President Trump just delivered one of the best speeches of his presidency, according to many observers.
His speech at Mount Rushmore to celebrate our Independence Day was an electric, unifying, and patriotic speech that celebrates our country and calls out the radicals who want to destroy it.
Yet…
The New York Times decided to cover Trump's Mt. Rushmore speech as "dark and divided."
Here's just one of the many clips of Trump's 40-minute speech at Mt. Rushmore.
Does this sound divisive to you?
Trump's speech was unapologetically pro-American.
Though he did call out the radicals who want to erase our history and overthrow our institutions, President Trump issued a rallying cry for all freedom-loving Americans!
No wonder many observers are calling it one of the best speeches of his presidency.
You can watch the full speech below:
Though the speech received rave reviews, the angle the New York Times choose to publish is that it was a "dark and divisive speech."
The New York Times reported:
Standing in a packed amphitheater in front of Mount Rushmore for an Independence Day celebration, President Trump delivered a dark and divisive speech on Friday that cast his struggling effort to win a second term as a battle against a “new far-left fascism” seeking to wipe out the nation’s values and history.
With the coronavirus pandemic raging and his campaign faltering in the polls, his appearance amounted to a fiery reboot of his re-election effort, using the holiday and an official presidential address to mount a full-on culture war against a straw-man version of the left that he portrayed as inciting mayhem and moving the country toward totalitarianism.
“Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values and indoctrinate our children,” Mr. Trump said, addressing a packed crowd of sign-waving supporters, few of whom wore masks. “Angry mobs are trying to tear down statues of our founders, deface our most sacred memorials and unleash a wave of violent crime in our cities.”
Mr. Trump barely mentioned the frightening resurgence of the pandemic, even as the country surpassed 53,000 new cases Friday and health officials across the nation urged Americans to scale back their Fourth of July plans.
Instead, appealing unabashedly to his base with ominous language and imagery, he railed against what he described as a dangerous “cancel culture” intent on toppling monuments and framed himself as a strong leader who would protect the Second Amendment, law enforcement and the country’s heritage.
The scene at Mount Rushmore was the latest sign of how Mr. Trump appears, by design or default, increasingly disconnected from the intense concern among Americans about the health crisis gripping the country. More than just a partisan rally, it underscored the extent to which Mr. Trump is appealing to a subset of Americans to carry him to a second term by changing the subject and appealing to fear and division.
“Most presidents in history have understood that when they appear at a national monument, it’s usually a moment to act as a unifying chief of state, not a partisan divider,” Michael Beschloss, the presidential historian, said before the speech.
Mr. Trump planned to follow up his trip with a “Salute to America” celebration on Saturday on the South Lawn at the White House, marked by a military flyover and the launch of 10,000 fireworks on the National Mall.
Social media users were not amused by the New York Times' angle of Trump's speech.
For the last 3-4 years, conservatives have complained that mainstream news outlets like the Times' have covered Trump in the most negative light possible.
After a rousing speech, many users began calling out the Times for its coverage of what many objectively considered to be a good, patriotic speech.
Though Trump warned about the radical left, the majority of Trump's speech was spent highlighting the defining moments in American history.
Trump also touted our greatest heroes and inspiring figures.
According to The Guardian:
The US president defended the symbolism of statues and monuments before a packed crowd at an event that revelled in political incorrectness calculated to enflame the country’s current divisions and enrage liberal critics. There were few face masks and even fewer people of color on stage or in the stands.
“Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values and indoctrinate our children,” Trump said. “Angry mobs are trying to tear down statues of our founders, deface our most sacred memorials and unleash a wave of violent crime in our cities.”
In an effort to fight back, he announced a surprise executive order establishing “The National Garden of American Heroes”, a vast outdoor park featuring statues of “the greatest Americans to ever live” – a selection sure to provoke debate and controversy.
Mount Rushmore in South Dakota depicts the images of US presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Washington and Jefferson owned slaves and have found their legacies increasingly questioned since the police killing of African American George Floyd in Minneapolis by a white police officer on 25 May triggered a wave of Black Lives Matter protests and the toppling of dozens of Confederate statues.
The president has shown no sign of embracing the public mood, but has rather dug in with a “law and order” response, promising harsh penalties for anyone who vandalizes statues, resisting changes to military bases named after Confederate generals and retweeting (then deleting) a video in which a man shouted “White power!”.
On Friday Trump become the first president since George HW Bush in 1991 to attend Mount Rushmore’s independence day celebration. He saluted and his wife, Melania, stood with hand on heart as the national anthem played, the stars and stripes unfurled on big screens and Blue Angels jets flew overhead.
“This monument will never be desecrated,” Trump declared, eliciting cheers. “These heroes will never be defaced. Their legacy will never, ever be destroyed. Their achievements will never be forgotten. And Mount Rushmore will stand forever as an eternal tribute to our forefathers and to our freedom.”
Indeed, President Trump stands for the silent majority who are proud to be Americans!
America is constantly finding ways to live up to its ideals that all men are created equal!
May we continue to be a shining beacon of light and example to the rest of the world.
Thank you, President Trump, for that great reminder!
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