Full Trump speech celebrates America at 250 with notable American achievements and history

[1:14] think that was easy it wasn't and I want to thank everybody because they did the [1:23] right thing they saw a lightning and I said there's no way if we have to speak [1:28] in front of one person at 4 o'clock in the morning I'm gonna be here there's no [1:32] way we can be deterred and they estimated they had 375,000 people before [1:42] everybody had to leave and they now have a hundred and fifty thousand people [1:48] it's the craziest thing anyone's ever seen at least and I want to just thank [1:55] you and I feel so badly about some people they left and they couldn't get [1:58] back but you're very special people and we have a very special country thank you [2:04] very much tonight we come together for one of the most joyous and glorious [2:12] milestones of all time the tool and you know what that is 250 the 250th [2:18] anniversary and I do have to say this one of my very brilliant people backstage [2:23] said don't worry about it sir we can do it maybe next week I said it doesn't [2:27] work next week this is the big day we want July 4th we're not looking for July [2:33] something else because this is the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of [2:41] Independence nothing like that for two and a half centuries our American [2:49] Republic has stood as the crowning achievement of human history this country [2:56] is the home of freedom this is the land of Liberty and this is a flag that's the [3:04] banner of the most extraordinary most exceptional most incredible nation ever to [3:10] exist on the face of the earth and we're doing better now than we've ever done [3:15] before no people have done more good shown more courage made more progress right and [3:25] more injustice or achieved more greatness than you the American people for 250 [3:33] years the United States of America has been the hope the promise the light and [3:39] the glory among all of the nations of the world all over the world they try and be [3:44] like us nobody can be like us and with God's help we will always be this or even [3:51] better we're gonna be better here on our National Mall we're celebrating [4:00] freedom's triumph over tyranny Liberty's conquest over oppression and the [4:06] enduring victory of the American spirit from the July 4th 1776 to July 4th 2026 [4:16] big dates that's big dates two big ones and tonight our country is stronger freer [4:23] richer safer and prouder than ever before but it all started with the miracle of [4:33] history that lives forever in the heart of every single patriot in Philadelphia our [4:40] founding fathers summoned the courage of giants and the wisdom of centuries to [4:45] boldly proclaim these timeless truths they declare that all men are created [4:52] equal that they are endowed with sacred unalienable rights by the hand of our [5:02] creator and that among these are life liberty and the pursuit of happiness in [5:13] signing their names to the roster of freedom those 56 Patriots put everything [5:19] at risk stepped onto the stage of destiny and seized a victory for the ages and [5:26] that's what it was and this is an evening for the ages I believe this is [5:29] something very special this is bigger than if we didn't have the lightning [5:34] blaring we had lightning blaring but this is bigger little more inconvenient but [5:41] it's bigger I think in its own way it's more beautiful from the beginning we were [5:46] a nation that lived by the motto victory or death and live free or die one out of [5:57] every 100 Americans gave their lives in the fight for independence to remind us of [6:03] who these heroes were and what they gave us we are honored to have here tonight in the heart of [6:10] our nation's capital one of the very first American flags ever to exist dating back to 1777 it bears the [6:21] 13 stars and 13 stripes of the 13 states that declared independence on the 4th of July there it is this was the [6:38] flag that flew victorious at Saratoga and these are the real deals too these are the [6:45] real the real flags these are flags that have seen a lot these were the stars and [6:51] stripes that flew triumphant when the British waved the white flag of surrender [6:56] at Yorktown that was a big surrender nobody thought that was possible they were the [7:02] greatest power of the world and they surrendered and that was the beginning ever [7:07] since the entire world has been on notice that Americans will never let anyone take our freedom [7:13] away won't happen and all these talks from the communists they haven't got a chance not even [7:21] a chance we don't want communists in our country never worked and it never will work Americans must [7:39] never forget that we are a historic and heroic people with a heroic spirit and a heroic purpose on [7:46] this beautiful earth of ours we are made the courage and the fire and the flesh and the blood of the [7:54] best and the bravest people this world has ever produced we are the bravest and the best tonight we [8:00] pledge allegiance to the flag they gave us and we say God bless the immortal Patriots of 1776 and long [8:10] live the cause of independence may it rain forever and ever and ever we will always be on top we will [8:23] never let our country fall we will always be the best our founders not only won our liberty they secured [8:31] it with the most righteous political document ever conceived it's called the Constitution of the United [8:38] States very special and it's because of their genius that we remain the finest people on the planet after [8:47] 250 years unlike so many others in the world in this country we have freedom of speech freedom of religion [8:56] equal justice under the law although I wasn't treated that well but we won't get into that and the right to [9:05] keep and bear arms and for the almost six years that I was president I guarded very very powerfully your [9:21] second amendment and they didn't do a thing to it and it was not easy but we guard your second amendment we [9:31] guarded very very strongly and cautiously across the generations Americans have fought bled and died not [9:40] just to secure those rights but to expand them to citizens of every race religion color and creed because [9:49] we are one people we are one family you showed that tonight with one flag and as our declaration of [9:59] independent almighty God and a communist will never say that that's for sure few heroes remind us of these [10:16] troops more than William Carney who escaped slavery to become a Union soldier in the Civil War which was a very big big [10:25] deal at the time on the front lines of battle he saw a comrade struck down by enemy fire while carrying the stars and [10:35] stripes and sergeant Carney dove to the ground to keep the flag from touching the mud he didn't want to have it touch the [10:42] ground he didn't want to have it touch the mud he wanted to be perfect he raised it high above the field and [10:51] was shot four times they thought he was gone but he kept moving forward he loved our country he loved our flag [10:58] before he returned to camp and announced boys the old flag never touched the ground and he became the first [11:09] African American to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor he got the Congressional Medal of Honor and he [11:17] was the first African American and he was some man they've written stories about him he was something [11:26] special with us tonight to celebrate this forward March of Freedom is another Medal of Honor recipient [11:34] Colonel Paris Davis whose courage won eternal glory in Vietnam he helped lead a surprise attack on [11:42] one hundred enemy combatants they said he was finished his whole group was finished and despite [11:50] multiple life-threatening wounds saved the lives of his fellow soldiers and this evening he stands to [11:59] salute the only flag of its kind the one that was draped over the casket of President Abraham Lincoln [12:06] in Independence Hall thank you very much great he looks better than I do he looks great and he's [12:46] brave because of heroes like these our flag will always be a symbol of Liberty and justice for [12:55] all Colonel Davis thank you very much great man great man thank you Americans expanded the blessings of [13:08] freedom and we have never stopped expanding our ambitions and our dreams we had the American dream we [13:15] never had the American dream however like we have it right now the American dream is back very strong [13:22] beautiful beautiful you know to get into our military now is tough two years ago we couldn't fill a job and [13:30] now it's overflowing we have so many setting records we're setting records it's actually hard to get in that [13:37] includes our great police forces and our firemen they couldn't hire anybody nobody wanted to do it now it's hard to get [13:47] those positions but it's really hard to get into our military because people respect and love our country [13:53] again our rise to being the world's strongest and most powerful nation was no accident of history we rebuilt [14:05] our military in my first term we use it a little bit in our actually I should say third term but I won't do that [14:12] because I don't want any controversy but we use it and we've had tremendous success you look at Venezuela you [14:20] look at Iran we wiped it out wiped out their military Americans crossed the Great Plains scaled the [14:28] Rockies tables really just tamed the wilderness and conquered the frontier and built the Empire it's [14:36] called the Empire of Liberty we laid down the railroads raised up the skyscrapers those beautiful [14:43] skyscrapers and dug out the Panama Canal considered the eighth wonder of the world which everyone said was [14:51] an impossible thing to do and by the way 38,000 Americans died to give us one of the greatest [14:58] engineering feats of all time Panama Canal this was the unstoppable spirit that created the world's most [15:06] powerful industries and built the strongest military anyone had ever seen and today it is stronger and [15:15] more powerful than it ever was before American grit boldness and daring forged heroes like Davy Crockett [15:24] Wyatt Earp Annie Oakley Teddy Roosevelt and the legend of the Wild West Buffalo Bill Cody these were great [15:34] powerful people whose incredible grandchildren happened to be with us tonight and they stand alongside one of the [15:44] first American flags ever to fly over our expanding nation it was carried west just as Lewis and Clark began [15:52] their journey in 1803 thank you very much thank you thank you very much great to have you great to have you to [16:03] honor this audacious and indomitable soul of America we also have the first flag ever to fly over one of the [16:13] greatest architectural feats of all time a thing called the Brooklyn Bridge one of the most beautiful [16:19] bridges anywhere in the world built a long time ago to its right the banner that flew atop our flagship [16:27] after America's Navy sank the Spanish fleet to the bottom of the Manila Bay one of the greatest naval victories in [16:34] history much like our recent victory by sinking the entire Iranian Navy 159 ships to the bottom of the sea all done in [16:43] just a moment's time happen very quickly we have the greatest military anywhere in the world and next [16:51] to it we also have the flag that was given to that immortal every just a fantastic immortal Rough Rider the [17:01] one and only and I was at the museum the other day at its opening Theodore Roosevelt when he returned [17:08] triumphant from Cuba printed with the words welcome home Colonel Roosevelt it was a victor of San Juan Hill [17:16] he was a great gentleman Americans won the West and built the modern world because America is a nation [17:25] of winners and today our country is winning again and we're winning like never before America is back [17:33] and we want to keep America great and we will do so by approving the Save America Act which means all [17:42] voters must show voter ID all motives all voters must provide a little thing called proof of citizenship and [17:59] there will be no mail-in ballots except for illness disability military deployment or travel and you won't [18:08] have cheating on the elections anymore it's very simple together we are also reasserting the truth that [18:15] American strength and power is not something to be ashamed of it is something that we are very very proud of this [18:24] country has been the greatest force for peace and justice on earth in the last century we defeated tyrants [18:31] demolished evil and saved freedom again and again and again Ken Shoebring was 19 years old when he survived the [18:42] the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor after enemy planes sank ships like the USS Arizona he resolved that he would [18:51] help America strike back and win he wanted them to strike back and win flying B-29s in the Pacific [19:00] Ken fought from the first day to the very last he was in the war right from the first day and he went to the [19:09] last day and all the way to the enemy's unconditional surrender we got an unconditional surrender he was [19:18] there at 104 years old and looking really good captain Shoebring is here tonight and he is saluting the flag that [19:29] went down with the Arizona at Pearl Harbor but was raised back up with the help of some unbelievable American [19:38] patriots it's a symbol of American defiance please thank you captain thank you captain great job thank [20:11] you very much you have very good genes that's his son his son's gonna be around a long time thank you [20:19] very much captain when D-day in World War II Navy Lieutenant Arthur Rose commanded 36 landing craft as part [20:28] of the largest naval armada in history recalling that site he wrote home to his parents what a country we [20:37] are at 107 years old Lieutenant Rose is here to salute one of our nation's most prized possessions the flag [20:48] that flew aboard the first landing craft on D-Day and led the first Americans onto the beaches of Normandy to [20:57] liberate Europe and defeat Nazi fascism forever lieutenant Rose you are an inspiration to this beautiful [21:34] crowd and we thank you very much amazing man 107 107 on Iwo Jima in the Pacific the Marines face some of the [21:47] most brutal combat in the history of warfare they shed their blood for every inch of mountain that they [21:55] reached and when they reached the summit and raised the stars and stripes for all to see it was so [22:01] special to everybody there everybody there and everybody watching they couldn't believe it it wasn't [22:07] supposed to happen with us today is one of the last survivors of that battle 101 year old Marine [22:13] Corporal Don Graves and he's here to salute that famous flag he saw rise in the glory of Iwo Jima 81 years [22:22] ago you've all seen that flag many times so ladies and gentlemen these are the fighters and the banners [22:50] of the greatest generation they are the greatest generation I hate to admit that but they are they [22:58] saved the world and they made America very very proud we're very proud of you heroes all and after we [23:06] vanquished fascism Americans stood against the evil of communism in the Cold War and as they said last [23:15] night at the beautiful Mount Rushmore what a beautiful place where Washington Jefferson Lincoln [23:21] and Theodore Roosevelt loomed over my shoulder as I spoke America will never be a communist country won't [23:29] happen communism is a loser and it always will be the communist system is the opposite of the American [23:40] system and the communist system has never worked our warriors did not fight communism on battlefields [23:47] across the world only to have that menace rear its ugly head right back here in America we're not [23:53] going to let it happen we like to stop a threat like that immediately and before it begins it's like a [24:05] cancer you got to cut it out you got to cut it out fast tonight we proudly thank veterans of the war [24:13] on communism including Marine Corporal Pat Finn and private first-class Rudy Meekins who fought at the [24:21] the famed battle of chosen reservoir in Korea that was a rough one thank you Pat fought in hand-to-hand [24:31] combat with the enemy he had five against him and he was one and as you can see he's around to talk about [24:43] it and Rudy was wounded four times but never stopped shooting and he never stopped moving forward and also [24:51] with us is veteran Sonny Ray who fought heroically against an enemy force ten times his unit size and [24:59] earned a tremendously deserved silver star tonight they salute one of the very first 50 star flags to fly [25:09] above the field of battle this was about the beginning of the 50 and right next to it is one of the last [25:16] flags from checkpoint Charlie very famous place on the Berlin Wall where American freedom finally [25:25] brought communism crashing down to an end thank you so much you are really very special thank you thank [25:37] you very much the Stars and Stripes cast the hammer and sickle into oblivion before and we will do it [25:46] again if necessary I don't think it's going to be necessary I think people have learned they've learned [25:52] what to do and how to handle it and we're going to handle it very well so gentlemen I want to thank [25:58] you very much amazing people amazing men thank you how about that huh that great what an honor it is to be [26:14] with them think of it 107 that's that's up there but hopefully he's got 20 good years left through [26:25] the generations Americans have never stopped striving to lift humanity to new heights in 1903 the right [26:35] brothers from Ohio fulfilled the age-old dream of mankind to fly that's right they're from Ohio great [26:43] state and within 66 years of inventing the airplane Americans planted our flag on the moon just three [26:53] months ago we sent American astronauts back to the far side of the moon and this time they flew further [27:00] from Earth than anyone has ever flown before and here they are so tonight we're joined by that crew of NASA [27:19] Artemis you know you know the crew everybody Artemis 2 and everybody watch is that amazing and they became [27:31] very famous everybody watch I was watching I don't know what it was that one got the attention of [27:37] everybody and along with the last man to walk on the moon Apollo 17 astronaut Jack Schmidt thank you Jack [27:45] you look like you could be with them Jack you look very good Jack thank you very much what a job [27:55] everybody was watching I was with a group of people that normally wouldn't be watching and we're having a big [28:03] dinner and they all said we want to turn on we want to watch Artemis 2 a lot of people said what is [28:09] that by the end of the evening they knew it was amazing and along with Jared where is Jared he's [28:15] so great he's running NASA what a what a job he's done so I want to thank you all thank you very much [28:21] great job so these champions of flight stand this evening beside the flag flown on the Wright brothers [28:32] airplane piloted by Orville Wright see exact flag very historic and they are honored to be here they told [28:41] me today they were really amazed to be here with that flag that's a very special flag if you're [28:47] in the world of flying aircraft so congratulations to everybody fantastic job very proud of you and I [28:57] have a special gift for these Patriots this morning on America's 250th birthday a new flag was flown above [29:05] the United States Capitol and tonight I present it to you to soon be planted by American astronauts on [29:13] their upcoming return to the moon and in addition to that I gave them and all of the great heroes that [29:19] you saw up on stage tonight and a few others that couldn't quite make the stage I gave them a very [29:26] special battle from the White House so it's an honor thank you very much everybody appreciate it so then I [29:36] assume you're going to be heading to Mars we're going to be going to Mars very soon and I think that's [29:42] 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 [29:47] going to go to Mars and we're going to continue to be way ahead you know we did Space Force that was [29:53] something I was very proud of and some people smile they thought it was foolish and now they're finding [29:58] it's one of the most smile they thought it was foolish and now they're finding it's one of the most [30:03] important things that we've done we were losing to China and to Russia in space and now we're leading [30:12] them by giant steps and it's a great thing and it's people like that that really like you that made it [30:19] happen thank you very much everybody thank you very much so as we celebrate America's unmatched [30:26] achievements and unlimited potential we never forget that none of this would have been possible without [30:33] those who gave everything so that we could reach this 250th year of freedom we are honored to be joined by [30:40] 11 gold star family members the gold star family that is one of the great tributes it's one of the [30:48] great it's one of the great honors a tough honor there's nothing tougher than that but these are [30:55] amazing people thank you very much thank you very much come on up they went through a lot thank you very [31:10] much and that special person is looking up there and looking down at mom and dad husband wife [31:25] but they're looking down with great pride you know that you know that and we want to thank you for [31:30] being here thank you very much and we have medals for you backstage I brought them I thought I'd be [31:35] handing them out about two hours ago three hours ago but we're going to be backstage and we have [31:41] beautiful medals for you for your family from the White House thank you very much everybody we love you [31:46] on this special fourth of July we give you our undying gratitude and promise to redeem the sacrifice of your [31:57] heroes by preserving the America that they love they loved our country they sacrificed they sacrificed [32:05] it all and these people have sacrificed at all they've been through hell we love you thank you very much [32:12] thank you from 1776 to today everywhere the American flag has flown it has been a symbol of strength [32:25] righteousness and hope because that is who Americans are in 1944 a mother and her daughter huddled in their [32:35] house in Nazi occupied Belgium and prayed desperately for their country to be freed they wanted free as they [32:44] waited they found scraps of fabric and stitched together a homemade American flag it's beautiful but [32:51] homemade on the day they were finally liberated and that's what the word is liberated they gave it to an [33:00] American soldier as a gift little did they know that that soldier's great-grandfather was none other than the [33:06] the author of our star spangled banner Francis Scott key and tonight the next generation of the key family is with us thank you very much thank you major Kyle [33:33] key has spent 23 years in the US Army highly respected and this evening he proudly salutes the old flag that was made by the Belgian [33:43] woman so beautifully and who knew that America means hope and freedom congratulations and thank you for being [33:50] here very much and in conclusion from a declaration in Philadelphia to victory at Yorktown from the bustling factories of the [34:10] heartland to the towering snow-capped summits of Alaska from the endless frontier of the open wild west to the magnificent sand dunes at Kitty Hawk [34:23] Kitty Hawk from the glimmering skyline of Manhattan to the far side of the moon just saw that and from the now safe and [34:34] beautiful capital of Washington think of it Washington DC our capital our capital is now safe gleaming and beautiful again it's safe [34:46] again went from a very unsafe place two years ago to one of the safest cities in the country and one of the most beautiful to the [34:56] gleaming waters of the gulf of America there is no challenge Americans can not overcome there is no place we [35:09] cannot go there is no goal we cannot reach and there is nothing that Americans cannot do and we're proving that right [35:19] now our stock market is the strongest it's ever been we have 19.2 trillion dollars being invested in our country [35:29] which is six times more than ever happened before we're building more factories in the United States [35:36] than ever before everyone's 401ks are at the highest number they've ever been and more people are working [35:45] today in the United States than any time in the history of our country but in this country we can achieve the [35:53] wildest and most impossible dreams and no dream in history is bigger or more incredible than the one that [36:01] started on July 4th 1776 the war for independence was launched by minutemen farmers blacksmiths tradesmen [36:11] who took up their muskets against the mightiest army on earth the most powerful army and unbeatable army [36:19] until they met us no one made them do it they fought because they knew that a free people must have a free [36:29] country over 250 years the world has seen the great empires vast kingdoms mighty nations and terrible [36:40] tyrants they came and they went but after two and a half centuries this American Republic still stands tall [36:48] and strong and we love each other that showed tonight you heard it was over and what happened you came back [36:55] and this American flag still waves proud and free and beautiful we have thrived and flourished because [37:08] our founders were great our cause was just our people are brave our culture is exceptional and our destiny [37:17] is written by God and as we can see here tonight after 250 years the spirit of 1776 still lives within us all [37:33] it still roars in the hearts of our nation's capital it still burns in the heart of every patriot thunders [37:41] through every city in town and it still lights the entire world with the glow of American Liberty and [37:47] there is nothing like that at 250 years old we may be the oldest constitutional republic on earth but our [37:57] country is just getting started because the best is yet to come this is only the dawn of the gold [38:10] in age of America and on this 250th 4th of July we declare just as they did two and a half centuries ago that [38:21] for our country and for our children and for the cause of Liberty we are going to take our country to new [38:27] levels to levels not reached we're going to make it bigger better stronger and we're going to love it even [38:35] more and I just want to thank you and the inconvenience of lightning can do that but lightning will never [38:42] stop you and I want to thank everybody and we love you all and it's an honor to be your president thank [38:49] you God bless you all God bless you all thank you we have a great fireworks display tonight and I'm going [39:05] to be watching it with you it's going to start very quickly so thank you very much you're going to really [39:10] like this thank you very much everybody