Below the iconic stone images of America’s greatest presidents on Mount Rushmore, President Donald J. Trump delivered one of the most powerful and focused speeches of his two presidencies, evoking “American exceptionalism” and warning against the dark forces that seek to destroy it.
The entire speech, which didn’t start until 11 p.m. Eastern time because of the event’s weather delays, was posted by the White House.
The president, speaking to a restricted crowd of 5,000 at Mt. Rushmore, went right to the heart of what makes the country exceptional, established in the Declaration of Independence 250 years ago today — the truly revolutionary idea in 1776 in a world run by royalty and aristocracies that rights come from God, not a governing authority.
The speech could be seen as a civics lesson for half of the American population that doesn’t even know the significance of the Fourth of July, at least according to a recent shocking poll by the Cato Institute.
“Americans did not bow before a king or a government,” Trump said. “But kneeled only before Almighty God.”
Trump pointed out the unprecedented successes of America’s unique embrace of liberty:
In all the chronicles of the ages, never before has any nation celebrated so magnificent a triumph as this one. At 250 years, America is the oldest republic on earth. We are the freest people on earth. We have the most righteous and enduring Constitution on earth. We are the strongest and most powerful country on earth. And by the grace of God, the United States of America is the most successful, most accomplished, most exceptional nation ever to exist in human history.
However, no doubt triggered by recent Democratic primary victories by avowed Democratic Socialist candidates, Trump rebuked what he clearly saw as a communist movement that has resulted in “our American identity under a renewed attack.”
“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.
He warned, “Communism is the enemy of free people everywhere. Everywhere in the world — never works. It’s the enemy of the Constitution — above all, it’s the enemy of July 4, 1776. It is the enemy indeed.”
Trump described communism as an insidious philosophy directly opposed to the principles of America’s founding.
“It is the greatest threat to our country, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor, or even 9/11,” Trump said. “We’re not going to let this happen to us. Believe me, we’re not letting it happen, because communism is the enemy of free people.”
Trump’s speech was aired live on Fox News and on various online platforms but was not carried by other cable news networks.
Uncharacteristically for Trump, it was only 29 minutes long and had only a few of his signature ad libs.
Instead, Trump focused on how the freedoms enshrined in the Declaration and Constitution birthed accomplishments unequaled anywhere in the world.
It was quite a list:
Our achievements make us American. And nobody has ever had the achievements that we’ve had. We are the nation that dreamed and created the modern world. We laid the railroads. We raised up those big, beautiful skyscrapers, harnessed electricity, and invented the light bulb, the telephone, the airplane, the assembly line, the television, the microchip, the personal computer, the internet, the GPS, the smartphone, and almost everything else that has ever been invented, including, especially over the last few days in certain areas, a thing called air conditioning.
We invented it all. We charted the human genome to cure diseases. We powered entire cities by splitting single atoms and planted our flag on the moon. Americans fill the airwaves of the planet with our music and our culture. We invented baseball, basketball, football, volleyball, NASCAR, and the rodeo.
He acknowledged that the country hasn’t always been perfect.
“In 250 years, the free people of this land have accomplished more with our liberty than any other society has accomplished, even in thousands and thousands of years, as you look back and you study,” he said. “What our critics will never understand is that America is not the sum of its mistakes. Our mistakes make us human.”
Trump went on to list world-leading accomplishments in the military, Nobel prizes won, numbers of patents created, “the best movies,” and the “best music” made by the American experience.
He also touted the “19.2 trillion” dollar investments from businesses and countries “all over the world” being made under his administration.
By contrast to the American experience and its culture of accomplishment, countries ruled by authoritative systems that dispense only the rights and leaders see fit result in drastically different outcomes, Trump said.
“Throughout the entire story of humanity, most people in most places have lived a life plagued by suffering, poverty, exploitation, violence, and misery,” he said.
He reminded his audience, which was limited by a national lottery to some 5,000 tickets to mitigate wildfire threat in the Black Hills area, that America still has an exceptional destiny and he vowed we must keep it.
“We remember that what we have created in this country is not the natural way of the world; it is not the norm, it is the exception. It is rare, it is priceless, and it is truly miraculous,” the president said.
A full transcript of the speech has also been published.
Breitbart contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the author of the New York Times true crime best seller House of Secrets and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more
