Trump's God, guns and anticommunist Fourth of July
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President Trump during the "Salute to America" event on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, July 4. Photo: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images
President Trump championed American military might, a Christian U.S. and his top legislative goal in a delayed Fourth of July speech from the National Mall, wrapping just minutes before the calendar switched to Sunday morning.
The big picture: The speech caps a holiday interrupted by weather-related holdups and months of semiquincentennial commemorations — many of which centered on the president and his vision of the nation at 250 years old.
Driving the news: Throughout the speech, Trump nodded to a modern-day battle against communism, a frequent element of his midterm messaging.
- "We don't want communists in our country," he said. "Never worked, and it never will work."
- Trump later added, "Communism is a loser, and it always will be."
Zoom out: The president's language was also markedly religious — in line with the tone from the White House and its allies that has steered America's 250th birthday toward prayer and divine guidance, Axios' Russell Contreras reports.
- "All over the world, they try and be like us, nobody can be like us, and with God's help, we will always be this, or even better," he said.
- "As our Declaration of Independence tells us, we are all made in the image of one almighty God, and a communist will never say that, that's for sure," he added.
Several military veterans and the Artemis II crew joined the stage to cheers as the president touted America's history of military achievements, sacrifice and innovation.
- But he also diverted to push for passage of the SAVE America Act voter ID bill, a fixation of the president's that has become a source of friction for his congressional allies.
- "There will be no mail-in ballots, except for illness, disability, military deployment, or travel, and you won't have cheating on the elections anymore," said the president, who often circulates unfounded claims of mass election fraud.
Catch up quick: Trump took the stage after storms forced throngs of event-goers to evacuate, seek temporary shelter, and then be re-screened through security checkpoints when gates reopened.
- The timing of the celebration's finale fireworks was already in flux, with Trump pledging he'd give a "really long speech" despite the heat wave bringing triple-digit temperatures to D.C.
Go deeper: Trump declares D.C.'s July 4 celebration a "TRUMP RALLY"
