Press Release:
South Lawn • Washington D.C. • July 4 • 6:50 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Wow. Are you having a good time? (Applause.) Members of Congress, members of my cabinet, and my fellow Americans: The First Lady and I are delighted to welcome you to the second annual Salute to America. (Applause.)
On this wonderful day, we celebrate our history, our heroes, our heritage, our great American flag, and our freedom. Happy Fourth of July to everyone. (Applause.)
I want to thank the U.S. Army Golden Knights for that truly awe-inspiring display. Tremendous talent. The Golden Knights, and every member of the Armed Forces here this evening, we just want to say that you have earned the eternal gratitude of our entire nation.
Two hundred and forty-four years ago in Philadelphia, the 56 signers of our Declaration of Independence pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to boldly proclaim this eternal truth: that we are all made equal by God. (Applause.)
Thanks to the courage of those patriots of July 4th, 1776, the American Republic stands today as the greatest, most exceptional, and most virtuous nation in the history of the world.
Our workers, our factories have revolutionized industries and lifted millions into prosperity. Our artists, architects, and engineers have inspired the globe with transcendent works of beauty. American heroes defeated the Nazis, dethroned the fascists, toppled the communists, saved American values, upheld American principles, and chased down the terrorists to the very ends of the Earth. We are now in the process of defeating the radical left, the Marxists, the anarchists, the agitators, the looters, and people who, in many instances, have absolutely no clue what they are doing. (Applause.)
Our inventors, scientists, doctors, and researchers have improved the lives of billions and billions all around the world. Our brave astronauts planted the American flag on the Moon, and America will be the first nation to land on Mars. (Applause.)
All Americans living today are the heirs of this magnificent legacy. We are the descendants of the most daring and courageous people ever to walk on the face of the Earth. We inherit their towering confidence, unwavering enthusiasm, their unbridled ambition, and their unrelenting optimism. This is the untamed spirit that built this glorious nation, and this is the spirit that burns brightly within the soul of every American patriot.
That is why we pay tribute to generations of American heroes whose names are etched on our monuments and memorials, and in the pages of history, and in the hearts of a very grateful people.
We will never allow an angry mob to tear down our statues, erase our history, indoctrinate our children, or trample on our freedoms. (Applause.) We will safeguard our values, traditions, customs, and beliefs. We will teach our children to cherish and adore their country so that they can build its future. Together, we will fight for the American Dream, and we will defend, protect, and preserve American way of life, which began in 1492 when Columbus discovered America. (Applause.)
Jobs and companies are coming back to our country like never before. The power of tariffs being imposed on foreign lands that took advantage of the United States for decades and decades have enabled us to make great trade deals where there were none. Tens of billions of dollars are now paid to the United States Treasury by the same countries.
But there and then we got hit by the virus that came from China. And we've made a lot of progress; our strategy is moving along well. It goes out in one area, and rears back its ugly face in another area. But we've learned a lot. We've learned how to put out the flame. We've made ventilators where there were none by the tens of thousands, to the point that we have far more than we need, and we are now distributing them to many foreign countries, as a gesture of goodwill.
Likewise, testing - there were no tests for a new virus, but now we have tested over 40 million people. But by so doing, we show cases, 99 percent of which are totally harmless. Results that no other country will show, because no other country has testing that we have - not in terms of the numbers or in terms of the quality.
And now, just like everything else, we have become the manufacturer on record for ventilators, we have the most and finest testing anywhere in the world, and are producing gowns and masks and surgical equipment in our country where heretofore it was almost exclusively made in foreign lands, in particular, China, where, ironically, this virus and others came from. China's secrecy, deceptions, and cover-up allowed it to spread all over the world - 189 countries - and China must be held fully accountable. (Applause.)
With respect to remedies, we are now doing unbelievably well, and are in deep testing on vaccines, treatments, and therapeutics. I want to send our thanks to the scientists and researchers around the country and even around the world who are at the forefront of our historic effort to rapidly develop and deliver life-saving treatments and, ultimately, a vaccine.
We are unleashing our nation's scientific brilliance. And we'll likely have a therapeutic and/or vaccine solution long before the end of the year. (Applause.)
We're grateful to be joined this evening by Americans battling on the frontlines to kill the virus. I just want to say that America thanks you. Please stand. Please. (Applause.) Thank you very much. Great, brilliant people. These are great and brilliant people. Thank you. And brave people. (Applause.)
Our movement is based on lifting all citizens to reach their fullest, God-given potential.
Never forget: We are one family and one nation. This rich heritage belongs to every citizen, young and old, first-generation American and tenth-generation American. This heritage belongs to every citizen, young and old - first-generation American - we want to go from first generation to tenth generation; it matters not. We are American. We are from the USA. (Applause.)
This great heritage belongs to citizens of every background and of every walk of life. No matter our race, color, religion, or creed, we are one America, and we put America first. (Applause.) We will not allow anyone to divide our citizens by race or background. We will not allow them to foment hate, discord, and distrust. We will hold fast and true to the sacred loyalties that link us all as neighbors, as Americans, and as patriots.
In every age, there have always been those who seek to lie about the past in order to gain power in the present. Those that are lying about our history, those who want us to be ashamed of who we are, are not interested in justice or in healing. Their goal is demolition. Our goal is not to destroy the greatest structure on Earth, what we have built: The United States of America. (Applause.) To build a future - (applause) - where every family is safe, where every child is surrounded by love, where every community has equal opportunity, and every citizen enjoys great and everlasting dignity.
Our past is not a burden to be cast away, it is not a miraculous foundation that will lift us to the next great summit of human endeavor. The incredible story of American progress is the story of each generation picking up where the last finished - linked by time, by fate, and the eternal bonds of our national affection.
Those who would sever those bonds would cut us off from the wisdom, the courage, the love, and the devotion that gave us everything we are today and everything we strive for tomorrow. We cannot let that happen. We will not throw away our heroes. We will honor them, and we will prove worthy of their sacrifice. (Applause.) These are great heroes.
Let me also say a word to those in the media who falsely and consistently label their opponents as racists, who condemn patriotic citizens who offer a clear and truthful defense of American unity. That's what our people are doing. We want a clear and faithful defense of American history and we want unity.
When you level these false charges, you not only slander me, you not only slander the American people, but you slander generations of heroes who gave their lives for America. (Applause.) You slander people much braver and much more principled than you. You are slandering the young men who raised the flag at Iwo Jima, and those who perished fighting for freedom in the Civil War. You slander them. You are dishonoring their great legacy and their memory by insisting that they fought for racism and they fought for oppression. They didn't fight for those things; they fought for the exact opposite. We will not let the legacy of these heroes be tarnished by you.
The more you lie, the more you slander, the more you try to demean and divide, the more we will work hard to tell the truth. And we will win. (Applause.) The more you lie and demean and collude, the more credibility you lose. We want to bring the country together, and a free and open media will make this task a very easy one. Our country will be united. After all, what do we want? We want a strong military, great education, housing, low taxes, law and order. We want safety, we want equal justice, we want religious liberty, we want faith and family, and living in a great communities and happy communities and safe communities. And we want great jobs and we want to be respected by the rest of the world; not taken advantage of by the rest of the world, which has gone on for decade after decade. We should all want the same thing. How can it be any different than those things?
The more bitter you become, the more we will appeal to love and patriotism, and the more we will rise above your hate to build a better future for every child in our great country.
...
Read the full transcript
HERE.
You can visit a collection of all White House posts by clicking here.
