U.S. President Hails America at U.S. 250th Anniversary Celebrations

France 24

U.S. President Donald Trump.

U.S. President Donald Trump called on Americans to protect the freedoms the nation's founders envisioned 250 years ago against what he has portrayed as the "communist" threat posed by ‌progressive Democrats, speaking on the eve of Independence Day at Mount Rushmore.

"We stand beneath the monument of these heroes, a true group of unbelievable people, and we rededicate ourselves to being a nation as big, bold, noble, and as great as these American giants, and that's not easy to do, but we're going to do it," Trump said at the granite mountain in South Dakota where the heads of four American presidents are carved.

"There is now a resurgence of ⁠the communist menace in our land, including from newcomers to our country who embrace ideas totally opposed to our way of life and our great success," he said. "We're not going to let this happen."

Trump said that the threat also came from "newcomers to our country," tying his ‌anti-communist ⁠rhetoric to the anti-immigrant theme that fueled his election and has been historically part of the criticism of communism in the United States. Trump at one point on Friday said the newcomers need to be expelled.

"We resolve and swear for all to hear that the citizens of the United States of America will vanquish communism quickly ... We will send them quickly away, and we will continue to build our country ⁠bigger and better, stronger than ever before. America will never be a communist country!" Trump said, before seguing immediately into the issue at hand.

"We can only lose the midterms if we allow ourselves to lose the midterms."

Four progressive candidates, including three democratic socialists, won competitive Democratic primaries in ⁠New York City last week and in Colorado on Tuesday. Progressive candidates have also won contests in Kentucky, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.

Trump last week called their victories “the greatest threat to our country since its founding."

Regarding Iran, the U.S. President said that he has "knocked the hell out of Iran" as Tehran began a six-day funeral for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - nearly four months after an airstrike killed him at the start of the U.S.-Iran war.

Trump, during his speech near Mount Rushmore, said the U.S. gave Iran a "week off" for a funeral.

"We beat Venezuela in one day, and we knocked the hell out of Iran; they're dying to settle. They want to settle so badly. We gave him a week off for a funeral because we're nice," he said.

Ali Khamenei, who ruled Iran for 36 years, was killed on 28 February - the day the U.S. and Israel began striking Iran, triggering a war in the Middle East. Speculations regarding the timeline of the final ceremonies had been building since March. While the Islamic jurisprudence typically dictates that a dead person be buried as soon as possible, ideally within 24 hours, this was an exception due to a state of war.

Since the Iran-U.S. deal was signed last month, the sides have exchanged fire in the Middle East, putting the truce into a fragile state. The exchanges of fire, however, have appeared to ease in recent days.

Iran chose 4 July, the 250th anniversary of the creation of the U.S., to begin Khamenei's funeral. The funeral rituals will include events in Qom - a holy city south of Tehran, on 7 July, and other religious observances. It will conclude on 9 July with Khamenei's burial in his hometown, the northeastern holy city of Mashhad.

Source: Reuters, NDTV



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