AMERICA 250 LIVE - Historic 250th Independence Day Celebrations & Nationwide Ceremonies

Ben Hyzen. I was waiting for that. They said you start speaking, they won't interrupt you at all. They didn't interrupt us at all. Thank you. They're fantastic. What great, incredible, talented pilots. Thank you very much. And Secretary Burgum, who's doing a phenomenal job. Governor Ron DeSantis. Thank you, Governor DeSantis. Where's Ron? Thank you, Ron. Distinguished guests and fellow citizens, tonight we gather on the eve of one of the most extraordinary days in the history of the world. Tomorrow, we mark 250 years of glorious independence and 250 years of majestic American freedom. Nothing like it. In all the chronicles of the ages, never before has any nation celebrated so magnificent a triumph as this one, the one that we are participating in right now. At 250 years, America is the oldest republic on earth. We are the freest people on earth. We have the most righteous and enduring constitution on earth. We are the strongest and most powerful country on earth. And by the grace of God, the United States of America is most successful, most accomplished, most exceptional nation ever to exist in human history. And it is great to be your president. It is great for a quarter of a millennium. Liberty, justice, equality, self-government and unmatched prosperity have flourished here as they have never flourished anywhere before. There is nothing like what we are doing. The birth and survival of the American nation under God is quite simply the best and most incredible thing ever to happen on this planet by human hands ever. That is ever, ever, ever. No other country has done more good for this world than the United States of America. And we give thanks for these extraordinary blessings. We remember that what we have created in this country is not the natural way of the world. It is not the norm. It is the exception. It is rare. It is priceless. And it is truly miraculous. Throughout the entire story of humanity, most people in most places have lived a life plagued by suffering, poverty, exploitation, violence and misery. But here in America, in this land, on this continent, we have written a very different story. It's a tale of adventure, liberation and unmatched greatness. It's the story of people governing themselves, the many uniting as one, the men and women rising by their own skill and talent to go further and reach higher than anyone has ever gone before. There has never been anything like this. The triumph of American independence was the result of the most extraordinary people in history, the most extraordinary culture in history and the most extraordinary ideas in history, all creating the most extraordinary republic ever, ever, ever in history. It all came together for the miracle of July 4th, 1776. That was a big year. Two hundred and fifty years ago tomorrow. What a big day that is. I consider this a big day because I'm with you. I like that, too. And by the way, we won big here. We won really big each each and every time. But 250 years ago tomorrow, the words of our Declaration of Independence sent an earthquake through all of the coming time. They sparked a revolution that has never ended but still continues to this day. And tonight we come to this beautiful mountain and it is beautiful to express our gratitude to those who made it possible, starting with the four men most responsible for reaching this milestone more than any others. We salute the father of our country, George Washington, the author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, the great emancipator and savior of our union, Abraham Lincoln, and the man who built America into a global superpower, Theodore Roosevelt. These are the men who declared the freedom, won our freedom, saved our freedom and secured our freedom. They were men of action, men of ambition, men of daring, men of destiny and men of truly great intelligence. Above all, they were great men of history. Tonight, on the threshold of our 25th year, we stand beneath the monument of these heroes, a true group of unbelievable people. And we rededicate ourselves to being a nation as big, bold, noble and as great as these American giants. And that's not easy to do, but we're going to do it. These men could only have been made in the USA. Their faces are engraved on these bluffs, not only because of what they did, but to remind us forever who we are. These heroes exemplify what is timeless, enduring and eternal about the American character. And in the end, it has always been that character, our distinct and unique identity. It is a truly unique identity, and it'll never change. It's the ultimate source of our strength and the bulwark of our freedom. Well, this anniversary, we must remember, we have to remember, we can never forget that American liberty has not endured for 250 years merely because of words on paper. Liberty has prevailed here because of the culture and character of the people who declared it, defended it and preserved it. These are very, very special times. And this is a very special place. You live in a very special place. Congratulations, everybody. The identity of a nation is the destiny of a nation, and America has a destiny like no other because we are a people like no other. For whatever reason, that's just the way it is. Here, the old world sent its bravest, boldest and most resilient, its fiercest, most faithful and freedom loving. These men and women brought values, traditions and customs transmitted over the centuries in Britain and stretching back even further to Athens, Jerusalem and Rome. The United States of America is where the greatest civilization in human history became greater than ever before on the grounds and granite hills and the rugged plains of this wide open continent. They forged a uniquely American character, a new breed of citizen. That's you. Congratulations. Congratulations. You're not that new. Agreed. You're a really good breed, but I'm not sure that you're that new. Agreed. Americans did not bow before a king or a government, but kneeled only before Almighty God. These were the people who founded our republic. These were the patriots who fought for independence. This was the spirit that demanded freedom. And this was the culture that built America and carved its heroes into Mount Rushmore. For generations, it was understood that the core of patriotic duty of every American was to pass this culture on to our children and to preserve the nation for centuries and centuries to come. But in recent years, there's been an undeniable attempt to change this exceptional character, to beat the American spirit out of us, alienate us from our history, and to make it impossible to even answer the question, what does it mean to be an American? As we march into our 250th year, credible, beautiful year it will be, we must never forget there is no American freedom without American culture. And there is no American founding without the American people. Many nations have paper constitutions and legal systems, but the citizens live in fear and squalor. A constitution is only as strong as the people and the culture responsible for upholding it. But as long as we remember who we are, we have to always remember who we are and what we're all about. The United States of America will forever be the land of free men and women, and we will never, ever fail. So tonight, let us say clearly and proudly what makes Americans so unique and extraordinary. We're going to give our country its identity back. Above all, Americans love freedom. We cherish independence, and we know that we are the heirs to the most beautiful land, the most thrilling story, and the most precious legacy on which the sun has ever shined. In America, we do not need anyone's permission to say what we think and to live as we please, to worship as we choose, or to keep and bear arms. You know that. And for almost six years during my presidency, I've saved almost single-handedly, but working with John and some other great people. We've saved your Second Amendment, and I will continue to do so, I promise. Our rights here, given to us by the God who made us, and those rights shall not be infringed. Americans believe in self-reliance. We look at success with envy not. And I say that. Some people are envious, and some people are not. We are not. But with admiration, and we earn it, and we will always earn it, and we will always respect it. We are an incredible, good, kind, and generous people, always ready to help a friend or a neighbor in need. No one has ever given more to charity, ended more hunger, cured more disease, or done more to uplift humanity than Americans, and no country ever will be able to match it. Thank you. So true. Americans honor excellence. We admire boldness. We respect ambition. We are a nation of dreamers and believers, warriors and explorers, doers and fighters. In every human endeavor, Americans see an unfinished competition. What is strong can be made stronger. What is fast can be made faster. What is great can be made greater than ever before. And that's what's happening with America. Show us a mountain, and we'll just climb it. Show us an ocean, and we'll just cross it. Show us a problem, and we will just solve it. Show us a task the world calls impossible, and Americans will get it done. Americans are strong and always ready to stand firm for a good cause. We treasure justice, fairness, family, honesty, and human dignity, unlike societies based on class, clan, or tribe. We see every citizen as an individual, equal under the law and equal under the eyes of the Lord. In America, we speak English because that is the language of our founding. And for a thousand years, that has been the language of freedom. An American always wants peace and order, but we will never shrink from danger or threat. We will always fight, fight, fight, and win, win, win. We got to do that because this is our culture. This is our character. Not every American has all of these things, but every American knows these are the traits that make our country exceptional, and exceptional it is. You do not have to be born here, but you do have to love what we have built. You must love our country. There has never been anything like us anywhere on Earth, and we are not going to let anyone take that away. Yet as we approach this magnificent anniversary, we see our American identity under a renewed attack. 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. 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, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor, or even 9-11. We're not going to let this happen to us. Believe me, we're not letting it happen because communism is the enemy of free people everywhere, everywhere in the world. Never works. It's the enemy of the Constitution. Above all, it's the enemy of July 4th, 1776. It is the enemy indeed. Even while the radicals and extremists attack our incredible history at every turn, they are silent on the miserable history of communism itself because it never worked. Thousands of years, if you look at it under different names, under somewhat different ideologies and systems, that system has led to more death and destruction than any system ever tried. It killed 100 million people just in the last century alone. Communism is the exact opposite of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It's death, tyranny, and the pursuit of evil. The godless communist morality states that anything is justified to bring about inhuman visions and to really propose what's good. They don't want good. They don't love God, and they don't want God. They don't love religion, and they don't want religion, and they won't have it. But we will not let them win. They have no chance against us. They have no respect for law, justice, principle, tradition, or your God-given rights. It's an ideology of mass theft, mass control, mass lies, and mass murder. Such doctrines can be given no quarter in a democracy because the first thing they do when they get into power is turn around and destroy it. It always is destroyed, just as communists have done in other countries all over the world, no matter where you look. Very simply, communism represents the worst ideas and abuses in history by the worst people. The American founding represents the best ideas and traditions in history by the best people like you. 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. As for those who peddle Marxist lies about our heritage, who tell our children that we live on stolen land, or that our