Trump blasts ‘left-wing cultural revolution’ at Mount Rushmore

US President Donald Trump railed on Friday against “angry mobs” that tried to tear down statues of Confederate leaders and other historical figures, warning thousands of supporters at Mount Rushmore that protesters were trying to erase the country’s history.

The event drew 7,500 people, packed tightly into an amphitheater. Many did not wear masks, defying the advice of public-health officials who have urged Americans to avoid large gatherings to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Speaking underneath a famed landmark that depicts four US presidents, Trump warned that the demonstrations over racial inequality in American society threatened the foundations of the US political system.

“Make no mistake, this left wing cultural revolution is designed to overthrow the American revolution,” Trump said.

“Our children are taught in school to hate their own country,” he added.

Trump announced that he would create a “National Garden of American Heros,” which he described as a large outdoor park featuring statues of “the greatest Americans who ever lived”. He did not provide further details.

In the nationwide unrest following the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis, protesters in several cities have vandalized the statues of Confederate generals that led a rebellion against the US government during an 1861-65 civil war.

‘Angry mobs’

Protesters in one instance unsuccessfully tried to pull down a statue of US President Andrew Jackson outside the White House. Jackson, known for his populist policies, owned slaves and forced thousands of Native Americans from their homes.

“Angry mobs are trying to tear down statues of our Founders, deface our most sacred memorials, and unleash a wave of violent crime in our cities,” he said.

“They think the American people are soft and weak and submissive. But the American people are strong and proud, and they will not allow our country, and all of its values, history, and culture to be taken from them.”

Trump has opposed proposals to rename US military bases that are named after Confederate generals and vowed harsh punishment for people who damage statues.

The evening program was not an official campaign event, but Trump’s remarks touched on key campaign themes meant to energise his political base ahead of the November 3 election.

“There is a new far-left fascism that demands absolute allegiance. If you do not speak its language, perform its rituals, recite its mantras, and follow its commandments then you will be censored, banished, blacklisted, persecuted, and punished. Not gonna happen to us,” he said.

Al Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan, reporting from the US city of Alexandria, described Trump’s speech as a “political call to arms”. 

“A couple of facts though,” she said. “First, a lot of the statues that have been targeted by anti-racism protesters were in fact then removed by local governments. And the other is that these statues in large part celebrated people who fought for the confederacy, which sought to enshrine slavery as a political and economic reality in the southern half of the US. And those statues were raised not in the 19th century. But in the middle of the 20th century, during the last prominent wave of civil rights activism in this country.

She added: “Now, that doesn’t matter to Donald Trump. He is running for re-election and his numbers are down.”

Mount Rushmore, which depicts US presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, has not hosted a fireworks spectacle since 2009 because of environmental concerns.

Trump advocated for a resumption of the display, and the state says the surrounding Black Hills National Forest has “gained strength” since then and that fireworks technology has advanced.

Native American protesters were arrested after blocking a road to the South Dakota landmark, according to video livestreamed on social media. They have criticised Trump’s visit for increasing the risk of spreading COVID-19 and for celebrating US independence in an area that is sacred to them.

South Dakota, a solidly Republican state, has not been hit as hard as other states by COVID-19, but cases in Pennington County, where Mount Rushmore is located, have more than doubled over the past month.

Trump will hold another celebration for the July 4 holiday on Saturday in Washington.