Trump hails US, blasts ‘communists’ in 250th anniversary speech
Washington—US President Donald Trump hailed America on its 250th birthday on Saturday as the “crowning achievement” of human history, even as he used the event to renew his attack on domestic opponents he branded communists.
In a speech delayed by several hours when storms forced the temporary evacuation of crowds in Washington, Trump claimed that under his presidency the United States was “prouder than ever before.”
While Trump had promised a huge political rally to stamp his brand on the national celebrations, the 80-year-old Republican largely stuck to a more traditionally patriotic script.
“For two and a half centuries, our American republic has stood as the crowning achievement of human history,” Trump told tens of thousands of people on the National Mall.
War vets hailed
On stage, he also hailed veterans from World War II,the Korean and Vietnam wars.
But he then hailed the latter two as examples of the battle against “communists”—reprising his message from his speech on Friday night at the iconic Mount Rushmore monument.
“Our warriors did not fight communism on battlefields across the world, only to have that menace rear its ugly head right back here in America. We’re not going to let it happen,” he said.
Trump has repeatedly hammered home the theme ahead of November’s US midterm elections, after the anti-establishment left of the Democratic Party won a string of US primary victories. “It’s like a cancer, you’ve got to cut it out,” he added.
The US leader also used the speech to boast of the recent military campaigns against Iran and Venezuela, saying Washington had “wiped out” Tehran’s military.
But the speech was short by Trump’s standards, at around 45 minutes long.
“We love Trump, we loved his speech,” said Richard Sullivan, 70, who came from Virginia with his wife Nancy and was wearing a Freedom 250 T-shirt.
“He went through our great history and had a word for the veterans that were here. He makes us proud to be American.”
Independence from Britain
A huge fireworks display began after the speech. Trump has said it will set a record as the world’s largest.
Americans braved a scorching heat wave in cities across the east of the country to celebrate the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence from Britain in 1776.
Temperatures soared to a record 103 Fahrenheit (39.4 degrees Celsius) in the capital—an all-time high for July 4—with 160 million Americans under extreme weather warnings, according to the National Weather Service.
Inclement weather meanwhile forced fireworks in New York to be pushed earlier, and resulted in evacuations at a concert in Philadelphia and a celebration on the Charles River in Boston.
