President Trump warned Friday that communism poses a “mortal threat” to the country during a speech at Mount Rushmore on the eve of America’s 250th birthday.
“As we approach this magnificent anniversary, we see our American identity under a renewed attack,” Trump said in his remarks in South Dakota.
“A generation after we fought and won the Cold War against the menace of communism, there is now a resurgence of the communist menace in our land, including from newcomers to our country who embrace ideas totally opposed to our way of life and our great success,” the president continued.
“These are not mere political disagreements, like differences over taxes or regulations. Communism is a mortal threat to American liberty. It is the greatest threat to our country,” Trump declared.
The president described the political and economic ideology as “the exact opposite of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
“It’s death, tyranny and the pursuit of evil,” he said.
“You can be loyal to Karl Marx, or you can be loyal to America. You can be a communist, or you can be a patriot. You cannot be both,” Trump declared.
The president vowed that America would never become a communist country.
Trump’s warning comes after several wins by Democratic Socialist candidates in congressional primaries, including Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier in New York, and Melat Kiros in Colorado.
Valdez and Avila Chevalier won their primaries after receiving endorsements from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, whom Trump has previously accused of being a communist.
“The Communist Party is made up of illegal immigrants, criminals, and everybody that doesn’t want to work,” Trump argued. “Communism is a loser. It always was, and it is.
“Right now, it’s a big loser. Look at the people that are promoting it.”
Trump’s remarks in South Dakota, with the carved granite faces of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt serving as the backdrop, were mostly patriotic.
The president expressed pride in serving as the nation’s commander-in-chief as the country prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday.
“Tonight, we gather on the eve of one of the most extraordinary days in the history of the world,” Trump said. “Tomorrow we mark 250 years of glorious independence and 250 years of majestic American freedom – nothing like it.”
Trump described America as “the strongest and most powerful country on earth,” as well as “by the grace of God … the most successful, most accomplished, most exceptional nation ever to exist in human history.”
“And it is great to be your president,” he declared.
