Trump's Return to Mount Rushmore: What Makes This Visit Unforgettable?
KEYSTONE, S.D.—A day before America’s 250th Independence Day, Mount Rushmore will serve as the majestic backdrop for a speech from President Donald Trump—capped by a show-stopping $700,000 fireworks display.
Trump and world-renowned fireworks creators, Pyro Spectaculars Inc., are both returning to the famous South Dakota landmark for a reprise of Trump’s 2020 visit.
At that time, the California fireworks company lit up the night sky after Trump became the nation’s fifth president to deliver a speech at the iconic national memorial, following presidents Calvin Coolidge, Franklin D. Roosevelt, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush.
This time around, as Trump headlines a program honoring the nation’s semiquincentennial, he is set to become the sole U.S. president to give two Rushmore speeches. The July 3 Rushmore speech will serve as a prelude to Trump’s remarks at the grand July 4 celebration in the nation’s capital.
At Rushmore, Pyro Spectaculars promises to unveil “unique color-changing and strobe effects never before presented in the USA,” its proposal for the show says.
The company, run by the Souza family for five generations, has repeatedly won some of America’s most coveted fireworks contracts.
A half-century ago, when America marked its bicentennial in 1976, the Souzas lit up the New York and Boston harbors.
A decade later, Pyro Spectaculars commemorated the Statue of Liberty’s 100th anniversary.
The company has also been entrusted to add pizzazz to several Olympic Games, Los Angeles Dodgers games, and Macy’s July 4 and Thanksgiving events in New York City.
‘Fitting Place’ to Honor History
Under a contract with South Dakota, this year’s Rushmore show will build on the company’s 2020 work in the area.
The display will serve as a “narrative tribute” to the four presidents enshrined on the monument: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt.
The program will emphasize Washington and Jefferson because of their pivotal roles in the nation’s founding.
Washington was the first American president. And before becoming the third president, Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, the nation’s founding document signed on July 4, 1776.
The other two presidents depicted on Rushmore took office many years later.
The monument’s sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, said he selected Lincoln, the 16th president, to represent the permanent union of the U.S. states; Roosevelt, the 26th president, stands for U.S. prominence globally and the rights of everyday people.
Now, although Trump has disputed the 2020 election that put President Joe Biden into the White House, skipping those four years enabled him to preside over the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration during his second presidency.
On July 3, the 47th president will give keynote remarks “beneath one of the nation’s most recognizable symbols of freedom and self-government,” said Freedom 250, which is coordinating this event and many others nationwide.
Keith Krach, Freedom 250 chairman, describes Mount Rushmore as “a tribute to the leaders who shaped the American experiment and secured the blessings of liberty for generations to come.”
“As we mark 250 years, there’s no more fitting place to honor how far we’ve come,” while also anticipating the future with optimism, Krach said in a news release.
Admission to the July 3 Rushmore celebration is limited to officials, credentialed news media, and 4,800 lucky members of the public.
Those people were among 103,000 entrants in a $1-per-chance public lottery earlier this year.
People can also tune into various TV stations or the official livestream at TravelSouthDakota.com beginning at 4 p.m. MT.
In addition, watch parties are set for several communities near Rushmore.
Planned Celebrations
Before Trump’s speech and the fireworks, a “celebration of American history, culture, and patriotism” is planned, Freedom 250 said.
It will include “family-friendly activities, educational exhibits, presidential reenactors, interactive experiences, and music.”
Toward the end of the day, music performances, precision drill demonstrations, and aviation flyovers will honor all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces.
At twilight, South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, formerly North Dakota’s governor, will welcome Trump to the stage.
He “will deliver a historic address commemorating the nation’s 250th anniversary and charting a course for America’s next chapter,” America 250 said.
The fireworks display by Pyro Spectaculars is set for 9:45 p.m. and will run about a half-hour.
The show will be “choreographed to patriotic music,” America 250 said, adding that the show’s grand finale will “create an unforgettable moment worthy of the nation’s 250th birthday.”
Pyro Spectaculars said the anniversary serves as “a milestone of the moments that define us.”
“We don’t just light the sky to be loud; we do it to quiet the noise of the world and remind us why we are free,” the company proposal says.
“While the birthday belongs to the nation, the memories belong to the families.”
“Our mission is to bring magic to the sky ... celebrating America’s 25oth birthday and adorning one of America’s greatest icons.”
Past Rushmore Speeches
Trump’s first speech at Rushmore was held exactly six years prior, on July 3, 2020. It occurred at a time of great upheaval, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests.
During his speech, Trump railed against protesters who were defacing and toppling monuments across the nation.
“This movement is openly attacking the legacies of every person on Mount Rushmore. They defile the memory of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Roosevelt,” he said.
Then the 45th president, Trump had just signed a law carrying harsh punishments for monument vandals.
He also said the vandalism of monuments appeared to reflect a larger effort to destroy America and declared, “We will never let them rip America’s heroes from our monuments, or from our hearts.”
Decades earlier, while the monument was still under construction, the nation’s 32nd president also made memorable statements at Rushmore.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, known as FDR, spent five minutes delivering a 700-word impromptu speech. But his August 1936 remarks are often quoted by historians.
FDR stated that he had seen drawings and photos of Rushmore, but seeing it in person for the first time made him aware “of its permanent beauty and of its permanent importance.”
He then mused that, perhaps 10,000 years later, future Americans might gaze upon the carved likenesses of the presidents on Rushmore.
It made him wonder what they would think of people from ages past.
“Let us hope that at least they will give us the benefit of the doubt,” FDR said, “that they will believe we have honestly striven every day and generation to preserve for our descendants a decent land to live in and a decent form of government to operate under.”