FULL SPEECH: President Trump Honors America with Historic Speech on 250th Anniversary - 07/04/26

[0:00] good evening america if you think that was easy it wasn't and i want to thank everybody because [0:10] they did the right thing they saw lightning and i said there's no way if we have to speak [0:16] in front of one person at four o'clock in the morning i'm going to be here there's no way [0:21] we can be deterred and they estimated they had 375 000 people before everybody had to leave [0:33] and they now have 150 000 people it's the craziest thing anyone's ever seen at least and i want to [0:43] just thank you and i feel so badly about some people they left and they couldn't get back [0:48] but uh you're very special people and we have a very special country thank you very much [0:54] tonight we come together for one of the most joyous and glorious milestones of all time the [1:02] tool and you know what that is 250 the 250th anniversary and i do have to say this one of my [1:10] very brilliant people backstage said don't worry about it sir we can do it maybe next week i said [1:15] it doesn't work next week this is the big day we want july 4th we're not looking for july something else [1:23] because this is the 250th anniversary of the declaration of independence nothing like it for [1:36] two and a half centuries our american republic has stood as the crowning achievement of human history [1:44] this country is the home of freedom this is the land of liberty and this is a flag that's the [1:52] banner of the most extraordinary most exceptional most incredible nation ever to exist on the face of [2:00] the earth and we're doing better now than we've ever done before no people have done more good [2:10] shown more courage made more progress righted more injustice or achieved more greatness than you [2:18] the american people for 250 years the united states of america has been the hope the promise the light [2:27] and the glory among all of the nations of the world all over the world they try and be like us nobody [2:33] can be like us and with god's help we will always be this or even better we're going to be better here [2:45] on our national mall we're celebrating freedom's triumph over tyranny liberty's conquest over oppression [2:54] and the enduring victory of the american spirit from the july 4th 1776 to july 4th 2026 big dates that's big [3:06] dates two big ones and tonight our country is stronger freer richer safer and prouder than ever before but it [3:19] all started with the miracle of history that lives forever in the heart of every single patriot your [3:28] founding fathers summoned the courage of giants and the wisdom of centuries to boldly proclaim these [3:36] timeless truths they declared that all men are created equal that they are endowed with sacred [3:47] unalienable rights by the hand of our creator and that among these are life liberty and the pursuit [4:00] of happiness in signing their names to the roster of freedom those 56 patriots put everything at risk [4:09] stepped onto the stage of destiny and seized a victory for the ages and that's what it was and [4:15] this is an evening for the ages i believe this is something very special this is bigger than if we [4:22] didn't have the lightning blaring we had lightning blaring but this is bigger a little more [4:29] inconvenient but it's bigger i think in its own way it's more beautiful from the beginning we were [4:34] a nation that lived by the motto victory or death and live free or die one out of every 100 americans gave [4:47] their lives in the fight for independence to remind us of who these heroes were and what they gave us [4:55] we are honored to have here tonight in the heart of our nation's capital one of the very first american [5:02] flags ever to exist dating back to 1777 it bears the 13 stars and 13 stripes of the 13 states that [5:14] declared independence on the 4th of july there it is this was the flag that flew victorious at saratoga [5:30] and these are the real deals too these are the real the real flags these are flags that have [5:36] seen a lot these were the stars and stripes that flew triumphant when the british waved the white flag [5:44] of surrender at yorktown that was a big surrender nobody thought that was possible they were the [5:51] greatest power of the world and they surrendered and that was the beginning ever since the entire world [5:57] has been unnoticed that americans will never let anyone take our freedom away won't happen and all [6:04] these talks from the communists they haven't got a chance not even a chance we don't want communists [6:12] in our country never worked and it never will work americans must never forget our historic and heroic [6:30] people with a heroic spirit and a heroic purpose on this beautiful earth of ours we are made the courage and [6:39] the fire and the flesh and the blood of the best and the bravest people this world has ever produced [6:45] we are the bravest and the best tonight we pledge allegiance to the flag they gave us and we say god [6:53] bless the immortal patriots of 1776 and long live the cause of independence may it rain forever and ever and [7:08] ever we will always be on top we will never let our country fall we will always be the best our founders [7:17] not only won our liberty they secured it with the most righteous political document ever conceived [7:24] it's called the constitution of the united states very special and it's because of their genius that we [7:33] remain the finest people on the planet after 250 years unlike so many others in the world and this [7:40] country we have freedom of speech freedom of religion equal justice under the law although i wasn't [7:49] treated that well but we won't get into that and the right to keep and bear arms and for the almost six [8:03] years that i was president i guarded very very powerfully your second amendment and they didn't do a [8:12] thing to it and it was not easy but we guard your second amendment we guarded very very strongly and [8:22] cautiously across the generations americans have fought bled and died not just to secure those rights [8:30] but to expand them to citizens of every race religion color and creed because we are one people we are [8:39] one family you showed that tonight with one flag and as our declaration of independence tells us we are [8:49] all made in the image of one almighty god and a communist will never say that that's for sure few heroes [9:07] remind us of these truths more than william carney who escaped slavery to become a union soldier in the [9:15] civil war which was a very big big deal at the time on the front lines of battle he saw a comrade [9:22] struck down by enemy fire while carrying the stars and stripes and sergeant carney dove to the ground to [9:30] keep the flag from touching the mud he didn't want to have it touch the ground he didn't want to have it [9:36] touch the mud he wanted to be perfect he raised it high above the field and was shot four times they [9:45] thought he was gone but he kept moving forward he loved our country he loved our flag before he [9:52] returned to camp and announced boys the old flag never touched the ground and he became the first [10:01] african-american to receive the congressional medal of honor he got the congressional medal of honor and he [10:09] was the first african-american and he was some man they've written stories about him he was something [10:18] special with us tonight to celebrate this forward march of freedom is another medal of honor recipient [10:27] colonel paris davis whose courage won eternal glory in vietnam he helped lead a surprise attack on 100 [10:36] enemy combatants they said he was finished his whole group was finished and despite multiple [10:44] life-threatening wounds saved the lives of his fellow soldiers and this evening he stands to salute [10:52] the only flag of its kind the one that was draped over the casket of president abraham lincoln [10:59] in independence hall thank you very much great he looks better than i do he looks great and he's brave [11:40] because of heroes like these our flag will always be a symbol of liberty and justice for all colonel [11:49] davis thank you very much great man great man thank you americans expanded the blessings of freedom and [12:00] we have never stopped expanding our ambitions and our dreams we had the american dream we never had the [12:08] american dream however like we have it right now the american dream is back very strong beautiful [12:15] you know to get into our military now is tough two years ago we couldn't fill a job and now it's [12:22] overflowing we have so many setting records we're setting records it's actually hard to get in that [12:30] includes our great police forces and our firemen they couldn't hire anybody nobody wanted to do it now [12:38] it's hard to get those positions but it's really hard to get into our military because [12:43] people respect and love our country again our rise to being the world's strongest and most powerful [12:53] nation was no accident of history we rebuilt our military in my first term we use it a little bit [13:00] in our actually i should say third term but i won't do that because i don't want any controversy [13:07] but we use it and we've had tremendous success you look at venezuela you look at iran we wiped it out [13:15] wiped out their military americans crossed the great plains scaled the rockies tables [13:22] they really just tamed the wilderness and conquered the frontier and built the empire it's called [13:28] the empire of liberty we laid down the railroads raised up the skyscrapers those beautiful skyscrapers [13:36] and dug out the panama canal considered the eighth wonder of the world which everyone said was [13:43] an impossible thing to do and by the way 38 000 americans died to give us one of the greatest [13:51] engineering feats of all time panama canal this was the unstoppable spirit that created the world's [13:58] most powerful industries and built the strongest military anyone had ever seen and today it is stronger [14:07] and more powerful than it ever was before american grit boldness and daring forged heroes like davy crockett [14:17] wyatt earp annie oakley teddy roosevelt and the legend of the wild west buffalo bill cody these were great [14:27] powerful people whose incredible grandchildren happen to be with us tonight and they stand alongside one of [14:36] the first american flags ever to fly over our expanding nation it was carried west just as lewis and clark [14:44] began their journey in 1803 thank you very much thank you thank you very much great to have you great to [14:55] have you to honor this audacious and indomitable soul of america we also have the first flag ever to fly [15:04] over one of the greatest architectural feats of all time a thing called the brooklyn bridge one of the [15:10] most beautiful bridges anywhere in the world built a long time ago to its right the banner that flew atop [15:18] our flagship after america's navy sank the spanish fleet to the bottom of the manila bay one of the greatest [15:25] naval victories in history much like our recent victory by sinking the entire iranian navy 159 ships to the [15:34] bottom of the sea all done in just a moment's time happened very quickly we have the greatest military [15:41] anywhere in the world and next to it we also have the flag that was given to that immortal just a [15:49] fantastic immortal rough rider the one and only and i was at the museum the other day at its opening [15:58] theodore roosevelt when he returned triumphant from cuba printed with the words welcome home colonel [16:05] roosevelt who's the victor of san juan hill he was a great gentleman americans won the west and built [16:13] the modern world because america is a nation of winners and today our country is winning again and [16:21] we're winning like never before america is back and we want to keep america great and we will do so by [16:30] approving the save america act which means all voters must show voter id all motives all voters must [16:43] provide a little thing called proof of citizenship and there will be no mail-in ballots except for [16:54] illness disability military deployment or travel and you won't have cheating on the elections anymore [17:02] it's very simple together we are also reasserting the truth that american strength and power is not [17:10] something to be ashamed of it is something that we are very very proud of this country has been the [17:17] greatest force for peace and justice on earth in the last century we defeated tyrants demolished evil and [17:25] saved freedom again and again and again ken shobring was 19 years old when he survived the japanese attack [17:36] on pearl harbor after enemy planes sank ships like the uss arizona he resolved that he would help america [17:44] strike back and win he wanted them to strike back and win flying b-29s in the pacific ken fought from the [17:54] first day to the very last he was in the war right from the first day and he went to the last day and [18:03] all the way to the enemy's unconditional surrender we got an unconditional surrender he was there [18:11] at 104 years old and looking really good captain shobring is here tonight and he is saluting the flag [18:21] that went down with the arizona at pearl harbor but was raised back up with the help of some unbelievable [18:30] american patriots it's a symbol of american defiance please thank you captain thank you captain great job [19:03] thank you very much you have very good genes that's his son his son's going to be around a long time [19:11] thank you very much captain when d-day in world war ii navy lieutenant arthur rose commanded 36 landing [19:19] craft as part of the largest naval armada in history recalling that site he wrote home to his parents [19:28] what a country we are at 107 years old lieutenant rose is here to salute one of our nation's most prized [19:38] possessions the flag that flew aboard the first landing craft on d-day and led the first americans onto [19:46] the beaches of normandy to liberate europe and defeat nazi fascism forever lieutenant rose you are [20:24] an inspiration to this beautiful crowd and we thank you very much amazing man 107 107 on iwo jima in the [20:36] pacific the marines faced some of the most brutal combat in the history of warfare they shed their [20:44] blood for every inch of mountain that they reached and when they reached the summit and raised the [20:50] stars and stripes for all to see it was so special to everybody there everybody there and everybody [20:57] watching they couldn't believe it it wasn't supposed to happen with us today is one of the last [21:02] survivors of that battle 101 year old marine corporal don graves and he's here to salute that famous flag [21:10] he saw rise in the glory of iwo jima 81 years ago you've all seen that flag many times so ladies and [21:40] gentlemen these are the fighters and the banners of the greatest generation they are the greatest [21:46] generation i hate to admit that but they are they saved the world and they made america very very proud [21:54] we're very proud of you heroes all and after we vanquished fascism americans stood against the evil [22:03] of communism in the cold war and as i said last night at the beautiful mount rushmore what a beautiful [22:10] place where washington jefferson lincoln and theodore roosevelt loomed over my shoulder as i spoke [22:18] america will never be a communist country won't happen communism is a loser and it always will be [22:28] the communist system is the opposite of the american system and the communist system has never worked [22:36] our warriors did not fight communism on battlefields across the world only to have that menace rear its [22:43] ugly head right back here in america we're not going to let it happen we like to stop a threat like that [22:55] immediately and before it begins it's like a cancer you got to cut it out you got to cut it out fast [23:02] tonight we proudly thank veterans of the war on communism including marine corporal pat finn and [23:10] private first class rudy meekins who fought at the famed battle of chosin reservoir in korea that was a [23:19] rough one thank you pat fought in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy he had five against him and he was one [23:32] and as you can see he's around to talk about it and rudy was wounded four times but never stopped shooting [23:40] and he never stopped moving forward and also with us is veteran sunny ray who fought heroically against [23:47] an enemy force 10 times his unit size and earned a tremendously deserved silver star tonight they salute [23:59] one of the very first 50 star flags to fly above the field of battle this was about the beginning of [24:05] the 50 and right next to it is one of the last flags from checkpoint charlie very famous place on [24:13] the berlin wall where american freedom finally brought communism crashing down to an end thank you so [24:22] much you are really very special thank you thank you very much the stars and stripes cast the hammer and [24:34] sickle into oblivion before and we will do it again if necessary i don't think it's going to be necessary [24:42] i think people have learned they've learned what to do and how to handle it and we're going to handle [24:48] it very well so gentlemen i want to thank you very much amazing people amazing men thank you how about [25:02] that huh isn't that great what an honor it is to be with them think of it 107 that's that's up there but [25:12] hopefully he's got 20 good years left through the generations americans have never stopped striving to [25:23] lift humanity to new heights in 1903 the wright brothers from ohio fulfilled the age-old dream of [25:30] mankind to fly that's right they're from ohio great state and within 66 years of inventing the airplane [25:41] americans planted our flag on the moon just three months ago we sent american astronauts back to the [25:49] far side of the moon and this time they flew further from earth than anyone has ever flown before and here [25:59] they are so tonight we're joined by that crew of nasa artemis you know you know the crew everybody [26:20] artemis 2 and everybody watched isn't that amazing and they became very famous everybody watch i was [26:26] watching i don't know what it was that one got the attention of everybody and along with the last man to [26:32] walk on the moon apollo 17 astronaut jack schmidt thank you jack you look like you could be with them [26:42] jack you look very good you look very good jack thank you very much what a job everybody was watching [26:50] i was with a group of people that normally wouldn't be watching and we're having a big dinner and they [26:55] all said we want to turn on we want to watch artemis 2 a lot of people said what is that by the end of [27:01] the evening they knew it was amazing and uh along with jared where is jared he's so great he's running [27:08] nasa what a what a job he's done so i want to thank you all thank you very much great job so these [27:19] champions of flight stand this evening beside the flag flown on the wright brothers airplane piloted by [27:27] orville wright see exact flag very historic and they are honored to be here they told me today they were [27:35] really uh amazed to be here with that flag that's a very special flag if you're in the world of flying [27:42] aircraft so congratulations to everybody fantastic job very proud of you and i have a special gift for [27:51] these patriots this morning on america's 250th birthday a new flag was flown above the united states [27:59] capital and tonight i present it to you to soon be planted by american astronauts on their upcoming [28:06] return to the moon and in addition to that i gave them and all of the great heroes that you saw [28:12] up on stage tonight and a few others that couldn't quite make the stage i gave them a very special [28:18] battle from the white house so it's an honor thank you very much everybody appreciate it so then i assume [28:28] you're going to be heading to mars right we're going to be going to mars very soon and i think that's [28:34] something that we do have in mind and we're going to do the moon and we're going to go from there we're [28:39] going to go to mars and we're going to continue to be way ahead you know we did space force that was [28:45] something i was very proud of and some people smiled they thought it was foolish and now they're [28:50] finding it's one of the most important things that we've done we were losing to china and to russia in [28:59] space and now we're leading them by giant steps and uh it's a great thing and it's people like that [29:05] that really like you that made it happen thank you very much everybody thank you very much so as we [29:12] celebrate america's unmatched achievements and unlimited potential we never forget that none of [29:18] this would have been possible without those who gave everything so that we could reach this 250th year [29:25] of freedom we are honored to be joined by 11 gold star family members the gold star family that is one of [29:34] the great tributes it's one of the great it's one of the great honors a tough honor there's nothing tougher [29:41] than that but these are amazing people thank you very much thank you very much come on up they went [29:53] through a lot thank you very much and that special person is looking up there and looking down at mom [30:10] and dad husband wife but they're looking down with great pride you know that you know that and we want [30:18] to thank you for being here thank you very much and we have medals for you backstage i brought them i thought [30:23] i'd be handing them out about two hours ago three hours ago but we're going to be backstage and we [30:29] have beautiful medals for you for your family from the white house thank you very much everybody we love [30:34] you on this special fourth of july we give you our undying gratitude and promise to redeem the sacrifice of [30:45] your heroes by preserving the america that they love they loved our country they sacrificed they sacrificed it [30:54] all and these people have sacrificed it all they've been through hell we love you thank you very much [31:01] thank you from 1776 to today everywhere the american flag has flown it has been a symbol of strength [31:13] righteousness and hope because that is who americans are in 1944 a mother and her daughter huddled in their [31:24] house in nazi occupied belgium and prayed desperately for their country to be freed they wanted free as [31:32] they waited they found scraps of fabric and stitched together a homemade american flag it's beautiful but [31:40] homemade on the day they were finally liberated and that's what the word is liberated they gave it to [31:48] an american soldier as a gift little did they know that that soldier's great grandfather was none other [31:54] than the author of our star spangled banner francis scott key and tonight the next generation of the key [32:05] family is with us thank you very much please thank you major kyle key has spent 23 years in the us army [32:24] highly respected and this evening he proudly salutes the old flag that was made by the belgian woman so [32:32] beautifully and who knew that america means hope and freedom congratulations and thank you for being [32:39] here very much and in conclusion from a declaration in philadelphia to victory at yorktown from the bustling [32:58] factories of the heartland to the towering snow-capped summits of alaska from the endless frontier [33:06] of the open wild west to the magnificent sand dunes at kitty hawk from the glimmering skyline of manhattan to [33:16] the far side of the moon you just saw that and from the now safe and beautiful capital of washington [33:26] think of it washington dc our capital our capital is now safe gleaming and beautiful again it's safe again [33:35] went from a very unsafe place two years ago to one of the safest cities in the country and one of the [33:42] most beautiful to the gleaming waters of the gulf of america there is no challenge americans can not [33:54] overcome there is no place we cannot go there is no goal we cannot reach and there is nothing that americans [34:05] cannot do and we're proving that right now our stock market is the strongest it's ever been we have 19.2 [34:15] trillion dollars being invested in our country which is six times more than ever happened before we're [34:22] building more factories in the united states than ever before everyone's 401ks are at the highest number [34:30] they've ever been and more people are working today in the united states than any time in the history of [34:37] our country but in this country we can achieve the wildest and most impossible dreams and no dream [34:45] in history is bigger or more incredible than the one that started on july 4th 1776 the war for [34:55] independence was launched by minutemen farmers blacksmiths tradesmen who took up their muskets [35:02] against the mightiest army on earth the most powerful army an unbeatable army until they met us [35:10] no one made them do it they fought because they knew that a free people must have a free country [35:19] over 250 years the world has seen the great empires vast kingdoms mighty nations and terrible tyrants [35:29] they came and they went but after two and a half centuries this american republic still stands tall and [35:36] strong and we love each other that showed tonight you heard it was over and what happened you came [35:43] back and this american flag still waves proud and free and beautiful we have thrived and flourished [35:56] because our founders were great our cause was just our people are brave our culture is exceptional and our [36:05] destiny is written by god and as we can see here tonight after 250 years the spirit of 1776 still lives [36:20] within us all it still roars in the hearts of our nation's capital it still burns in the heart of [36:27] every patriot thunders through every city in town and it still lights the entire world with the glow of [36:34] american liberty and there is nothing like that at 250 years old we may be the oldest constitutional [36:43] republic on earth but our country is just getting started because the best is yet to come [36:56] this is only the dawn of the golden age of america and on this 250th fourth of july we declared just as [37:05] they did two and a half centuries ago that for our country and for our children and for the cause of [37:12] liberty we are going to take our country to new levels to levels not reached we're going to make it [37:19] bigger better stronger and we're going to love it even more and i just want to thank you and the [37:26] inconvenience of lightning can do that but lightning will never stop you and i want to thank everybody [37:33] and we love you all and it's an honor to be your president thank you god bless you all god bless you [37:39] all thank you we have a great fireworks display tonight and i'm going to be watching it with you it's going [37:55] going to start very quickly so thank you very much you're going to really like this thank you very much [38:00] everybody