U.S. President Donald Trump sharply targeted Democrats in a speech at Mount Rushmore on the eve of the country's 250th anniversary celebrations.
Trump claimed that if Democrats return to power, they plan to make arrangements that would permanently end Republicans' chances of winning future elections.
The former president said, "American identity is under assault once again with the return of the communist threat, decades after the end of the Cold War."
Trump argued that some people newly arriving in the U.S. embrace communist ideas, which he said are completely at odds with the American way of life and economic success. "This is not a political disagreement about taxes and regulations; it is a reckoning with communism, which poses a mortal threat to freedom," he said.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump claimed that Democrats openly plan to eliminate the Senate filibuster and expand the Supreme Court to 21 justices.
According to Trump, these steps aim to guarantee that Republicans can never win an election again.
Also touching on economic achievements in his speech, Trump said, "The golden age of the United States has already begun, and we are still just at the starting point."
Noting that his administration has attracted trillions of dollars in investment, meaning more factories and jobs, Trump said the economy is performing strongly and the stock market recorded its best quarter since his first term.
Emphasizing that sharp rises in stock indices have pushed Americans' retirement savings to record levels, Trump said, "There is no other country in the world that has done more good and made more positive contributions to humanity than the United States."
Trump said, "What we have managed to build within our country is not a widespread model in the world, but a unique exception."
Also touching on foreign policy issues, the U.S. President said they dealt with Venezuela in a single day and struck very hard blows against Iran. Trump said, "Iran is desperately seeking a political solution and is trying every avenue to achieve it."
Trump also said, "We gave Iran a week out of courtesy to halt operations so that a funeral could be held."
