Hailing heroes, deriding Communists... Takeaways from Trump’s speech for US@250 event
In a 40-minute speech, which was delayed owing to stormy weather, Donald Trump hailed America on its 250th birthday, highlighting the country’s historic achievements at the National Mall in Washington, DC. While honouring many American war veterans, the US president also slammed Communism, referring to it as a ‘cancer that needs to be cut out fast’. His speech was capped with fireworks — which were loud and large
It was meant to be a hot, hot July 4. However, strong winds, thunder, and lightning prompted evacuations at the National Mall in Washington ahead of US President Donald Trump’s speech for the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. The address by the American president was deferred by a bit, with Trump writing on Truth Social that the show would go on — rain or shine.
Later, Trump returned to the National Mall for his much-hyped speech on America’s 250th birthday. “I’M HERE!!!” Trump said on his Truth Social network after his motorcade rolled up to the National Mall in Washington.
And amid cheers of ‘USA, USA’, the US president took the podium to address the people gathered there and the country at large.
More from ExplainersWeather doesn’t dampen Trump’s spirit
Donald Trump began his speech talking about the weather. He started his address by thanking the crowd that made it to the event despite the inclement weather and evacuations earlier.
“I want to thank everybody, because they did the right thing. They saw lightning, and I said, there’s no way if we have to speak in front of one person at 4 o’clock in the morning, I’m going to be here. There’s no way we can be deterred,” Trump said from the podium, as the crowd cheered.
He added that he felt bad that some people had to leave owing to the weather, but tried to give the entire incident a positive spin. “This is an evening for the ages. I believe this is something very special. This is bigger than if we didn’t have the lightning blaring; we had lightning blaring, but this is bigger, a little more inconvenient, but it’s bigger. I think in its own way, it’s more beautiful,” Trump said.
Trump attacks communism repeatedly
As Trump progressed further into his speech, he brought up “communists”, saying, “We don’t want communists in our country”.
The US president noted, “You can be a communist, or you can be a patriot. You cannot be both. As for those who peddle Marxist lies about our heritage, tell our children that we live on stolen land or that our heroes were oppressors. They’re doing something much worse than slandering our past. They are slandering and attacking our future. We’re not going to let that happen.”
The Republican president contrasted the “freedoms” of America to the “talks from communists” that he said threaten them. “Communism is a loser, and it always will be. The communist system is the opposite of the American system, and the communist system has never worked,” Trump said. “We like to stop a threat like that immediately, and before it begins, it’s like a cancer, you got to cut it out, you got to cut it out fast.”
Trump then listed a number of freedoms granted to Americans under the Constitution. “Unlike so many others in the world, in this country we have freedom of speech, freedom of religion, equal justice under the law,” said the US president. “You showed that tonight with one flag, and as our Declaration of Independence tells us, we are all made in the image of one almighty God, and a communist will never say that, that’s for sure,” he continued.
Trump refers to ‘SAVE America Act’ & military interventions
Trump’s speech touched on various topics, even referring to the “American Dream”.
To a cheering crowd, he noted, “The American Dream is back.” He said the military and police forces are flooded with new recruits, meaning it is now “hard” to get a job in the field.
Trump further noted that to keep America great, the country needed to pass legislation requiring voter IDs at the polls, referring to the Save America Act. “All voters must provide a little thing called proof of citizenship, and there will be no mail-in ballots, except for illness, disability, military deployment, or travel, and you won’t have cheating on the elections anymore,” he said to some cheers from the crowd. “It’s very simple.”
Trump also used his speech to mention his overseas interventions: Venezuela – US forces seizing former President Nicolás Maduro – and strikes on the Iranian navy.
Flags and heroes make up a big part of Trump’s speech
In the US president’s speech to mark America’s 250 years of independence, he mentioned many war heroes and veterans. He even unveiled some of the earliest US flags with 13 stars for the original states, in honour of the July Fourth celebration.
One flag displayed on the stage was from 1777, having flown in the decisive battle at Saratoga, New York. Another was from 1781 in the battle of Yorktown, Virginia, where the British surrendered to end the Revolutionary War.
“These are the real deal,” Trump said. He later displayed other special flags, including one that covered President Abraham Lincoln's casket, a flag presented to Theodore Roosevelt when he returned from Cuba, and one from the USS Arizona that sank in Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, at the start of World War II. “It’s a symbol of American defiance,” Trump said.
Trump also honoured soldiers from America’s wars, including World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Retired US Army Captain Ken Schubring, a 104-year-old veteran who bore witness to Pearl Harbour was cheered by the crowd after being introduced by Trump.
The president also gave a nod to retired US Army Colonel and Medal of Honor recipient Paris D Davis, whose service spanned the Vietnam War.
The astronauts from the Artemis II mission, who flew around the Moon, also appeared on stage with Trump. They were joined by Jack Schmitt, the last man to walk on the moon, from the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
Fireworks cap Trump’s speech
After commemorating the US’s glorious past, Trump looked to the future in the last part of his speech.
Capping his speech at 40 minutes, the US president remarked that “this is only the dawn of the golden age of America” with its destiny “written by God”.
Following Trump’s address came the much-anticipated fireworks. They were loud, large, and red, white and blue. While some applauded as fireworks lit up the sky, others had their phones out, capturing the moment.
Lightning also illuminated the sky alongside the booming fireworks.
The celebrations ended with the US president’s favourite song — Y.M.C.A.
With inputs from agencies
Roshneesh is on the Explainers team and loves her job. Apart from the everyday 'explaining', she enjoys tennis and is a Rafa fan for life. She is also a Potterhead.
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