Donald Trump ranted about communism and demanded Congress pass his election-rigging bill as he marked America's 250th Anniversary. The US President then appeared to snooze through what he claimed was the biggest fireworks display in history. Instead of using the moment to unify the country on Independence Day, Trump repeatedly veered into darkly political territory in his 35-minute address.
Trump Demands Passage of SAVE America Act
Trump demanded Congress pass the SAVE America Act, his election-rigging bill which he has boasted would mean Republicans "will not lose an election for a hundred years." The bill would require strict photo ID to register to vote, seize control of voter rolls on an unprecedented scale, and dramatically clamp down on postal voting, which Trump has repeatedly and falsely claimed is vulnerable to fraud.
In the current system, the bill has zero chance of making it into law, as Trump does not have the votes needed to pass a Democratic filibuster. He has been pressuring Republicans to abolish the filibuster, a move so risky for the future of the party that it is widely known as the nuclear option. Many fear that even if he fails to ram it through, his repeated and baseless claims of election fraud will create enough uncertainty for him to dispute the result of November's midterm elections.
"We want to keep America great and we will do so by approving the SAVE America act which means all voters must show voter ID," Trump said last night. "You will not have cheating in the elections."
Trump Rants About Communism
Trump turned to another troubling recent obsession, branding his political opponents "communists." Not content with his supporters considering their opponents as fellow Americans with disagreements on policy, Trump seems determined to paint them as un-American. It follows recent successes in primaries by left-leaning Democrat candidates, championed in New York by Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Trump has made yet more sinister remarks, branding these democratically selected candidates a "cancer" who must be "cut out," and on Friday night at Mount Rushmore suggesting they be "sent into exile."
"America will never be a communist country," he said last night. "Won't happen. Communism is a loser and always will be. The communist system is the opposite of the American system and the communist system has never worked. Our warriors did not fight communism on battlefields across the world only to have that menace rear its ugly head right back here in America. We're not going to let it happen. We like to stop a threat like that immediately and before it begins. It's like a cancer. You got to cut it out and you got to cut it out fast."
Trump Jokes About Third Term
Bragging about the military adventures he has embarked on in the last year, Trump suggested that he was in fact serving not his second, but his third term, a nod to his repeated and false claims that he won the 2020 election. In fact, he lost that election to Joe Biden.
"We rebuilt our military in my first term," he told the crowd. "We use it a little in our -- actually I should say third term, but I won't do that, because I don't want any controversy." He added: "We use it and we've had tremendous success. You look at Venezuela, you look at Iran. We wiped it out. Wiped out their military."
Trump Moans About Personal Persecution
Trump went off script to moan that he had been unfairly treated by America's legal system, a frequent beef since his time out of office. Trump was pursued, prosecuted, and convicted of federal crimes following his first term. A string of even more serious crimes, including his illegal removal and storage of classified documents in a toilet at Mar A Lago, were dropped by prosecutors just before he retook the Oval Office. But Trump has yet to let it go.
"Unlike so many others in the world," he said, "We have equal justice under the law. Although I was not treated that well but we will not get into that."
Trump Appears to Snooze Through Fireworks
In the lead up to the speech, Trump, 80, boasted this year's Independence Day fireworks display would be the biggest in history. He bragged the 35-minute display would include 850,000 pyrotechnic effects, which would amount to 400 explosives set off every second. Yet Trump managed to rest his eyes for a while during the unprecedented spectacle.
Chaotic Event Before Speech
Before Trump's speech, the National Mall was evacuated over fears of impending lightning strikes. Thousands of people were forced to evacuate and seek shelter in a nearby building. Freedom250, the Trump-aligned group that seized control of the semiquincentennial celebrations last year, said in a statement: "The safety of our guests, performers, and staff is our top priority. Due to approaching severe storms, Freedom 250, United States Secret Service, United States Park Police, National Park Service, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and all public safety partners are asking all guests to evacuate event grounds and seek temporary shelter in a nearby building."
Shelter was available in several nearby buildings, but many Trump fans ended up waiting outside in the rain for an hour before crowds were allowed back onto the mall. The gates reopened at 9:45 pm, with Trump's speech delayed until 11 pm. That meant fireworks did not start until nearly midnight, a late night for any kids waiting up to watch.
