IN FULL: President Donald Trump speaks on 250th anniversary 4th of July celebrations — ABC NEWS

[0:40] as you suggested a rapturous applause for the president to the strains of the presidential [0:45] anthem hail to the chief in front of a massive projection of the presidential seal [0:51] donald trump clearly soaking in this moment good evening america if you think that was easy it [0:58] wasn't i want to thank everybody because they did the right thing they saw lightning and i said [1:09] there's no way if we have to speak in front of one person at four o'clock in the morning i'm [1:14] going to be here there's no way we can be deterred and they estimated they had 375 000 people before [1:25] everybody had to leave and they now have 150 000 people it's the craziest thing anyone's ever seen [1:33] at least and i want to just thank you and i feel so badly about some people they left that they [1:40] couldn't get back but uh you're very special people and we have a very special country thank you very [1:47] much tonight we come together for one of the most joyous and glorious milestones of all time the [1:57] and you know what that is 250 the 250th anniversary and i do have to say this one of my very brilliant [2:05] people backstage said don't worry about it sir we can do it maybe next week i said it doesn't work [2:10] next week this is the big day we want july 4th we're not looking for july something else because this is [2:19] the 250th anniversary of the declaration of independence nothing like it for two and a half [2:30] centuries our american republic has stood as the crowning achievement of human history this country [2:39] is the home of freedom this is the land of liberty and this is a flag that's the banner of the most [2:48] extraordinary most exceptional most incredible nation ever to exist on the face of the earth and we're [2:55] doing better now than we've ever done before no people have done more good shown more courage made [3:07] more progress righted more injustice or achieved more greatness than you the american people for 250 [3:16] years the united states of america has been the hope the promise the light and the glory among all of [3:23] the nations of the world all over the world they try and be like us nobody can be like us and with god's [3:29] help we will always be this or even better better here on our national mall we're celebrating freedom's [3:43] triumph over tyranny liberty's conquest over oppression and the enduring victory of the american spirit [3:51] from the july 4th 1776 to july 4th 2026 big dates that's big dates two big ones and tonight our [4:04] country is stronger freer richer safer and prouder than ever before but it all started with the miracle [4:16] of history that lives forever in the heart of every single patriot in philadelphia our founding fathers [4:23] summoned the courage of giants and the wisdom of centuries to boldly proclaim these timeless truths [4:32] they declared that all men are created equal that they are endowed with sacred unalienable rights [4:44] by the hand of our creator and that among these are life liberty and the pursuit of happiness [4:56] in signing their names to the roster of freedom those 56 patriots put everything at risk stepped [5:03] onto the stage of destiny and seized a victory for the ages and that's what it was and this is an [5:10] evening for the ages i believe this is something very special this is bigger than if we didn't have [5:16] the lightning blaring we had lightning blaring but this is bigger little more inconvenient but it's bigger [5:25] i think in its own way it's more beautiful from the beginning we were a nation that lived by the motto [5:31] victory or death and live free or die one out of every 100 americans gave their lives in the fight for [5:43] independence to remind us of who these heroes were and what they gave us we are honored to have here [5:51] tonight in the heart of our nation's capital one of the very first american flags ever to exist [5:58] dating back to 1777 it bears the 13 stars and 13 stripes of the 13 states that declared independence on the 4th of july [6:13] here it is this was the flag that flew victorious at saratoga and these are the real deals too these are the real [6:27] the real flags these are flags that have seen a lot these were the stars and stripes that flew triumphant when the british [6:34] waved the white flag of surrender at yorktown that was a big surrender nobody thought that was possible [6:44] they were the greatest power of the world and they surrendered and that was the beginning [6:49] ever since the entire world has been on notice that americans will never let anyone take our freedom away [6:56] won't happen and all these talks from the communists they haven't got a chance not even a chance we don't [7:05] want communists in our country never worked and it never will work americans must never forget that [7:23] we are a historic and heroic people with a heroic spirit and a heroic purpose on this beautiful earth [7:30] of ours we are made the courage and the fire and the flesh and the blood of the best and the bravest people [7:38] this world has ever produced we are the bravest and the best tonight we pledge allegiance to the flag [7:45] the flag they gave us and we say god bless the immortal patriots of 1776 and long live the cause of [7:54] independence may it rain forever and ever and ever we will always be on top we will never let our country [8:07] fall we will always be the best our founders not only won our liberty they secured it with the most [8:15] righteous political document ever conceived it's called the constitution of the united states very [8:22] special and it's because of their genius that we remain the finest people on the planet after 250 years [8:33] unlike so many others in the world in this country we have freedom of speech freedom of religion [8:40] equal justice under the law although i wasn't treated that well but we won't get into that [8:47] and the right to keep and bear arms and for the almost six years that i was president [9:00] i guarded very very powerfully your second amendment and they didn't do a thing to it and it was not [9:08] easy but we guard your second amendment we guard it very very strongly and cautiously across the [9:18] generations americans have fought bled and died not just to secure those rights but to expand them [9:26] to citizens of every race religion color and creed because we are one people we are one family you [9:35] showed that tonight with one flag and as our declaration of independence tells us we are all made in the image [9:45] of one almighty god and a communist will never say that that's for sure few heroes remind us of these [10:02] truths more than william carney who escaped slavery to become a union soldier in the civil war which was [10:10] a very big big deal at the time on the front lines of battle he saw a comrade struck down by enemy fire [10:19] while carrying the stars and stripes and sergeant carney dove to the ground to keep the flag from touching the [10:26] mud he didn't want to have it touch the ground he didn't want to have it touch the [10:31] the mud he wanted to be perfect he raised it high above the field and was shot four times they [10:39] thought he was gone but he kept moving forward he loved our country he loved our flag before he [10:46] returned to camp and announced boys the old flag never touched the ground [10:51] and he became the first african-american to receive the congressional medal of honor he got the [11:01] congressional medal of honor and he was the first african-american and he was some man they've written [11:10] stories about him he was something special with us tonight to celebrate this forward march of freedom [11:18] is another medal of honor recipient colonel paris davis whose courage won eternal glory in vietnam [11:26] he helped lead a surprise attack on 100 [11:30] enemy combatants they said he was finished his whole group was finished and despite multiple [11:38] life-threatening wounds saved the lives of his fellow soldiers and this evening he stands to salute [11:47] the only flag of its kind the one that was draped over the casket of president abraham lincoln in [11:53] independence hall thank you very much great he looks better than i do he looks great and he's brave [12:35] because of heroes like these our flag will always be a symbol of liberty and justice for [12:41] all colonel davis thank you very much great man great man thank you americans expanded the [12:53] blessings of freedom and we have never stopped expanding our ambitions and our dreams we had the [13:01] american dream we never had the american dream however like we have it right now the american dream is [13:07] back very strong beautiful you know to get into our military now is tough two years ago we couldn't [13:15] fill a job and now it's overflowing we have so many setting records we're setting records it's actually [13:22] hard to get in that includes our great police forces and our firemen they couldn't hire anybody nobody [13:30] wanted to do it now it's hard to get those positions but it's really hard to get into our military [13:37] because people respect and love our country again our rise to being the world's strongest and most [13:46] powerful nation was no accident of history we rebuilt our military in my first term we use it a little [13:54] bit in our actually i should say third term but i won't do that because i don't want any controversy [14:02] but we use it and we've had tremendous success you look at venezuela you look at iran we wiped it out [14:09] wiped out their military americans crossed the great plains scaled the rockies tames we really just [14:17] tamed the wilderness and conquered the frontier and built the empire it's called the empire of liberty [14:25] we laid down the railroads raised up the skyscrapers those beautiful skyscrapers and dug out [14:32] the panama canal considered the eighth wonder of the world which everyone said was an impossible thing to [14:39] do and by the way 38 000 americans died to give us one of the greatest engineering feats of all time [14:47] the panama canal this was the unstoppable spirit that created the world's most powerful industries [14:55] and built the strongest military anyone had ever seen and today it is stronger and more powerful than it [15:04] ever was before american grit boldness and daring forged heroes like davy crockett [15:11] wyatt earp annie oakley teddy roosevelt and the legend of the wild west buffalo bill cody these were great [15:21] powerful people whose incredible grandchildren happened to be with us tonight and they stand alongside one of [15:30] the first american flags ever to fly over our expanding nation it was carried west just as lewis and clark [15:38] began their journey in 1803 thank you very much thank you thank you very much great to have you great to [15:49] have you to honor this audacious and indomitable soul of america we also have the first flag ever to fly [15:58] over one of the greatest architectural feats of all time a thing called the brooklyn bridge one of [16:04] the most beautiful bridges anywhere in the world built a long time ago to its right the banner that [16:12] flew atop our flagship after america's navy sank the spanish fleet to the bottom of the manila bay one of [16:19] the greatest naval victories in history much like our recent victory by sinking the entire iranian navy 159 [16:27] ships to the bottom of the sea all done in just a moment's time happened very quickly we have the [16:34] greatest military anywhere in the world and next to it we also have the flag that was given to [16:41] that immortal just a fantastic immortal rough rider the one and only and i was at the museum the other [16:50] day at its opening theodore roosevelt when he returned triumphant from cuba printed with the words [16:58] welcome home colonel roosevelt who was the victor of san juan hill he was a great gentleman americans [17:06] won the west and built the modern world because america is a nation of winners and today our country [17:14] is winning again and we're winning like never before america is back and we want to keep america great [17:23] and we will do so by approving the save america act which means all voters must show voter id all motors [17:36] all voters must provide a little thing called proof of citizenship and there will be no mail-in ballots [17:47] except for illness disability military deployment or travel and you won't have cheating on the elections [17:56] anymore it's very simple together we are also reasserting the truth that american strength and [18:03] power is not something to be ashamed of it is something that we are very very proud of this [18:11] country has been the greatest force for peace and justice on earth in the last century we defeated [18:17] tyrants demolished evil and saved freedom again and again and again ken schubring was 19 years old when [18:28] he survived the japanese attack on pearl harbor after enemy planes sank ships like the uss arizona [18:36] he resolved that he would help america strike back and win he wanted them to strike back and win [18:44] flying b-29s in the pacific ken fought from the first day to the very last he was in the war right from the [18:53] first day and he went to the last day and all the way to the enemy's unconditional surrender we got an [19:02] unconditional surrender he was there at 104 years old and looking really good captain schubring is here [19:12] tonight and he is saluting the flag that went down with the arizona at pearl harbor but was raised back [19:19] up with the help of some unbelievable american patriots it's a symbol of american defiance please [19:43] thank you captain thank you captain great job thank you very much you have very good genes that's his [20:00] son his son's going to be around a long time thank you very much captain on d-day in world war ii navy [20:10] lieutenant arthur rose commanded 36 landing craft as part of the largest naval armada in history recalling [20:20] that site he wrote home to his parents what a country we are 107 years old lieutenant rose is here [20:30] to salute one of our nation's most prized possessions the flag that flew aboard the first landing craft on d-day [20:38] and led the first americans onto the beaches of normandy to liberate europe and defeat nazi fascism [20:46] forever lieutenant rose you are an inspiration to this beautiful crowd and we thank you very much [21:23] amazing man 107 it's 107 on iwo jima in the pacific the marines faced some of the most brutal combat in the [21:36] history of warfare they shed their blood for every inch of mountain that they reached and when they [21:43] reached the summit and raised the stars and stripes for all to see it was so special to everybody there [21:50] everybody there and everybody watching they couldn't believe it it wasn't supposed to happen [21:55] with us today is one of the last survivors of that battle 101 year old marine corporal don graves [22:02] and he's here to salute that famous flag he saw rise in the glory of iwo jima 81 years ago and you've [22:09] all seen that flag many times so ladies and gentlemen these are the fighters and the banners [22:37] of the greatest generation they are the greatest generation i hate to admit that but they are they [22:44] saved the world and they made america very very proud we're very proud of you heroes all and after we [22:53] vanquished fascism americans stood against the evil of communism in the cold war and as i said last [23:01] night at the beautiful mount rushmore what a beautiful place where washington jefferson lincoln and [23:08] theodore roosevelt loomed over my shoulder as i spoke america will never be a communist country won't happen [23:17] communism is a loser and it always will be the communist system is the opposite of the american [23:26] system and the communist system has never worked our warriors did not fight communism on battlefields [23:34] across the world only to have that menace rear its ugly head right back here in america we're not going [23:40] to let it happen we like to stop a threat like that immediately and before it begins it's like a cancer [23:52] you got to cut it out you got to cut it out fast tonight we proudly thank veterans of the war on [24:00] communism including marine corporal pat finn and private first class rudy meekins who fought at the [24:08] famed battle of chosin reservoir in korea that was a rough one thank you that fought in hand-to-hand [24:18] combat with the enemy he had five against him and he was one and as you can see he's around to talk about [24:30] it and rudy was wounded four times but never stopped shooting and he never stopped moving forward [24:36] and also with us is veteran sonny ray who fought heroically against an enemy force 10 times his unit [24:45] size and earned a tremendously deserved silver star tonight they salute one of the very first 50 star [24:55] flags to fly above the field of battle this was about the beginning of the 50 and right next to [25:02] it is one of the last flags from checkpoint charlie very famous place on the berlin wall where american [25:10] freedom finally brought communism crashing down to an end thank you so much you are really very special [25:19] thank you thank you very much the stars and stripes cast the hammer and sickle into oblivion before and [25:32] we will do it again if necessary i don't think it's going to be necessary i think people have learned [25:38] they've learned what to do and how to handle it and we're going to handle it very well so gentlemen i [25:44] want to thank you very much amazing people amazing men thank you how about that huh isn't that great [25:59] what an honor it is to be with them think of it 107 that's that's up there but hopefully he's got [26:08] 20 good years left through the generations americans have never stopped striving to lift humanity [26:18] to new heights in 1903 the wright brothers from ohio fulfilled the age-old dream of mankind [26:26] to fly that's right they're from ohio great state and within 66 years of inventing the airplane [26:35] americans planted our flag on the moon just three months ago we sent american astronauts back to [26:43] the far side of the moon and this time they flew further from earth than anyone has ever flown before [26:51] and here they are so tonight we're joined by that crew of nasa artemis you know you know the crew [27:11] everybody artemis 2 and everybody watched isn't that amazing and they became very famous everybody [27:20] watched i was watching i don't know what it was that one got the attention of everybody and along [27:25] with the last man to walk on the moon apollo 17 astronaut jack schmidt thank you jack you look like [27:35] you could be with them jack you look very good you look very good jack thank you very much what a job [27:42] everybody was watching i was with a group of people that normally wouldn't be watching and [27:48] we're having a big dinner and they all said we want to turn on we want to watch [27:52] artemis 2 a lot of people said what is that by the end of the evening they knew it was amazing [27:58] and along with jared where is jared he's so great he's running nasa what a what a job he's done [28:05] so i want to thank you all thank you very much great job so these champions of flight stand this [28:15] evening beside the flag flown on the wright brothers airplane piloted by orville wright see exact flag [28:24] very historic and they are honored to be here they told me today they were really uh amazed to be here [28:31] with that flag that's a very special flag if you're in the world of flying aircraft so congratulations to [28:38] everybody fantastic job very proud of you and i have a special gift for these patriots this morning [28:47] on america's 250th birthday a new flag was flown above the united states capital and tonight i present it [28:55] to you to soon be planted by american astronauts on their upcoming return to the moon and in addition to [29:02] that i gave them and all of the great heroes that you saw up on stage tonight and a few others that [29:09] couldn't quite make the stage i gave them a very special battle from the white house so it's an [29:15] honor thank you very much everybody appreciate it so then i assume you're going to be heading to mars [29:25] right we're going to be going to mars very soon and i think that's something that we do have in mind and [29:30] we're going to do the moon and we're going to go from there we're going to go to mars and we're going to [29:35] continue to be way ahead you know we did space force that was something i was very proud of and [29:41] some people smiled they thought it was foolish and now they're finding it's one of the most important [29:46] things that we've done we were losing to china and to russia in space and now we're leading them by [29:55] giant steps and uh it's a great thing and it's people like that that really like you that made [30:01] it happen thank you very much everybody thank you very much so as we celebrate america's unmatched [30:08] achievements and unlimited potential we never forget that none of this would have been possible [30:15] without those who gave everything so that we could reach this 250th year of freedom we are honored to [30:22] be joined by 11 gold star family members the gold star family that is one of the great tributes it's one [30:30] of the great it's one of the great honors a tough honor there's nothing tougher than that but these are [30:37] amazing people thank you very much thank you very much come on up they went through a lot thank you [30:52] very much and that special person is looking up there and looking down at mom and dad husband wife [31:08] but they're looking down with great pride you know that you know that and we want to thank you for being [31:13] here thank you very much and we have medals for you backstage i brought them i thought i'd be handing [31:18] them out about two hours ago three hours ago but we're going to be backstage and we have beautiful [31:23] medals for you for your family from the white house thank you very much everybody we love you [31:31] on this special fourth of july we give you our undying gratitude and promise to redeem the sacrifice of [31:39] your heroes by preserving the america that they love they loved our country they sacrificed they sacrificed [31:48] at all and these people have sacrificed at all they've been through hell we love you thank you very [31:54] much thank you from 1776 to today everywhere the american flag has flown it has been a symbol of strength [32:07] righteousness and hope because that is who americans are in 1944 a mother and her daughter huddled in their [32:18] house in nazi occupied belgium and prayed desperately for their country to be freed they wanted free [32:25] as they waited they found scraps of fabric and stitched together a homemade american flag it's beautiful [32:34] but homemade on the day they were finally liberated and that's what the word is liberated they gave it to [32:42] an american soldier as a gift little did they know that that soldier's great grandfather was none other [32:48] than the author of our star spangled banner francis scott key and tonight the next generation of the key [32:59] family is with us thank you very much please thank you major kyle key has spent 23 years in the us army [33:18] highly respected and this evening he proudly salutes the old flag that was made by the belgian woman so [33:26] beautifully and who knew that america means hope and freedom congratulations and thank you for being [33:33] here very much and in conclusion from a declaration in philadelphia to victory at yorktown from the [33:51] bustling factories of the heartland to the towering snow-capped summits of alaska from the endless frontier [34:00] of the open wild west to the magnificent sand dunes at kitty hawk from the glimmering skyline of manhattan to [34:10] the far side of the moon you just saw that and from the now safe and beautiful capital of washington [34:20] think of it washington dc our capital our capital is now safe gleaming and beautiful again it's safe again [34:30] went from a very unsafe place two years ago to one of the safest cities in the country and one of the [34:36] most beautiful to the gleaming waters of the gulf of america there is no challenge americans can not [34:48] overcome there is no place we cannot go there is no goal we cannot reach and there is nothing that americans [34:59] cannot do and we're proving that right now our stock market is the strongest it's ever been [35:07] we have 19.2 trillion dollars being invested in our country which is six times more than ever happened [35:15] before we're building more factories in the united states than ever before everyone's 401ks are at the [35:24] highest number they've ever been and more people are working today in the united states than any time [35:31] in the history of our country but in this country we can achieve the wildest and most impossible dreams [35:38] and no dream in history is bigger or more incredible than the one that started on july 4th 1776 [35:48] the war for independence was launched by minutemen farmers blacksmiths tradesmen who took up their [35:55] muskets against the mightiest army on earth the most powerful army and unbeatable [36:00] army until they met us no one made them do it they fought because they knew that a free people [36:11] must have a free country over 250 years the world has seen the great empires vast kingdoms mighty nations [36:22] and terrible tyrants they came and they went but after two and a half centuries this american republic still [36:29] stands tall and strong and we love each other that showed tonight you heard it was over and what [36:36] happened you came back and this american flag still waves proud and free and beautiful we have thrived and [36:50] flourished because our founders were great our cause was just our people are brave our culture is exceptional [36:58] and our destiny is written by god and as we can see here tonight after 250 years the spirit of 1776 [37:13] still lives within us all it still roars in the hearts of our nation's capital it still burns in the heart [37:21] of every patriot thunders through every city in town and it still lights the entire world with the glow of [37:28] american liberty and there is nothing like that at 250 years old we may be the oldest constitutional republic [37:38] on earth but our country is just getting started because the best is yet to come this is only the [37:51] dawn of the golden age of america and on this 250th fourth of july we declare just as they did two and a [38:01] half centuries ago that for our country and for our children and for the cause of liberty we are going [38:08] to take our country to new levels to levels not reached we're going to make it bigger better stronger [38:16] and we're going to love it even more and i just want to thank you and the inconvenience of lightning can [38:22] do that but lightning will never stop you and i want to thank everybody and we love you all and it's an honor [38:29] to be your president thank you god bless you all god bless you all thank you well trump there wrapping [38:40] up his speech uh just shy of it turning midnight we have a great fireworks display tonight and i'm going [38:47] to be watching it with you it's going to start very quickly so thank you very much you're going to really [38:53] like this thank you very much everybody the firework display starting quickly so that it does happen on [39:00] july the 4th independence day of course for america with me still in the studio planet america host john [39:08] barron um john largely to scripts but couldn't help himself at stages clearly lorna in that 38 minutes [39:16] we got a potted history of the united states one man's view of it it felt a little bit like a 10 year [39:22] old's history essay his choice of heroes the the the people that he brought on stage to salute various [39:28] flags in a show and tell flourish no doubt people who performed heroic acts but of course they were [39:34] all white male military heroes there is something important to that they were clearly happy to be a [39:41] part of this it seemed a little strange that it was being made about the flag itself and not the values [39:47] of the declaration of independence all men being created equal right to life liberty and the pursuit of [39:53] happiness they could have framed the speech around those themes which is what today is meant to be [39:57] about instead it became a speech of trumpian superlatives the greatest we're winning etc etc and [40:06] then there are those weird i think you're right asides where he started riffing about communism on [40:11] at least four occasions this is 2026 1956 why is this man talking about communism because he wants american [40:20] voters come this november in the midterms to think of his rival democratic party as communists rather [40:26] than just being center-left progressives that was jarring as was his urging congress to pass the save [40:32] america act which is a voter id law which aims to make people prove not just that they are registered [40:39] to vote but that they are a an american citizen now you have to be a citizen to register to vote but he [40:45] wants americans to have to prove again that they're a citizen at a polling station in order to be allowed [40:50] to vote experts say 20 million american citizens will lose their votes because they do not have id that [40:57] says they are american citizens it's not on your driver's license so it's a it it's a it's a way of [41:03] disenfranchising people that is the concern with this law which probably won't pass this year but for [41:09] the president of the united states to put that purely political anti-democratic piece of attempted [41:15] legislation into a speech about america's 250th birthday it was a very discordant and and peculiar [41:22] decision that the president made it's been a funny evening hasn't it we're going to leave it very shortly [41:27] john with all the disruption that there was uh throughout the afternoon um thunderstorms people [41:35] being evacuated to different areas the brooklyn bridge temporarily catching on fire with fireworks [41:41] some will look and say only in trump's america nothing goes smoothly but we'll see whether they [41:46] manage to press the button and get the fireworks happening on while it is still the fourth of july [41:51] in the next two and a half minutes or not