Trump says American identity under ‘renewed attack’ as US turns 250

KEYSTONE, South Dakota – US President Donald Trump lashed out on July 3 at what he called a fresh threat against the country’s identity, taking aim at domestic “radicals and extremists” on the eve of America’s 250th birthday.

In a speech dripping with patriotism, Trump lauded American exceptionalism and praised its past leaders, speaking at Mount Rushmore with its giant carved heads of four of his legendary predecessors.

But he added at the foot of the iconic monument: “As we approach this magnificent anniversary, we see our American identity under a renewed attack.”

He charged that there was “a resurgence of the communist menace in our land”.

It is a theme that Trump has repeatedly hammered home in recent weeks, as the anti-establishment left of the Democratic Party carried a surge of US primary victories.

The president has cast the rise of the left ahead of November’s midterm elections that “communists” are on the rampage, posing a major “threat” to the country.

Trump said on July 3: “In recent years there’s been an undeniable attempt to change this exceptional character, to beat the American spirit out of us, alienate us from our history.”

While his language fell short of the more violent anti-immigrant rhetoric he has regularly wielded in past speeches, the underlying message was clear enough.

“You do not have to be born here, but you do have to love what we have built,” he said.

The location of Trump’s speech – a landmark upon which many suspect he would like to see his own face carved into rock – strikes a fitting image for a president who views himself as being one of the greats.

Trump’s supporters have even introduced legislation to have his likeness chiselled beside those of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.

At every stage, the 80-year-old Republican has sought to turn the United States’ big anniversary into a celebration of himself.

On July 4, Trump will hold a campaign-style political rally on the National Mall in Washington, along with flyovers by military jets and what he has billed as the world’s biggest fireworks display.

For Trump – the billionaire former reality TV star who became the consummate political showman – taking centre stage is in his blood.

But America under Trump is deeply divided at what should be a time of national unity.

Trump’s approval ratings are near historic lows, fuelled largely by the war in Iran and the skyrocketing cost of living. His Democratic opponents have castigated him over his immigration policies, family’s growing wealth and attempts to expand presidential power.

Trump’s attempts to stamp his political brand on America’s 250th anniversary have, meanwhile, not always gone to plan.

A Trump-linked organisation called Freedom 250 has taken control of many of the festivities from the bipartisan America250 group, leading many people to stay away from key events.

A “Great American State Fair” in the capital designed as a celebration of the country’s birthday has drawn sparse crowds and widespread mockery for its empty booths.

A record-breaking heat wave also kept many visitors away, although Trump declared himself undeterred by the heat.

“On July 4 it’s going to be approximately 41 deg C out, and I’m going to go and I’m going to make a really long speech – just to show that I can do anything,” he said on July 1.

As the US marks 2 1/2 centuries of triumphs and tragedies, slavery and freedom, civil war and world wars, surveys show the nation is pessimistic about the chances of realising the “American Dream”.

A recent Quinnipiac University Poll showed 61 per cent of Americans thought the US was not living up to the ideals stated in the Declaration of Independence – though opinion on that was divided, with most Republicans thinking it did, and most Democrats thinking it did not.

“The Fourth of July really is a moment of freedom, but I have to be honest, in these political times, it hasn’t been as exciting to me,” Amy Kimaara, a 49-year-old special education teacher, told AFP in Los Angeles. AFP