The choice of Mt Rushmore for a campaign event has avoided the hoopla Trump has wanted over parades as well as his desire to call troops in to disperse demonstrators. It is designed to add another election stunt to another event scheduled for tomorrow in DC. I refuse to give it attention other than to wait for a speech transcript.
“On the anniversary of America’s founding, the president will tell the truth about America’s history and he will tell the truth about those trying to tear it down and divide our country,” the official said.
It’s a campaign photo-op for media clips
“The left wing mob and those practicing cancel culture are engaging in totalitarian behavior that is completely alien to American life – and we must not accept it,” he said, paraphrasing Trump’s expected remarks.
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The Democratic National Committee (DNC) tweeted at one point that Trump had disrespected Native Americans and that his South Dakota trip was “glorifying white supremacy.” It later deleted the tweet.
Both Washington and Jefferson, revered for their roles in the founding of the nation, were slave owners.
Mount Rushmore has not had fireworks since 2009 because of environmental concerns. Trump advocated for a resumption of the display, and the state says the surrounding Black Hills National Forest has “gained strength” since then and that fireworks technology has advanced.
Aside from being an affront to the need for COVID19 mitigation, it is also a risk for the environment, plus an affront to Native Americans. It is a coded appearance designed to also send a message to racist monument supporters with the most bigly of controversial public artworks.
Thecreator of Mount Rushmore's forgotten ties to white supremacy SculptorGutzonBorglumwas deeply involved with the Ku Klux Klan while designing the Confederate memorial at Stone Mountain, Ga.
Borglum was a member of theKu Klux Klan.[35]He was one of the six knights who sat on the Imperial Koncilium in 1923, which transferred leadership of the Ku Klux Klan from Imperial Wizard Colonel Simmons to Imperial WizardHiram Evans.[36]In 1925, having only completed the head of Robert E. Lee, Borglum was dismissed from the Stone Mountain project, with some holding that it came about due to infighting within the KKK, with Borglum involved in the strife.[37]Later, he stated “I am not a member of the Kloncilium, nor a knight of the KKK,” but Howard Shaff and Audrey Karl Shaff add that “that was for public consumption.”[38]The museum at Mount Rushmore displays a letter to Borglum fromD.C. Stephenson, the infamous Klan Grand Dragon who later was convicted of the rape and murder ofMadge Oberholtzer. The 8×10 foot portrait contains the inscription “To my good friend Gutzon Borglum, with the greatest respect.” Correspondence from Borglum to Stephenson during the 1920s detailed a deepracistconviction inNordicmoral superiority and strict immigration policies.[39]
Oglala Sioux Tribe Pres. Julian Bear Runner says @realDonaldTrump's planned fireworks display at Mount Rushmore before Independence Day is “not just a threat to my people, but it's a threat to the land and it's a threat to mankind,” due to COVID-19.https://t.co/5MIhuPOq4N— Democratic Coalition (@TheDemCoalition) July 3, 2020
