Washington, United States. President Donald Trump marked the 250th anniversary of the United States on Saturday with a speech on the National Mall that combined patriotic themes with calls for new voting restrictions and warnings about communism. The event began after a storm-related delay of nearly two hours.
Speech mixes celebration and political themes
Trump praised U.S. achievements including war victories, the lunar landing, the Wright brothers’ pioneering flight and the country’s system of government. He also urged Congress to pass stalled legislation that would limit mail ballots and require proof of citizenship to register to vote, and said he had “wiped out” Iran’s military.
Warning about communism
Trump cautioned against what he described as a rise of communism in the United States.
“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 previously referred to left-wing Democratic candidates who won a series of primary elections as “communists,” though he did not explicitly do so on Saturday.
July 4 appearance on the National Mall
Before Trump, presidents generally avoided in-person appearances at July 4 celebrations, but he has blurred the line between official commemorations and campaign-style politics. Aside from a similar address Trump gave in 2019, no U.S. president has delivered a July 4 speech on the Mall since 1951.
Weather and security disruptions
Visitors waited hours to enter the event while dealing with increased security and temperatures that reached 103 degrees Fahrenheit, or 39 degrees Celsius. The heat wave led to the cancellation of several parades and other events in the area.
Authorities ordered an evacuation when a line of thunderstorms approached, and spectators took shelter in nearby museums and government buildings before being allowed to return.
Speech shorter than expected
Trump had said earlier in the week that he would “make a really long speech” at Saturday’s rally “just to show that I can do anything.” The speech instead lasted less than 40 minutes, shorter than many of his past addresses.