The United States of America marked its 250th birthday with nationwide events, fireworks, and intense weather across the country. Donald Trump told an enthusiastic audience at a delayed rally on the National Mall before the largest fireworks display in the US: “ The American dream is back.”
Trump covered many of the same talking points that he hits frequently at his rallies across the US in his forty minute speech. The 4th of July marks a date of celebration, but it also tends to prompt a larger cultural impact during this milestone.
Trump’s 40-minute speech concluded with high-sounding declarations on America’s future. He remarked: “ This is only the dawn of the golden age of America with its destiny written by God.”
He joked about the inconvenience of the storms that rolled through, but he thanked the crowd for their resilience.
“God Bless America,” he says, a refrain used by presidents of all stripes in the modern era.
The president has paid tribute to the bravery of veterans’ who stood in front of the oldest flags in the US-a Revolutionary War-era 1777 flag that he said was draped over George Washington’s casket.
Washington’s annual July 4 celebration commonly draws hundreds of thousands of people, who this year will have to grapple not only with enhanced security but also with the possibility of thunderstorms and temperatures that could top 100F.
Trump’s 250th anniversary was filled with classic themes such as commemorating American enterprise, denouncing American communists, and highlighting his achievements in office.
His speech also transitioned to his legislative agenda-voting reforms called the Save America Act and presidential directives to strike down birthright citizenship, as well as efforts to protect the Second Amendment, and the right to serve in the military.
