United States President Donald Trump used the opening weekend of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations to praise the US military and critique democratic socialists, warning of a “communist menace” that he claims poses a major threat to the country.

Speaking beneath the granite monument at Mount Rushmore on the eve of Independence Day, July 4, Trump invoked national identity and ideology ahead of the November midterm elections, linking his rhetoric to immigration policy.

Trump highlighted the strength of the American military, stating, “We created the strongest and most powerful military. We won two world wars,” and claimed that the Cold War had left the US’s enemies “in the depths of history.” He also asserted that the US “beat Venezuela in one day” and “knocked the hell out of Iran.” The address comes as voters express concerns over persistent inflation and elevated energy prices, influenced by the ongoing US-Israel conflict with Iran.

Addressing the Iran war, Trump remarked that Tehran is “dying to settle” and that Washington had granted “a week off for a funeral because we’re nice,” referencing the extended state funeral for the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a strike on the first day of the conflict.

A significant portion of Trump’s address was dedicated to what he perceives as ideological threats within the United States. “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,” the president declared, characterizing communism as “the enemy of the Constitution.”

He pledged that “the citizens of the United States of America will vanquish communism quickly.” Trump explicitly connected his anti-communist stance to a stringent immigration policy, suggesting that left-wing political figures and certain undocumented immigrants should be removed from the nation. This statement followed recent progressive primary victories in states such as New York, Colorado, and Texas.

Trump labeled the rise of democratic socialists as the “greatest threat to our country since its founding,” drawing a parallel between the movement’s potential impact and events like World War II and the September 11 attacks. He concluded his speech by proclaiming the anniversary as “the beginning of the golden age of America.”

Republican strategist Eli Bremer, speaking to Al Jazeera, commented that certain parts of the speech were unifying enough that they “could have been delivered by Ronald Reagan … 45 years ago.” Bremer noted that the speech seemed to be a blend of traditional conservative themes and Trump's characteristic style.