Trump news: Native Americans protest ahead of president's Mount Rushmore event as coronavirus cases continue to spike
Nation surpasses 50,000 cases for third consecutive day as violent Fourth of July speech defends monuments
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Donald Trump drew on his dark, campaign-style vision of a divided America at his Fourth of July fireworks show at Mount Rushmore, held in front of hundreds of people packed together and not wearing masks as the nation's coronavirus crisis reaches nearly 3 million cases and more than 128,00 deaths.
The US reported more than 50,000 cases on Friday for a third straight-day, with spikes in nearly every state as the US entered the three-day holiday weekend.
In his remarks, he promised to defend monuments and condemned what he called "far-left fascism" among protesters calling for the removal of statues honouring slaveholders and Confederates.
Roughly 100 protesters were met by National Guard troops who fired pepper spray at several people and arrested a handful of others.
The president promised to build a National Garden of American Heroes – "a vast outdoor park that will feature the statues of the greatest Americans who ever lived" – including a complicated and likely controversial selection of American figures, from Amelia Earhart and Harriet Tubman to Antonin Scalia and Billy Graham.
The president also argued that Black Lives Matter protesters angered by the police killings of George Floyd and other black Americans would have wiped out the city of Minneapolis had he not sent in the National Guard to stop the demonstrations, while he picked fights with CNN anchor Chris Cuomo and Dr Anthony Fauci as he seeks to distract from the resurgent coronavirus.
Dr Fauci warned on Thursday that the US is “not going in the right direction” after the country reported 55,000 new cases of Covid-19 in a day, beating the world record for a daily rise set by Brazil on 19 June. Arizona, California, Florida and Texas alone accounted for 25,000 of that total as assistant health secretary Brett Giroir cautioned: “We are not flattening the curve right now. The curve is still going up.”
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Trump previews Mount Rushmore appearance: 'It's going to be in great shape for centuries to come'
From White House pool reports before Donald Trump boarded Air Force One on his way to South Dakota: "We're going to Mount Rushmore. Mount Rushmore is in great shape and it's going to be in great shape for centuries to come. Looking forward to it. I'll be making a speech there. I'll be seeing a lot of people – a lot of different people – and I think it will be a fantastic evening. The economy's doing very well. Our jobs number was the biggest number in history, in the history of our country, bigger even than last month by almost double. So a lot of good things are happening, a lot of very powerful things are happening, and our country's doing very well."
Protesters arrested outside Mount Rushmore event
National Guard troops and law enforcement arrested several demonstrators – among a group of roughly 100 people protesting alongside Native Americans condemning Donald Trump's visit to the site – outside a Mount Rushmore event in Keystone, South Dakota.
A wall of sheriff's office deputies and National Guard troops in riot gear blocked off a road as arrested protesters were moved into a transport van.
Trump has arrived
Donald Trump has arrived at Mount Rushmore on his helicopter Marine One.
A look at the packed crowd in South Dakota
As many as 7,500 people are expected to attend Donald Trump's event at Mount Rushmore's amphitheater. Masks and physical distancing will not be enforced.
Trump to address 'merciless campaign to wipe out our history'
Between chants of "four more years" and "we want Trump," a military band is setting the stage for Donald Trump's remarks at Mount Rushmore National Monument, where he's expected to address the "merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values, and indoctrinate our children" – in front of a controversial edifice with the faces of two prominent slaveholding presidents that's being actively protested by Native Americans who claim that the land has been stolen by the US government.
Report: Campaign official and Donald Trump Jr's girlfriend test positive for coronavirus
Moments before ceremonies began in South Dakota for Donald Trump's Fourth of July event at the base of Mount Rushmore, Kim Guilfoyle tested positive for coronavirus, New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman reports.
South Dakota governor accuses protests of trying to 'wipe away the lessons of history'
South Dakota Kristi Noem has accused Black Lives Matter demonstrators of trying to "wipe away the lessons of history" by removing statues to Confederates and slaveholders though an "organized coordinated campaign to remove and eliminate all references to our nation's founding, and many other points in our history."
She said protesters must look to the virtues of the men on pedestals, not their pasts.
"The founding generation has a lot of important things to tell America about its past, present and its future," she said.
"Make no mistake, this is being done deliberately to discredit America's founding principles by discrediting the individuals who formed them so that Americans can be remade into a different political image," she said.
No one in Trump's entourage is wearing masks
Eric Trump, Tiffany Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are all seated next to a stage at Mount Rushmore National Monument, among several others, none of whom are wearing masks.
Moments before their arrival, Donald Trump Jr's girlfriend and Trump campaign official Kimberly Guilfoyle tested positive for coronavirus.
"Mount Rushmore will stand forever as an enteral tribute to our forefathers and our freedoms," the president said, to chants of "U-S-A".
Trump: Protesters aim to' 'unleash a wave of violent crime in our cities'
Donald Trump has heightened his law-and-order threats against Americans demonstrating against racial injustice, a movement that he has called "a growing danger that threatens every blessing our ancestors fought so hard for."
"Our nation is witnessing merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values, and indoctrinate our children," he said.
Protesters aim to "unleash a wave of violent crime in our cities," he baselessly claimed.
"Some have no idea why they’re doing this," he said, falsely – the movement is well documented. "They think the American people are weak, and soft and submissive."
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