WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 4: US President Donald Trump speaks during the Independence Day “Salute to America 250” on the National Mall on July 4, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
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President Donald Trump celebrated the United States’ 250th anniversary with a campaign-style speech on Saturday, repeating calls for new voting restrictions and warning that “communists” could gain ground in the country, repeating accomplishments he touted as his own.
After a nearly two-hour delay caused by the storm, President Trump appeared on the National Mall in Washington, delivering a speech that mixed broad appeals to patriotism with sharp attacks on perceived ideological threats at home and abroad.
President Trump praised America’s accomplishments, including winning wars, landing on the moon, and the Wright Brothers’ pioneering flight, and the American system of governance in general. But he also urged Congress to pass legislation that would limit mail-in voting, require proof of citizenship for voter registration, said he had “wiped out” Iran’s military, and warned of the rise of communism in the United States.
President Trump warns of communist ‘cancer’
“We want to stop such a threat immediately before it starts. It’s like a cancer. We have to cut it out, and we have to cut it out quickly,” he said.
The Republican president has repeatedly called leftist Democratic candidates who won a series of primaries “communists” in the past, but he did not explicitly say so on Saturday.
Before Trump, presidents generally avoided attending Fourth of July celebrations in person, but Trump has blurred the line between official commemorations and campaign-style politics. With the exception of a similar speech given by President Trump in 2019, no U.S. president has given a Fourth of July speech on the Mall since 1951.
Visitors waited for hours to enter the event, battling increased security and temperatures that reached 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39 degrees Celsius). Record-breaking heat has led to the cancellation of several parades and other events in the region.
Participants watch a fireworks display during the “Salute to America” event on the National Mall in Washington, DC, USA, early Sunday morning, July 5, 2026. Photographer: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Authorities ordered evacuations as a line of thunderstorms approached, forcing spectators to take shelter in nearby museums and government buildings before being allowed to return.
Trump said earlier this week that he would give a “very long speech” to Saturday’s rally “just to show that I can do anything.” Instead, it was much shorter than many of his past speeches, at less than 40 minutes.
Other visitors included the white supremacist group Patriot Front, who marched through the capital earlier in the day and rode the subway trains that service the area. Police said they had not received any reports of violence.
The Trump administration’s Freedom 250 group, largely absent from the bipartisan group created in 2016 to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary, has fenced off much of the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) mall for the Great American State Fair, which features attractions such as a Ferris wheel and exhibits by conservative groups and defense contractors.
President Trump aims to renew capital
Freedom 250 said the exhibition aims to showcase the people and innovations that make the United States “the greatest nation on earth.”
Several Democratic-led states declined to send delegations, and many scheduled performers withdrew, citing partisan concerns. President Trump kicked off the event with a June 24 rally.
Crowds were initially sparse, but have surged in recent days, with visitors now having to wait in queues that stretch several blocks. Smithsonian gift shops and restaurants near the event site reported near-record sales Friday, said Frank DiGiovin, an executive with the institution.
Other activities leveraging the Freedom 250 brand include faith gatherings attended primarily by conservative Christians and multiple sporting events, including a mixed martial arts fight card on the White House grounds on June 14, President Trump’s 80th birthday. An IndyCar race in Washington is scheduled for August.
The Freedom 250 group also sponsors the “Freedom Track,” which critics say depicts an overly religious depiction of American history and ignores issues such as slavery and racial injustice.
A majority of Americans, including three-quarters of Democrats and half of Republicans, think commemorations of the nation’s 250th anniversary have become too political, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
President Trump has sought to reshape large areas of the nation’s capital ahead of the 250th anniversary celebrations, with mixed results. While many fountains and statues have been renovated, problems have plagued the much-touted $15 million renovation of the Lincoln Memorial’s reflecting pool. Surveillance cameras and soldiers now monitor the water, which is stained with peeling paint and algae.
