President Donald Trump marked the 250th anniversary of the United States on Saturday with a campaign-style speech that repeated his calls for new voting restrictions, warned that "communists" could gain ground in the country and cycled through what he touted as his achievements.
After a storm-related delay of nearly two hours, Trump appeared on the National Mall in Washington to deliver a speech that mixed broad appeals to patriotism with pointed attacks on perceived ideological threats at home and abroad.
Trump lauded American achievements such as war victories, the lunar landing and the Wright brothers' pioneering flight, as well as the U.S. system of government in general. But he also urged Congress to pass stalled legislation that would limit mail ballots and require proof of citizenship to register to vote, said he had "wiped out" Iran's military and cautioned against a rise of communism in the United States.
TRUMP WARNS OF COMMUNIST 'CANCER,' WHITE NATIONALISTS APPEAR
"We like to stop a threat like that immediately and before it begins. It's like a cancer – you've got to cut it out and you got to cut it out fast," he said.
The Republican president has in the past repeatedly referred to left-wing Democratic candidates who have won a string of primary elections as "communists," though he did not explicitly do so on Saturday.
Before Trump, presidents generally avoided in-person appearances at July 4 celebrations, but he has blurred the line between official commemoration and campaign-style politics. Aside from a similar address that Trump gave in 2019, no U.S. president has delivered a July 4 speech on the Mall since 1951.
Visitors had waited hours to get into the event, contending with stepped-up security and temperatures that reached 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39 degrees Celsius). The record-breaking heat wave forced the cancellation of several parades and other events in the area.
Authorities ordered an evacuation when a line of thunderstorms approached, forcing spectators to shelter in nearby museums and government buildings before they were allowed to return.
Trump had said this week he would "make a really long speech" for Saturday's rally "just to show that I can do anything." Instead, it lasted less than 40 minutes, far shorter than many of his past speeches.
Other visitors included the white nationalist organization Patriot Front, which marched through the capital earlier in the day and rode on Metro trains serving the region. Police said they had not received any reports of violence.
The Trump administration's Freedom 250 group has largely sidelined a nonpartisan body set up in 2016 to handle the 250th anniversary and has fenced off much of the 1.5-mile (2.4-km) Mall for a "Great American State Fair" featuring attractions such as a Ferris wheel alongside displays by conservative groups and defense contractors.
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Freedom 250 says the fair aims to showcase the people and innovations that make the U.S. "the greatest nation on Earth."
Several Democratic-led states declined to send delegations, and many performers scheduled to appear dropped out, citing concerns about partisanship. Trump opened the event with a rally on June 24.
Crowds were sparse at first but have swelled in recent days, forcing visitors to wait in entrance lines that stretched several blocks. Gift shops and restaurants at the Smithsonian Institution museums near the event reported near-record sales on Friday, said Frank DiGiovine, a Smithsonian executive.
Other activities with Freedom 250 branding include a faith rally featuring mostly conservative Christian speakers, and multiple sports events, including a card of mixed martial arts bouts on the White House grounds for Trump's 80th birthday on June 14. An IndyCar race in Washington is scheduled for August.
The Freedom 250 organization also sponsored "Freedom Trucks" that critics say paint an overly religious version of American history and gloss over issues such as slavery and racial injustice.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that a majority of Americans, including three-quarters of Democrats and half of Republicans, think the events celebrating the country's 250th anniversary have grown too political.
Trump has sought to remake wide swaths of the capital city ahead of the 250th celebration, with mixed results. Many fountains and statues have been renovated, but problems have beset a much-touted $15 million renovation of the Lincoln Memorial's Reflecting Pool. Security cameras and soldiers now stand watch over its peeling paint and algae-fouled waters.
Source: Reuters
--Agencies
