President Trump warns of a “communist threat” on Mount Rushmore ahead of November’s midterm elections, linking his rhetoric to immigration.
Published July 4, 2026
US President Donald Trump used the opening weekend of the nation’s 250th anniversary to praise the US military, criticize democratic socialists and warn of the “communist threat” that he says poses a grave threat to the country.
Speaking under the granite monument of Mount Rushmore on the eve of Independence Day on July 4, President Trump evoked national identity and ideology ahead of November’s midterm elections.
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“We created the strongest and most powerful military. We won two world wars,” he said, arguing that the Cold War left America’s enemies “in the depths of history.”
He also said the United States “defeated Venezuela in a day” and “beat Iran to the ground.”
The speech came amid voter concerns about persistent inflation and soaring energy prices due to the ongoing U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran.
President Trump briefly addressed the Iran war, noting the multi-day state funeral for late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, who was killed in an attack on the first day of the US-Israel war, saying that Iran was “desperate to find a solution” and that Washington had “been kind enough to grant us a week off for the funeral”.
“The threat of communism”
Much of President Trump’s speech focused on what he saw as ideological threats at home.
“We are now facing a resurgence of the threat of communism in our country, including newcomers to our country who believe in ideas completely opposed to our way of life,” the president said, calling communism an “enemy of the Constitution.”
He vowed that “the people of the United States will quickly defeat communism.”
President Trump has linked his anti-communist rhetoric to his hardline stance on immigration, suggesting left-wing politicians and some illegal immigrants should be deported.
His comments followed a string of recent victories in progressive primaries in U.S. states including New York, Colorado and Texas.
He called the rise of democratic socialists “the greatest threat to our country since our founding,” and compared the movement’s potential impact to World War II and the September 11 attacks.
He concluded his speech by calling this anniversary “the beginning of America’s Golden Age.”
President Trump: “We are steadily losing control over the United States”
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Republican strategist Eli Bremer said some of the speeches were more unifying than “President Ronald Reagan might have done 45 years ago,” but added that “the gulf between the American left and the American right has actually never been wider.”
But Democratic strategist and former Obama campaign adviser Amecia Cross told Al Jazeera that President Trump wants to wipe out the country’s diverse history.
“I’m angry that young Democrats are running and winning in this country,” Trump said, adding that the speech reflected “a president who recognizes that he is steadily losing control over America.”
She noted that it also came “on the heels of his losing a Supreme Court decision just days ago to eradicate birthright citizenship.”
The speech highlighted the contrasting visions shaping the nation’s milestone anniversary.
In New York, progressive Mayor Zoran Mamdani used a desk that once belonged to George Washington at a naturalization ceremony to praise the contributions of immigrants, offering an alternative narrative that frames civic dissent as patriotism.
Democrats have also criticized the administration’s handling of the anniversary, claiming that conservative groups took the lead on planning for the 250th anniversary from a previously bipartisan Congressional committee.
