(AFP) – US President Donald Trump will travel to Mount Rushmore next week for an Independence Day celebration beneath the carved faces of four of his revered predecessors, organizers said Thursday, as the Republican puts his personal stamp on events marking America’s 250th anniversary. Trump is due to headline a July 3 fireworks display at the South Dakota memorial, where the massive, granite likenesses of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt loom over the Black Hills.
The event is expected to feature military bands, flyovers, tributes to the armed forces and a speech by the Republican president on the eve of the July 4 holiday. It will be the first fireworks display at Mount Rushmore since 2020, when Trump also attended during his first term. “Together, we will throw the biggest birthday party ever for our nation and celebrate America’s legacy of freedom, liberty, and justice for all,” said South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden.
The visit adds another high-profile spectacle to a 250th anniversary program that Trump has increasingly shaped around his own taste for pageantry, patriotism and political theater. He has already headlined a rally-style kickoff for the Great American State Fair on the National Mall, hosted a mixed martial arts event at the White House and planned a major July 4 celebration in Washington.
The Mount Rushmore appearance carries particular resonance for a president who has long shown fascination with monuments, presidential symbolism and his place in history. A Republican ally introduced legislation last year proposing that Trump’s face be added to Mount Rushmore, an idea the president has previously mused would be “a good idea.” His administration has also pursued other efforts to leave his mark on Washington’s public spaces and institutions, adding his name to the Kennedy Center’s facade and branding, before a judge ruled that the move was illegal.
Mount Rushmore itself remains contested ground. Indigenous groups protested against the 2020 fireworks display, and the National Park Service has previously cited tribal, wildfire and environmental concerns over staging fireworks at the site.
© 2024 AFP
