore
The president addressed the nation from the monument on which more than once he has let fall the idea of adding his own face to it
WashingtonUnder the shadow of the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, Donald Trump recalled the "exceptionalism" of the United States as a project touched by "God". "Americans did not bow before a king or a government, but knelt only before almighty God," stated the US president at the foot of Mount Rushmore on the eve of July 4, when the country turns 250 years old.
The messianic airs with which Trump returned to the White House permeate everything. Even the staging of his appearance at the monument to former presidents, where the Republican has hinted several times that he would like to be added. A month ago, the president published digital mockups of his face alongside the rest of the former presidents on Truth Social.
As if the context were not explicit enough, one of the White House spokesmen had taken care to clarify it hours before the event. "There would be no better addition to the iconic Mount Rushmore than the 45th and 47th presidents of the United States," Taylor Rogers wrote in a statement released to the US media.
But the stone and space at Mount Rushmore will not change no matter how many executive orders the tycoon signs. Unlike the White House, where the president has unilaterally demolished the east wing to build his ballroom, the mountain will not yield. Although this has not detracted from his opportunity to capitalize on the commemoration of the Declaration of Independence.
The Republican, rather than focusing on talking about the country's origins and that text which promised that "all men are equal," has focused on stirring up the polarization with which the country approaches its 250th anniversary. "Our ancestors did not shed their blood in Normandy just so a bunch of thieves, radicals, and lunatics would come to loot and pillage our nation," he stated.
References to communism
References to communism and Marxism have been on the rise within the discourse in recent weeks, as socialists have gained ground in Democratic primaries nationwide. After the three candidates supported by Zohran Mamdani won in New York's Democratic primaries, Melat Kiros demonstrated in Colorado that the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) was not a big-city fad.
For the Republican, however, "you can be loyal to Karl Marx or you can be loyal to America." "You can be a communist or you can be a patriot, you can't be both." The statement resonates with the darkest eras of McCarthyism.
In fact, Trump spoke at Mount Rushmore just hours after the mayor of New York gave a speech for the country's 250th anniversary. On a completely different note, Mamdani recalled the value of the United States according to migrants, and not a supposed divine character. "They will tell you that America only belongs to those who have the right accent or the right skin color. The rest of us, they insist, should be grateful for the mere fact that they allow us to visit it. How small they are. How weak, how unoriginal," Mamdani said from the presidential desk of George Washington preserved in the City Hall.
Trump had probably heard the socialist's speech, and hence the need to emphasize his idea of what the United States is. "We are the freest people in the world, we have the fairest and most enduring Constitution in the world, and we are the most powerful nation in the world," the Republican defended.
Trump had already chosen this place to celebrate Independence Day in 2020, during his first term, when he defended historical monuments against the protests of the Black Lives Matter movement. He then assured that Rushmore would never be "desecrated".