theguardian--2020-07-04--Donald Trump marks Independence Day with incendiary Mount Rushmore speech – live

The president is most likely asleep at the moment , given that he arrived back at the White House from South Dakota at 4.11am ET .
His Twitter account , therefore , lies momentarily dormant .
Here ’ s a taste of what White House chief of staff Mark Meadows had to say to reporters on the flight back from Mount Rushmore : “ I think it was a historic speech with a historic backdrop .
The response that we ’ re getting from all across America is ... one that ... applauded the boldness , the directness , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the president wants to make sure that the America that we have today and tomorrow is the America that we celebrate each Fourth of July.
” In the words of the pool report , “ Meadows was asked by a reporter why Trump did not mention the coronavirus pandemic ‘ much ’ during his remarks .
“ He mentioned the pandemic .
I don ’ t know that focusing on a pandemic is necessarily a topic that you would espouse on 4 July .
It ’ s not to say that it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which he didn ’ t , he acknowledged it .
“ But at the same time , he ’ s put forth unbelievable resources to make sure that we address the Covid-19 virus .
I ’ m confident that we ’ ll have a vaccine by this fall and we ’ re already seeing therapeutics being used more and more to start to lessen the death rate .
And again it ’ s really a time for celebrating who we are as a nation – and that ’ s in good times and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to come to America .
They ’ re not fleeing America.
” Here ’ s David Smith again , on how Trump has fueled a growing ( and increasingly absurd ) culture war over face masks and their role in preventing American deaths :

4 Jul 2020 22.31 BST Donald Trump is charged up ahead of tonight’s Salute to America if the blur of activity on his Twitter feed is any indicator. The US president has fired off no fewer than 55 tweets or retweets since noon today, including a message of congratulations from Indian prime minister Narendra Modi so nice he retweeted it twice. The alarming nationwide trends around the coronavirus pandemic, which barely warranted a mention during Friday night’s Mount Rushmore speech, have not been Trump’s preferred subject these days. But he’s chosen to address it head on in the hours before tonight’s extravaganza, repeating the debunked claim that increased testing is responsible for the spike in cases. “Cases, Cases, Cases! If we didn’t test so much and so successfully, we would have very few cases. If you test 40,000,000 people, you are going to have many cases that, without the testing (like other countries), would not show up every night on the Fake Evening News,” Trump wrote. “In a certain way, our tremendous Testing success gives the Fake News Media all they want, CASES. In the meantime, Deaths and the all important Mortality Rate goes down. You don’t hear about that from the Fake News, and you never will. Anybody need any Ventilators???” Cases, Cases, Cases! If we didn’t test so much and so successfully, we would have very few cases. If you test 40,000,000 people, you are going to have many cases that, without the testing (like other countries), would not show up every night on the Fake Evening News..... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 4, 2020 ....In a certain way, our tremendous Testing success gives the Fake News Media all they want, CASES. In the meantime, Deaths and the all important Mortality Rate goes down. You don’t hear about that from the Fake News, and you never will. Anybody need any Ventilators??? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 4, 2020 Politifact, a Pulitzer prize-winning fact-checking organization, punctured this fallacy last month, but it hasn’t prevented Trump from trotting it out with bold regularity.
4 Jul 2020 22.02 BST Texas has recorded 8,258 new cases in the 24 hours to Saturday, the highest single-day surge in the state since the pandemic started. The overall number of confirmed infections in Texas now stands at 191,790, the state’s health department said. Current Covid-19 hospitalizations rose by 238 in one day to a record high of 7,890. Texas governor Greg Abbott took to Twitter to wish Americans a happy Fourth of July, earning a barrage of criticism from members of the public. Thank you to those who fought and continue to fight for our great nation.

Have a safe and happy Fourth of July. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/4hs1dehTCf — Gov. Greg Abbott (@GovAbbott) July 4, 2020 His critics are bitterly divided however, with one camp voicing disappointment in his leadership amid rising infections, and the other clamoring for his resignation because Abbott issued an executive order on Thursday requiring Texans to wear face coverings in public in counties with 20 or more Covid-19 cases. Local residents hold signs in protest of closed beaches on the Fourth of July amid the global outbreak of coronavirus in Galveston, Texas. Photograph: Adrees Latif/Reuters
4 Jul 2020 21.45 BST A weekly newspaper in Kansas whose publisher is a county Republican party chairman posted a cartoon on its Facebook page likening the Democratic governor Laura Kelly’s executive order mandating people wear masks in most public spaces to the murder of millions of Jews during the Holocaust. The cartoon on the Anderson County Review’s Facebook page depicts Kelly wearing a mask with a Jewish Star of David on it, next to an image of people being loaded onto train cars. The caption reads: “Lockdown Laura says: Put on your mask ... and step onto the cattle car.” Allow Facebook content? This article includes content provided by Facebook. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click 'Allow and continue'. Allow and continue The newspaper posted the cartoon on Friday, the day that Kelly’s mask order aimed at stemming the spread of the coronavirus took effect at 12.01am. Publisher Dane Hicks, who is also Anderson County’s GOP chairman, told the Associated Press on Saturday that he would answer emailed questions about the cartoon once he could reach a computer. His newspaper is based in the county seat of Garnett, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) southwest of Kansas City and has a circulation of about 2,100, according to the Kansas Press Association. Kelly, who is Catholic, issued a statement saying, “Mr Hicks’ decision to publish anti-Semitic imagery is deeply offensive and he should remove it immediately.” Kansas paper published by Republican posts cartoon likening masks order to Holocaust Read more
Updated at 22.47 BST
4 Jul 2020 21.22 BST Arizona reported 2,695 new coronavirus infections on Saturday, bringing its total to 94,553. The number of hospital admissions for Covid-19 by 100 to a record high of 3,113 on Friday, the state health department said. Ninety percent of all adult intensive care beds were in use as of Friday, which is one percentage point lower than the day before.
4 Jul 2020 20.55 BST A longtime anti-LGBT activist and Republican donor told Texas’ governor to have National Guard troops “shoot to kill” amid protests last month against racial injustice and police brutality. The Texas Tribune reports that Steve Hotze left that message in a voicemail to Republican governor Greg Abbott’s chief of staff on the weekend of 6 June, saying: I want you to give a message to the governor. I want to make sure that he has National Guard down here and they have the order to shoot to kill if any of these son-of-a-bitch people start rioting like they have in Dallas, start tearing down businesses – shoot to kill the son of a bitches. That’s the only way you restore order. Kill ‘em. Thank you. Hotze acknowledged the comment in a Facebook post on Saturday, writing: “It’s not about race but has everything to do with the future of America – the freest and most progressive country in the world.” Republican senator John Cornyn called the voicemail “absolutely disgusting and reprehensible”.
4 Jul 2020 20.36 BST The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday that it was discontinuing its trials of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and combination HIV drug lopinavir/ritonavir in hospitalized patients with Covid-19 after they failed to reduce mortality. “These interim trial results show that hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir/ritonavir produce little or no reduction in the mortality of hospitalised Covid-19 patients when compared to standard of care. Solidarity trial investigators will interrupt the trials with immediate effect,” the WHO said in a statement, referring to large multi-country trials that the agency is leading. The use of hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for Covid-19 was an early flash point in the US response to the outbreak after Donald Trump championed it as a ‘miracle’ cure and ‘one of the biggest game-changers’ despite little scientific evidence. The UN agency said that the decision, taken on the recommendation of the trial’s international steering committee, does not affect other studies where the drugs are used for non-hospitalized patients or as a prophylaxis. Another arm of the WHO-led trial is looking at the potential effect of Gilead’s antiviral drug remdesivir on Covid-19. The WHO reported a record increase in coronavirus infections globally, which have risen by 212,326 in 24 hours. The biggest increases were from the United States, Brazil and India, according to a daily report. The previous WHO record for new cases was 189,077 on 28 June. WHO says trials show malaria and HIV drugs don't cut Covid-19 hospital deaths Read more
Updated at 20.38 BST
4 Jul 2020 20.11 BST The White House is set to host its largest event since the start of the coronavirus pandemic with tonight’s Salute to America. Hundreds of chairs and tables have been set up on the South Lawn, where Trump will deliver a speech he says will celebrate American heritage. An administration spokesperson says social distancing “will be observed” and face masks will be offered but not mandatory.
Trump was first inspired to stage a mass display of pop and power on America’s birthday when attended the Bastille Day military parade as the guest of French president Emmanuel Macron back in 2017. An initial 2018 push to stage a parade that would have seen soldiers marching and tanks rolling down the streets of Washington was scuttled amid accusations that he was politicizing an important holiday, emulating displays in authoritarian countries and wasting taxpayers’ money. Tables and chairs are set up on the South Lawn ahead of Trump’s Salute to America celebration of American independence at the White House in Washington. Photograph: Samuel Corum/EPA But a compromised vision branded Salute to America finally debuted a year ago today and tonight’s encore continues the tradition. A statement from the White House press secretary offers a teaser: President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, along with the Department of Interior, will host the 2020 Salute to America on the South Lawn of the White House and Ellipse on Saturday, July 4. In addition to music, military demonstrations, and flyovers to honor our Nation’s service members and veterans, the President will deliver remarks that celebrate our independence and salute our amazing heritage. The evening will culminate with a spectacular fireworks display over the National Mall. Meanwhile, a number of demonstrations are taking place across the nation’s capital, including the George Floyd Memorial March on Washington, which began Saturday morning. A Washington police officer watches demonstrators march past Lafayette Square near the White House ahead of Saturday’s Fourth of July celebration. Photograph: José Luis Magaña/AFP/Getty Images The Independence Day holiday “doesn’t really mean anything when black people weren’t free on July 4th and those same liberties weren’t afforded to us,” local organizer Kerrigan Williams, co-founder of Freedom Fighters DC, tells USA Today. “We’re still marching for the same things.”
Updated at 21.48 BST
4 Jul 2020 19.18 BST Edward Helmore A second person has been charged in the alleged Molotov cocktail attack on an NYPD van with four officers inside during an anti-racism street protest in Brooklyn on 29 May.
Federal prosecutors, who claim jurisdiction because police vehicles are in part federally funded, said in court papers that Timothy Amerman, 29, of Saugerties, New York, had admitted that he “kitted up” Samantha Shader – who allegedly threw the explosive at the vehicle – with paint cans, glass bottles, marijuana and gas money as she traveled from the Catskill region to “cause hell”. Shader, who was arrested on the night of the protest, told federal investigators that she was given the makeshift bomb from a “thicker” black man with dreads of different colors, according to the government papers and reported by New York Daily News and New York Post on Saturday. The 27-year-old added that the black man said to her that they were “going to prove a point”, and added that she it was “important” to accept the Molotov cocktail because “she was the only white person in the area”, court papers say. But investigators claimed they found a note from Amerman in in Shader’s car that read: “I found a few more glass bottles than I thought I had, though still not many.” “BE SAFE,” the note added. “Please. Really. Good luck, love Tim.” Shader also reposted a message from Amerman’s Facebook page on creating disorder: “Black people have every right to burn down a country they built for free.” Amerman is charged with federal civil disorder and conspiracy to commit civil disorder and faces to 10 years in prison if convicted.
4 Jul 2020 18.24 BST Even Covid-19 can’t stop the sporting legend that is Joey Chestnut. The champion hot-dog eater won the annual Nathan’s Fourth of July competition by gulping down 75 hot dogs in 10 minutes to win his 13th title. He also beat his own record, which had been 74. Joey Chestnut poses after winning the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest. Photograph: Andrew Kelly/Reuters Miki Sudo won her seventh straight title in the women’s competition, with a total of 48.5. The competition, usually held in front of big crowds at Coney Island, was held inside with competitors separated by screens this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. You can now call Joey Chestnut the GOAT of GOATs! pic.twitter.com/YJGJXSzmBZ — CBS Sports (@CBSSports) July 4, 2020
4 Jul 2020 17.56 BST Richard Luscombe has taken a look at The Villages in Florida – where video last week showed a resident spewing racism, retweeted by the president. It has long been Trump country, but minds may be changing It promotes itself as “Florida’s friendliest hometown”, a retirement playground where seniors while away their golden years in a carefree world of golf and swimming, fine dining, drinking, and nightly line dances in the village square. But one reckless and controversial retweet from Donald Trump, featuring some ugly racism from a resident in a golf cart, and The Villages’ carefully crafted image as a peaceful utopia for retirees began to dissipate. As elderly white voters, one of Trump’s key voting blocs in 2016, show signs of abandoning the erratic president, some are even wondering if the door has been opened for Democrats here, an area that until now has been unashamedly “Trump country”. “He’s definitely turning off some of the older voters in The Villages,” said Chris Stanley, president of the Democratic Club in the 32-square mile retirement community of 125,000, and a resident herself for almost six years. “They’re concerned about his plans for Medicare and social security of course, but they also didn’t allow their children to behave like this, they don’t allow their grandchildren to behave like this, and they’re very much turned off by it. “This is the generation that watched Walter Cronkite, had John F Kennedy, and Eisenhower, when politics was a whole different animal. When even if your party or your chosen candidate didn’t win, you were never afraid of damage done to your family or your country. And now? Whoever thought we’d see something like it is right now?” The resident captured on the video yelling “White power! White power!” at a demonstrator was taking part in a parade of golf carts, the preferred mode of transport in The Villages, organised by Villagers for Trump, a rightwing group of residents that claims a membership of 2,000. Although the group has distanced itself from the comment and asserted the person is not a member, there are other allegations of the president’s more fervent supporters behaving badly. You can read the full article here: 'It’s a constant barrage of hate': how Trump sparks heated clashes in Florida's retirement resort Read more
4 Jul 2020 17.38 BST Two country judges in Texas have urged residents to shelter in place and wear face coverings as hospitals in their areas reach capacity. Please be safe this weekend. pic.twitter.com/DhiH7NEGXJ — Richard F. Cortez, Hidalgo County Judge (@JudgeCortez) July 3, 2020 “The local and valley hospitals are at full capacity and have no more beds available. I urge all of our residents to please shelter-in-place, wear face coverings, practice social distancing and AVOID GATHERINGS,” wrote Judge Eloy Vera of Starr county, adding that some patients had to be flown to areas with more capacity. In nearby Hidalgo county, Judge Richard Perez posted a similar warning. Earlier this week, Texas’ Republican governor, Greg Abbott, issued an executive order for masks to be work in public in counties with more than 20 Covid-19 cases.
4 Jul 2020 17.21 BST Trump says US on its way to 'tremendous victory' over Covid-19 as cases rise Donald Trump barely mentioned the Covid-19 pandemic sweeping the US in his incendiary speech at Mount Rushmore on Friday night. But in an appearance at the White House to wish Americans a happy fourth of July, the president referenced the virus, albeit to tell people how great a job he is doing. Predictably, he also recycled his old tactic of blaming the virus on China. Happy Fourth of July from President @realDonaldTrump! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/jhOOEzN0F2 — The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 4, 2020 “We were doing better than any country had done in history ... and then we got hit with this terrible plague from China and now we’re getting closer to fighting our way out of it,” said the president as numbers show Covid-19 cases are rising in 37 states across the US, and falling significantly in only one, Vermont. Despite evidence to the contrary, the president then suggested America was on its way to beating the virus. “Our country is coming back, our jobs numbers are spectacular, a lot of things are happening that people don’t quite see yet,” he said. “We’re on our way to a tremendous victory. It’s going to happen and it’s going to happen big. Our country will be greater than ever before.”
4 Jul 2020 17.07 BST Gregory “Joey” Johnson, who won a supreme court decision in 1989 that makes burning the American flag a constitutionally protected right, has said he will stage a flag burning ceremony in LA today “in defiance of the fascist Trump’s call to re-criminalize burning the flag in protest.” The president said last month he wants the burning of the flag to be punishable by up to a year in jail. Johnson, a member of the Revolutionary Communist Party, urged people to “defy the fascist in chief, the white supremacist in chief, the misogynist, xenophobic, jingoistic, America first chauvinist imperialist in chief. We all should have nothing but contempt and revulsion for him and his fascist regime – and be determined to mobilize millions of people to drive the regime from power.”


theguardian--2020-07-04--'It’s a constant barrage of hate': how Trump sparks heated clashes in Florida's retirement resort

It promotes itself as “ Florida ’ s friendliest hometown ” , a retirement playground where seniors while away their golden years in a carefree world of golf and swimming , fine dining , drinking , and nightly line dances in the village square .
But one reckless and controversial retweet from Donald Trump , featuring some ugly racism from a resident in a golf cart , and The Villages ’ carefully crafted image as a peaceful utopia for retirees began to dissipate .
As elderly white voters , one of Trump ’ s key voting blocs in 2016 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , some are even wondering if the door has been opened for Democrats here , an area that until now has been unashamedly “ Trump country ” .
“ He ’ s definitely turning off some of the older voters in The Villages , ” said Chris Stanley , president of the Democratic Club in the 32-square mile retirement community of 125,000 , and a resident herself for almost six years .
“ They ’ re concerned about his plans for Medicare and social security of course , but they also didn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this , they don ’ t allow their grandchildren to behave like this , and they ’ re very much turned off by it .
“ This is the generation that watched Walter Cronkite , had John F Kennedy , and Eisenhower , when politics was a whole different animal .
When even if your party or your chosen candidate didn ’ t win , you were never afraid of damage done to your family or your country .
And now ?
Whoever thought we ’ d see something like it is right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the video yelling “ White power !
White power !
” at a demonstrator was taking part in a parade of golf carts , the preferred mode of transport in The Villages , organised by Villagers for Trump , a rightwing group of residents that claims a membership of 2,000 .
Although the group has distanced itself from the comment and asserted the person is not a member , there are other allegations of the president ’ s more fervent supporters behaving badly .
Golf carts bearing signs for the Democratic party or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opponent in November , have been vandalised , Stanley says .
Pre-pandemic gatherings of Democrats were assailed by residents hurling insults ; pro-Democratic golf cart rallies have received social media threats of participants being pelted with rotten tomatoes or roofing nails left on trailways .
And there are also tales of villagers leaving bags of dog excrement in the carts of those with differing political views .
“ It ’ s very hostile , ” Stanley says .
“ Even on Facebook , you ’ re a libtard , you ’ re a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ barrage of hate.
” Stanley , who has helped to marshal teams of Democratic volunteers for phone banking and mailing campaign flyers while the coronavirus pandemic prevents traditional door-to-door stumping , is under no illusions about the challenge in November .
Trump carried the three conservative Florida counties that incorporate The Villages – Lake , Sumter and Marion – by more than 115,000 votes in 2016 .
Registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by a margin of more than two to one .
Yet Stanley also believes that Trump ’ s agenda of marginalising minorities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Villages , where 98.3 % of residents are white and 80 % are older than 65 , according to US census figures .
“ Many are grandparents who have multiracial grandchildren , gay grandchildren , ” Stanley said .
“ These are people in their 70s and 80s who lived through a difficult time in American history , desegregation of schools , the civil rights era … and are now seeing the reverse steps .
That concerns them more than the threat to Medicare and social security.
” Her evidence ?
Increasing numbers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ offer help and support : “ fence-sitters here , there and everywhere ; people who voted Trump in 2016 for whatever reason ; people turned off by the vitriol he spews all day long ” .
Dee Melvin , an air force veteran who moved to The Villages in 2014 with her husband , has also witnessed a darkening of the political skies since Trump ’ s election .
“ Politically , it ’ s no longer America ’ s friendliest hometown .
It gets tougher every day , ” she said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t realise there was strife going on politically .
Even in 2016 it wasn ’ t unbearable , but this cycle , since 2016 , it gets worse and worse.
” The atmosphere of hostility , she said , was the reason she decided to run for a seat in Florida ’ s house of representatives to represent The Villages , though she faces an uphill battle in November against Republican incumbent Brett Hage , elected in 2018 with 69.5 % of the vote .
“ I ’ ve never been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ always agree with Republicans , but honestly this is the first time ever that I ’ ve felt like someone is trying to tear our country apart and doing it on purpose , ” she said .
“ I have Republican friends I know will vote for me .
I have friends who were Republican and are now no-party-affiliated .
There ’ s a difference between a true Republican and a Trump supporter .
They ’ re two completely different people.
” Republican supporters , meanwhile , don ’ t see the kind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ predicting , even though they acknowledge the white power video was “ embarrassing ” .
“ Yes , he ’ s very popular down here , and I think he ’ ll run well for a variety of reasons , ” said John Calandro , a former chair of the Sumter county Republican party .
“ He likes us , he ’ s been here , it ’ s good , solid conservative country .
We will turn out on a per capita basis probably the highest percentage of voters in any county @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who know what they believe and express what they believe through the way they vote.
” As for the video , Calandro believes “ some people are trying to make more of it than it really is .
“ That ’ s embarrassing to all of us because it ’ s not who the Villagers are [ but ] remember there were husbands with wives in their carts , listening to the taunts , and this guy responded to it .
You have seven seconds in a video .
If you look at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 600 carts , there ’ s probably 60 or 70 carts roll by and they either ignore the taunts or wave and laugh.
” Stanley , the Democratic club official , however , does not buy into the “ rogue racist ” theory .
“ Before , the people weren ’ t as openly hateful , but now they have carte blanche to behave like this because of the president , ” she said .
“ Outside the third grade I have never known anybody like that .
It ’ s not quite @ @ @ @ @ @ @

It promotes itself as “Florida’s friendliest hometown”, a retirement playground where seniors while away their golden years in a carefree world of golf, swimming, fine dining, drinking, and nightly line dances in the village square.
But one reckless and controversial retweet from Donald Trump, featuring some ugly racism from a resident in a golf cart, and The Villages’ carefully crafted image as a peaceful utopia for retirees began to dissipate. As elderly white voters, one of Trump’s key voting blocs in 2016, show signs of abandoning the erratic president, some are even wondering if the door has been opened for Democrats here, an area that until now has been unashamedly “Trump country”.
“He’s definitely turning off some of the older voters in The Villages,” said Chris Stanley, president of the Democratic Club in the 32-square mile retirement community of 125,000, and a resident herself for almost six years.
“They’re concerned about his plans for Medicare and social security of course, but they also didn’t allow their children to behave like this, they don’t allow their grandchildren to behave like this, and they’re very much turned off by it.
“This is the generation that watched Walter Cronkite, had John F Kennedy, and Eisenhower, when politics was a whole different animal. When even if your party or your chosen candidate didn’t win, you were never afraid of damage done to your family or your country. And now? Whoever thought we’d see something like it is right now?”
The resident captured on the video yelling “White power! White power!” at a demonstrator was taking part in a parade of golf carts, the preferred mode of transport in The Villages, organised by Villagers for Trump, a rightwing group of residents that claims a membership of 2,000.
Although the group has distanced itself from the comment and asserted the person is not a member, there are other allegations of the president’s more fervent supporters behaving badly.
Golf carts bearing signs for the Democratic party or Joe Biden, Trump’s presumptive opponent in November, have been vandalised, Stanley says. Pre-pandemic gatherings of Democrats were assailed by residents hurling insults; pro-Democratic golf cart rallies have received social media threats of participants being pelted with rotten tomatoes or roofing nails left on trailways. And there are also tales of villagers leaving bags of dog excrement in the carts of those with differing political views.
People elbow bump while bowling at Spanish Springs Town Square, in The Villages, Florida, in March. Photograph: Yana Paskova/Reuters
“It’s very hostile,” Stanley says. “Even on Facebook, you’re a libtard, you’re a demon-rat. It’s a constant barrage of hate.”
Stanley, who has helped to marshal teams of Democratic volunteers for phone banking and mailing campaign flyers while the coronavirus pandemic prevents traditional door-to-door stumping, is under no illusions about the challenge in November.
Trump carried the three conservative Florida counties that incorporate The Villages – Lake, Sumter and Marion – by more than 115,000 votes in 2016. Registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by a margin of more than two to one.
Yet Stanley also believes that Trump’s agenda of marginalising minorities has disenchanted plenty of voters in The Villages, where 98.3% of residents are white and 80% are older than 65, according to US census figures.
“Many are grandparents who have multiracial grandchildren, gay grandchildren,” Stanley said. “These are people in their 70s and 80s who lived through a difficult time in American history, desegregation of schools, the civil rights era … and are now seeing the reverse steps. That concerns them more than the threat to Medicare and social security.”
Her evidence? Increasing numbers of residents she says are calling to offer help and support: “fence-sitters here, there and everywhere; people who voted Trump in 2016 for whatever reason; people turned off by the vitriol he spews all day long”.
Dee Melvin, an air force veteran who moved to The Villages in 2014 with her husband, has also witnessed a darkening of the political skies since Trump’s election.
“Politically, it’s no longer America’s friendliest hometown. It gets tougher every day,” she said.
“When we moved here I honestly didn’t realise there was strife going on politically. Even in 2016 it wasn’t unbearable, but this cycle, since 2016, it gets worse and worse.”
The atmosphere of hostility, she said, was the reason she decided to run for a seat in Florida’s house of representatives to represent The Villages, though she faces an uphill battle in November against Republican incumbent Brett Hage, elected in 2018 with 69.5% of the vote.
“I’ve never been politically involved. I don’t always agree with Republicans, but honestly this is the first time ever that I’ve felt like someone is trying to tear our country apart and doing it on purpose,” she said.
“I have Republican friends I know will vote for me. I have friends who were Republican and are now no-party-affiliated. There’s a difference between a true Republican and a Trump supporter. They’re two completely different people.”
Republican supporters, meanwhile, don’t see the kind of backlash against Trump that others are predicting, even though they acknowledge the white power video was “embarrassing”.
“Yes, he’s very popular down here, and I think he’ll run well for a variety of reasons,” said John Calandro, a former chair of the Sumter county Republican party.
A musician plays to a crowd at Brownwood Paddock Square in The Villages in March. Photograph: Yana Paskova/Reuters
“He likes us, he’s been here, it’s good, solid conservative country. We will turn out on a per capita basis probably the highest percentage of voters in any county in the state. These are people who know what they believe and express what they believe through the way they vote.”
As for the video, Calandro believes “some people are trying to make more of it than it really is.
“That’s embarrassing to all of us because it’s not who the Villagers are [but] remember there were husbands with wives in their carts, listening to the taunts, and this guy responded to it. You have seven seconds in a video. If you look at the minutes after that, of the 600 carts, there’s probably 60 or 70 carts roll by and they either ignore the taunts or wave and laugh.”
Stanley, the Democratic club official, however, does not buy into the “rogue racist” theory.
“Before, the people weren’t as openly hateful, but now they have carte blanche to behave like this because of the president,” she said.
“Outside the third grade I have never known anybody like that. It’s not quite the retirement I had planned.”


theguardian--2020-07-04--'Consigning his voters to sickness': Trump fuels culture war over masks

Nancy Allen , 73 , wears a face mask in the chicken coop at her farm but not when she goes to church .
“ There ’ s been so much change in what we should do and what we should not do , ” explains the Donald Trump supporter from Shelby , North Carolina .
“ I don ’ t think that I should be told that I have to wear a mask and I don ’ t think the president should , unless he feels like he needs it.
” Neera Tanden , 49 , became infected with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and muscle pain and sleeping long hours .
Her Twitter handle is now “ Neera -Wear a Mask -Tanden ” .
The president of the Center for American Progress , a liberal thinktank in Washington , says of Trump : “ His position of politicising mask use is barbaric and it is ensuring that more people will get sick and more people will die .
“ The idea that we have a president whose policies and attitude and statements could end up killing people instead of saving their lives is frankly insane .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ it is.
” Only in America , or perhaps only in an America where Trump is president , could the wearing of face masks – an effective measure to stop the spread of the virus – become a political statement , the latest battlefield in the country ’ s seemingly never-ending culture wars .
The commander-in-chief has been caught on camera wearing a mask once – in May behind the scenes on a factory tour – but refuses to don one in public and has criticised his election opponent , Joe Biden , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doing so .
When the president held “ Make America Great Again ” ( Maga ) campaign events in Oklahoma and Arizona last month , face coverings were few and far between .
At Black Lives Matter protests across the country , by contrast , they were ubiquitous .
To wear or not to wear has been fought in bars , cafes and supermarkets .
Online videos show mask-free customers throwing items from their trolleys after being told to leave .
A Starbucks barista in San Diego who was publicly shamed by a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mask has received more than $ 100,000 in virtual tips after a Facebook post that attacked him went viral .
But never was the struggle more evident than at a meeting of the Palm Beach county commissioners in Florida .
Speaker after speaker railed against mandatory masks , drawing comparisons with Nazi Germany and pushing conspiracy theories linking the virus to Hillary Clinton , Bill Gates , 5G mobile networks and paedophiles .
One declared : “ This is not Cuba , we are not in a communist nation.
” Another said : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mask for the same reason I don ’ t wear underwear : things got ta breathe.
” Alex Castellanos , a Republican strategist , told the Washington Post : “ Mask-wearing has become a totem , a secular religious symbol .
Christians wear crosses , Muslims wear a hijab , and members of the Church of Secular Science bow to the Gods of Data by wearing a mask as their symbol , demonstrating that they are the elite ; smarter , more rational , and morally superior to everyone else.
” But the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ partisan lines .
An ABC News-Ipsos poll last week found that 89 % of adults who left home in the previous week said they wore a mask , a jump from 55 % in early April .
And as the virus now ravages Republican-leaning , so-called red , states , even Trump ’ s allies in the Republican party have bowed to reality .
The Texas governor , Greg Abbott , who a month ago banned local governments from fining people not wearing masks in public , performed an about-face on Thursday by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ covering in public in counties with 20 or more positive coronavirus cases .
Vice-President Mike Pence , who two months ago earned scorn by eschewing a mask while touring the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota , is now on board and sporting one .
Mitch McConnell , Trump ’ s chief enforcer in the Senate , brandished a Washington Nationals baseball-branded mask ( just like the federal public health expert Anthony Fauci , who has long been urging mask-wearing ) and declared : “ We must have no stigma , none , about wearing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ come near other people.
” The Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming tweeted a photo of her father , the former vice-president , wearing a disposable mask and a cowboy hat along with the message : “ Dick Cheney says WEAR A MASK # realmenwearmasks.
” And Lamar Alexander , chairman of the Senate health , education , labour and pensions committee , delivered a heartfelt plea : “ Unfortunately this simple lifesaving practice has become part of a political debate that says : if you ’ re for Trump , you don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you ’ re against Trump , you do .
“ That is why I have suggested the president should occasionally wear a mask even though there are not many occasions when it is necessary for him to do so .
The president has millions of admirers .
They would follow his lead .
It would help end this political debate .
The stakes are too high for it to continue.
” On Wednesday there were signs that even Trump had got the message .
“ I ’ m all for masks .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told the Fox Business channel .
“ People have seen me wearing one .
If I were in a tight situation with people , I would absolutely.
” Recalling a rare occasion when he did wear a mask , Trump reached for a characteristically antiquated cultural reference : “ It looked like the Lone Ranger .
I have no problem with that , and if people feel good about it , they should do it.
” In two public appearances at the White House on Thursday , however , the president remained mask-less @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tested for the coronavirus , as are his aides .
His press secretary called him “ the most tested man in America ” .
But his aversion to face coverings remains a riddle .
Tanden , a prominent supporter of Clinton in 2016 against Trump , speculated : “ I think maybe they thought this was a virus that only hit blue [ Democrat leaning ] states so they didn ’ t really care , or it ’ s machismo , or maybe his makeup will wear off if he wears a mask @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what the actual answer is as to why he doesn ’ t wear a mask but the effect of it is that he is consigning his voters to sickness .
The spikes are now in Arizona and Texas and Florida and California , and a lot of California is because of Arizona.
” France ’ s Emmanuel Macron and Canada ’ s Justin Trudeau are among world leaders who have set an example by wearing masks in public .
Tanden added : “ All the leaders of Europe are wearing masks .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It ’ s just him and [ Brazilian president Jair ] Bolsonaro .
It ’ s anti-science and anti-knowledge .
The problem with a pandemic is refuting the science and refuting the evidence and refuting facts means people die.
” A recent survey of 2,459 people in the US found that men are less likely to wear face masks because they believe it is “ shameful ” , “ a sign of weakness ” and “ not cool ” .
Critics accuse Trump of a toxic masculinity that holds masks are for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Republican presidential nominee next month to Jacksonville , Florida , so that a big and boisterous gathering can take place , after the original location , North Carolina , refused to promise to relax social-distancing guidelines .
But Jacksonville this week announced a mask requirement for indoor public spaces .
At least 14 states have mask mandates , the National Governors Association says .
And a Goldman Sachs report found that a national mask mandate could increase the number of wearers by 15 percentage points , shielding the economy from a 5 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said he would pursue a federal mask mandate if elected he wins the White House in November .
“ Wear a mask , ” the Democratic candidate tweeted on Thursday , with a video of him doing just that .
But underlying the resistance are enduring American notions of civil liberties and freedom from government interference , typified by Trump ’ s hardline backing of the constitutional second amendment that protects the right to bear arms .
There are also echoes of the anti-vaccination movement .
Some observers have likened the required cultural @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eventually required legal enforcement .
Patton Oswalt , an actor and comedian , tweeted : “ When seat belts were first introduced in 1968 , there were idiots who insisted they ‘ infringed on their freedoms ’ and would physically cut them out of their cars .
We make fun of those people now .
Can you guess who we ’ ll be making fun of in 2072 ?
” Fireworks displays on 4 July , celebrating America ’ s independence from the British empire , will be the next major test .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hoover Institution think tank at Stanford University , mused : “ I ’ m not sure if we ’ re going to be at the point where people are going to dump masks into the habour like cases of tea , but we will see .
“ The right really has problems with the mask but , on the other hand , you would think an entrepreneurial person like Donald Trump would come up with a Maga mask .
”

Nancy Allen, 73, wears a face mask in the chicken coop at her farm but not when she goes to church. “There’s been so much change in what we should do and what we should not do,” explains the Donald Trump supporter from Shelby, North Carolina. “I don’t think that I should be told that I have to wear a mask and I don’t think the president should, unless he feels like he needs it.”
Neera Tanden, 49, became infected with the coronavirus in May, suffering fatigue and muscle pain and sleeping long hours. Her Twitter handle is now “Neera -Wear a Mask -Tanden”. The president of the Center for American Progress, a liberal thinktank in Washington, says of Trump: “His position of politicising mask use is barbaric and it is ensuring that more people will get sick and more people will die.
“The idea that we have a president whose policies and attitude and statements could end up killing people instead of saving their lives is frankly insane. It’s beyond comprehension how reprehensible it is.”
Only in America, or perhaps only in an America where Trump is president, could the wearing of face masks – an effective measure to stop the spread of the virus – become a political statement, the latest battlefield in the country’s seemingly never-ending culture wars.
The commander-in-chief has been caught on camera wearing a mask once – in May behind the scenes on a factory tour – but refuses to don one in public and has criticised his election opponent, Joe Biden, and “politically correct” reporters for doing so.
When the president held “Make America Great Again” (Maga) campaign events in Oklahoma and Arizona last month, face coverings were few and far between. At Black Lives Matter protests across the country, by contrast, they were ubiquitous.
The battle over to wear or not to wear has been fought in bars, cafes and supermarkets. Online videos show mask-free customers throwing items from their trolleys after being told to leave.
A Starbucks barista in San Diego who was publicly shamed by a customer after asking her to wear a mask has received more than $100,000 in virtual tips after a Facebook post that attacked him went viral.
But never was the struggle more evident than at a meeting of the Palm Beach county commissioners in Florida. Speaker after speaker railed against mandatory masks, drawing comparisons with Nazi Germany and pushing conspiracy theories linking the virus to Hillary Clinton, Bill Gates, 5G mobile networks and paedophiles. One declared: “This is not Cuba, we are not in a communist nation.” Another said: “I don’t wear a mask for the same reason I don’t wear underwear: things gotta breathe.”
Alex Castellanos, a Republican strategist, told the Washington Post: “Mask-wearing has become a totem, a secular religious symbol. Christians wear crosses, Muslims wear a hijab, and members of the Church of Secular Science bow to the Gods of Data by wearing a mask as their symbol, demonstrating that they are the elite; smarter, more rational, and morally superior to everyone else.”
But the divide no longer breaks along the usual partisan lines. An ABC News-Ipsos poll last week found that 89% of adults who left home in the previous week said they wore a mask, a jump from 55% in early April. And as the virus now ravages Republican-leaning, so-called red, states, even Trump’s allies in the Republican party have bowed to reality.
The Texas governor, Greg Abbott, who a month ago banned local governments from fining people not wearing masks in public, performed an about-face on Thursday by requiring all Texans to wear a face covering in public in counties with 20 or more positive coronavirus cases.
Greg Abbott, right, is followed by Vice-President Mike Pence and housing secretary Ben Carson as they arrive for a news conference last month. Photograph: Tony Gutierrez/AP
Vice-President Mike Pence, who two months ago earned scorn by eschewing a mask while touring the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, is now on board and sporting one. Mitch McConnell, Trump’s chief enforcer in the Senate, brandished a Washington Nationals baseball-branded mask (just like the federal public health expert Anthony Fauci, who has long been urging mask-wearing) and declared: “We must have no stigma, none, about wearing masks when we leave our homes and come near other people.”
The Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming tweeted a photo of her father, the former vice-president, wearing a disposable mask and a cowboy hat along with the message: “Dick Cheney says WEAR A MASK #realmenwearmasks.”
And Lamar Alexander, chairman of the Senate health, education, labour and pensions committee, delivered a heartfelt plea: “Unfortunately this simple lifesaving practice has become part of a political debate that says: if you’re for Trump, you don’t wear a mask; if you’re against Trump, you do.
“That is why I have suggested the president should occasionally wear a mask even though there are not many occasions when it is necessary for him to do so. The president has millions of admirers. They would follow his lead. It would help end this political debate. The stakes are too high for it to continue.”
On Wednesday there were signs that even Trump had got the message. “I’m all for masks. I think masks are good,” he told the Fox Business channel. “People have seen me wearing one. If I were in a tight situation with people, I would absolutely.”
Recalling a rare occasion when he did wear a mask, Trump reached for a characteristically antiquated cultural reference: “It looked like the Lone Ranger. I have no problem with that, and if people feel good about it, they should do it.”
In two public appearances at the White House on Thursday, however, the president remained mask-less. Allies note that he is regularly tested for the coronavirus, as are his aides. His press secretary called him “the most tested man in America”. But his aversion to face coverings remains a riddle.
Tanden, a prominent supporter of Clinton in 2016 against Trump, speculated: “I think maybe they thought this was a virus that only hit blue [Democrat leaning] states so they didn’t really care, or it’s machismo, or maybe his makeup will wear off if he wears a mask.
“I don’t know what the actual answer is as to why he doesn’t wear a mask but the effect of it is that he is consigning his voters to sickness. The spikes are now in Arizona and Texas and Florida and California, and a lot of California is because of Arizona.”
France’s Emmanuel Macron and Canada’s Justin Trudeau are among world leaders who have set an example by wearing masks in public. Tanden added: “All the leaders of Europe are wearing masks. In Asia, they’re wearing masks. It’s just him and [Brazilian president Jair] Bolsonaro. It’s anti-science and anti-knowledge. The problem with a pandemic is refuting the science and refuting the evidence and refuting facts means people die.”
A recent survey of 2,459 people in the US found that men are less likely to wear face masks because they believe it is “shameful”, “a sign of weakness” and “not cool”. Critics accuse Trump of a toxic masculinity that holds masks are for wimps. He has switched his coronation as Republican presidential nominee next month to Jacksonville, Florida, so that a big and boisterous gathering can take place, after the original location, North Carolina, refused to promise to relax social-distancing guidelines. But Jacksonville this week announced a mask requirement for indoor public spaces.
At least 14 states have mask mandates, the National Governors Association says. And a Goldman Sachs report found that a national mask mandate could increase the number of wearers by 15 percentage points, shielding the economy from a 5% reduction in GDP. Biden has said he would pursue a federal mask mandate if elected he wins the White House in November. “Wear a mask,” the Democratic candidate tweeted on Thursday, with a video of him doing just that.
But underlying the resistance are enduring American notions of civil liberties and freedom from government interference, typified by Trump’s hardline backing of the constitutional second amendment that protects the right to bear arms. There are also echoes of the anti-vaccination movement.
Some observers have likened the required cultural shift to car seat belts, which eventually required legal enforcement. Patton Oswalt, an actor and comedian, tweeted: “When seat belts were first introduced in 1968, there were idiots who insisted they ‘infringed on their freedoms’ and would physically cut them out of their cars. We make fun of those people now. Can you guess who we’ll be making fun of in 2072?”
Fireworks displays on 4 July, celebrating America’s independence from the British empire, will be the next major test.
Bill Whalen, a fellow at the Hoover Institution think tank at Stanford University, mused: “I’m not sure if we’re going to be at the point where people are going to dump masks into the habour like cases of tea, but we will see.
“The right really has problems with the mask but, on the other hand, you would think an entrepreneurial person like Donald Trump would come up with a Maga mask.”


theguardian--2020-07-04--US under siege from 'far-left fascism', says Trump in Mount Rushmore speech

Standing beneath Mount Rushmore on the eve of American independence day , Donald Trump staged a defiant celebration of what critics say is white identity politics and warned the nation ’ s history is under siege from “ far-left fascism ” .
The US president defended the symbolism of statues and monuments before a packed crowd at an event that revelled in political incorrectness calculated to enflame the country ’ s current divisions and enrage liberal critics .
There were few face masks and even fewer people of color on stage or in the stands .
“ Our nation is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our history , defame our heroes , erase our values and indoctrinate our children , ” Trump said .
“ Angry mobs are trying to tear down statues of our founders , deface our most sacred memorials and unleash a wave of violent crime in our cities.
” In an effort to fight back , he announced a surprise executive order establishing “ The National Garden of American Heroes ” , a vast outdoor park featuring statues of “ the greatest Americans to ever live ” – a selection sure to provoke debate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dakota depicts the images of US presidents George Washington , Thomas Jefferson , Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln .
Washington and Jefferson owned slaves and have found their legacies increasingly questioned since the police killing of African American George Floyd in Minneapolis by a white police officer on 25 May triggered a wave of Black Lives Matter protests and the toppling of dozens of Confederate statues .
The president has shown no sign of embracing the public mood , but has rather dug in with a “ law and order ” response , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ statues , resisting changes to military bases named after Confederate generals and retweeting ( then deleting ) a video in which a man shouted “ White power !
” .
On Friday Trump become the first president since George H W Bush in 1991 to attend Mount Rushmore ’ s independence day celebration .
He saluted and his wife Melania stood with hand on heart as the national anthem played , the stars and stripes unfurled on big screens and Blue Angels jets flew overhead .
“ This monument will never be desecrated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ These heroes will never be defaced .
Their legacy will never , ever be destroyed .
Their achievements will never be forgotten .
And Mount Rushmore will stand forever as an eternal tribute to our forefathers and to our freedom.
” In remarks that offered little by way of reconciliation , he went on to rail against “ cancel culture , driving people from their jobs , shaming dissenters and demanding total submission from anyone who disagrees .
This is the very definition of totalitarianism , and it is completely alien @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It has absolutely no place in the United States of America .
“ This attack on our liberty , our magnificent liberty , must be stopped , and it will be stopped very quickly.
” He added darkly : “ In our schools , our newsrooms , even our corporate boardrooms , there is a new far-left fascism that demands absolute allegiance .
If you do not speak its language , perform its rituals , recite its mantras and follow its commandments , then you will be censored , banished , blacklisted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the overwhelmingly white crowd , he said : “ Not going to happen to us.
” Trump added : “ Make no mistake , this leftwing cultural revolution is designed to overthrow the American revolution.
” When the president said he was deploying federal law enforcement to protect monuments and arrest and prosecute offenders , the crowd rose to their feet and applauded .
When he proclaimed , “ They want to silence us , but we will not be silenced , ” there were chants of “ USA !
USA !
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ others who take a knee to protest racial injustice , Trump said : “ We stand tall , we stand proud and we only kneel before almighty God.
” He went on to announce the National Garden of American Heroes in an executive order that said it should include statues of figures like Frederick Douglass , Amelia Earhart , Benjamin Franklin , Billy Graham , Alexander Hamilton , Thomas Jefferson , Martin Luther King Jr , Abraham Lincoln , Ronald Reagan , Jackie Robinson , Antonin Scalia , Harriet Beecher Stowe , Harriet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Washington and Orville and Wilbur Wright .
After the speech , Trump sat with Melania to watch a fireworks display above the monument , accompanied by patriotic music and historical readings , the first since 2009 due to environmental concerns and wildfire fears .
South Dakota says the surrounding Black Hills National Forest has “ gained strength ” since then and that fireworks technology has advanced .
But the threat of damage was one more example of how , if president ’ s advisers had designed a stunt to goad his critics in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hardly have chosen a more incendiary time and place .
Protesters blocked a road leading to the monument .
Authorities worked to move the demonstrators , mostly Native Americans protesting that South Dakota ’ s Black Hills were taken from the Lakota people against treaty agreements and objecting to Trump celebrating American independence on their sacred ground .
About 15 protesters were arrested after missing a police-imposed deadline to leave .
The Democratic National Committee tweeted at one point that Trump had disrespected Native Americans and that his South Dakota trip was “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deleted the tweet .
As in Oklahoma and Arizona last month , Trump held an event with a big crowd despite health experts ’ recommendations to avoid large gatherings amid a surge of coronavirus cases to a record of more than 50,000 per day .
Covid-19 cases in Pennington County surrounding Mount Rushmore have more than doubled over the past month .
It was reported on Friday that Kimberly Guilfoyle , the girlfriend of the president ’ s son Donald Trump Jr , has tested positive for the coronavirus .
She had travelled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the event .

Standing beneath Mount Rushmore on the eve of American independence day, Donald Trump staged a defiant celebration of what critics say is white identity politics and warned the nation’s history is under siege from “far-left fascism”.
The US president defended the symbolism of statues and monuments before a packed crowd at an event that revelled in political incorrectness calculated to enflame the country’s current divisions and enrage liberal critics. There were few face masks and even fewer people of color on stage or in the stands.
“Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values and indoctrinate our children,” Trump said. “Angry mobs are trying to tear down statues of our founders, deface our most sacred memorials and unleash a wave of violent crime in our cities.”
Donald Trump, accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, at Mount Rushmore. Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP
In an effort to fight back, he announced a surprise executive order establishing “The National Garden of American Heroes”, a vast outdoor park featuring statues of “the greatest Americans to ever live” – a selection sure to provoke debate and controversy.
Mount Rushmore in South Dakota depicts the images of US presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Washington and Jefferson owned slaves and have found their legacies increasingly questioned since the police killing of African American George Floyd in Minneapolis by a white police officer on 25 May triggered a wave of Black Lives Matter protests and the toppling of dozens of Confederate statues.
The president has shown no sign of embracing the public mood, but has rather dug in with a “law and order” response, promising harsh penalties for anyone who vandalizes statues, resisting changes to military bases named after Confederate generals and retweeting (then deleting) a video in which a man shouted “White power!”.
On Friday Trump become the first president since George HW Bush in 1991 to attend Mount Rushmore’s independence day celebration. He saluted and his wife, Melania, stood with hand on heart as the national anthem played, the stars and stripes unfurled on big screens and Blue Angels jets flew overhead.
“This monument will never be desecrated,” Trump declared, eliciting cheers. “These heroes will never be defaced. Their legacy will never, ever be destroyed. Their achievements will never be forgotten. And Mount Rushmore will stand forever as an eternal tribute to our forefathers and to our freedom.”
Fireworks light the sky at Mount Rushmore. Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP
In remarks that offered little by way of reconciliation, he went on to rail against “cancel culture, driving people from their jobs, shaming dissenters and demanding total submission from anyone who disagrees. This is the very definition of totalitarianism, and it is completely alien to our culture and to our values. It has absolutely no place in the United States of America.
“This attack on our liberty, our magnificent liberty, must be stopped, and it will be stopped very quickly.”
He added darkly: “In our schools, our newsrooms, even our corporate boardrooms, there is a new far-left fascism that demands absolute allegiance. If you do not speak its language, perform its rituals, recite its mantras and follow its commandments, then you will be censored, banished, blacklisted, persecuted and punished.”
Gesturing to the overwhelmingly white crowd, he said: “Not going to happen to us.”
Trump added: “Make no mistake, this leftwing cultural revolution is designed to overthrow the American revolution.”
When the president said he was deploying federal law enforcement to protect monuments and arrest and prosecute offenders, the crowd rose to their feet and applauded. When he proclaimed, “They want to silence us, but we will not be silenced,” there were chants of “USA! USA!”
In a swipe at sports professionals and others who take a knee to protest racial injustice, Trump said: “We stand tall, we stand proud and we only kneel before almighty God.”
He went on to announce the National Garden of American Heroes in an executive order that said it should include statues of figures like Frederick Douglass, Amelia Earhart, Benjamin Franklin, Billy Graham, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King Jr, Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, Jackie Robinson, Antonin Scalia, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Tubman, Booker T Washington, George Washington and Orville and Wilbur Wright.
After the speech, Trump sat with Melania to watch a fireworks display above the monument, accompanied by patriotic music and historical readings, the first since 2009 due to environmental concerns and wildfire fears. South Dakota says the surrounding Black Hills National Forest has “gained strength” since then and that fireworks technology has advanced.
But the threat of damage was one more example of how, if president’s advisers had designed a stunt to goad his critics in the media and Congress, they could hardly have chosen a more incendiary time and place.
Protesters blocked a road leading to the monument. Authorities worked to move the demonstrators, mostly Native Americans protesting that South Dakota’s Black Hills were taken from the Lakota people against treaty agreements and objecting to Trump celebrating American independence on their sacred ground. About 15 protesters were arrested after missing a police-imposed deadline to leave.
The Democratic National Committee tweeted at one point that Trump had disrespected Native Americans and that his South Dakota trip was “glorifying white supremacy”. It subsequently deleted the tweet.
As in Oklahoma and Arizona last month, Trump held an event with a big crowd despite health experts’ recommendations to avoid large gatherings amid a surge of coronavirus cases to a record of more than 50,000 per day. Covid-19 cases in Pennington county surrounding Mount Rushmore have more than doubled over the past month.
It was reported on Friday that Kimberly Guilfoyle, the girlfriend of the president’s son Donald Trump Jr, has tested positive for the coronavirus. She had travelled to South Dakota but did not attend the event.


theguardian--2020-07-04--Trump is scooping up the world’s remdesivir. It’s a sign of things to come | Devi Sridhar

Donald Trump has called Covid-19 a hoax , encouraged his followers to take hydroxychloroquine and threatened to cut all ties between the US and the World Health Organization .
He has predicted that coronavirus will disappear one day , like a miracle , organised indoor rallies with no masks during the height of the pandemic and encouraged public health officials to slow down testing , because carrying out tests results in a larger number of confirmed cases .
He has praised scientists for developing an HIV/Aids vaccine ( which doesn ’ t exist ) , been accused of stealing 20 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Germany and France .
In this wild west moment in international relations , Trump boasted this week that the US had bought the world ’ s entire supply of remdesivir , the antiviral drug produced by the US biotechnology company Gilead .
Remdesivir is one of the few proven medications for treating Covid-19 patients .
Though low- and middle-income countries can still produce their own generic versions of the drug , European and other high-income countries are not able to buy remdesivir or produce it for three months .
Fortunately the UK @ @ @ @ @ @ @ drug to treat all the patients who need it .
Trump ’ s “ America first ” behaviour is in keeping with how powerful states usually behave during outbreaks .
During the 2014 Ebola epidemic , an experimental therapy called Zmapp made headlines .
Ebola is one of the deadliest viruses to humans and kills about 70 % of people who catch it if they don ’ t receive medical support .
Zmapp had only been trialled in 18 rhesus monkeys , but even in relatively late stages of the disease it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
A mass scramble followed , with countries desperate to acquire the limited doses of Zmapp available .
Powerful , high-income countries such as the US and Spain were able to procure Zmapp for their health workers , while doctors and nurses in west African countries were largely left without an effective treatment .
This issue was also raised during the H5N1 avian flu outbreak in 2006 , when the Indonesian health minister Siti Fadilah Supari expressed concern that low- and middle-income countries had to share virus samples with the WHO and associated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the resulting products ( vaccines , therapeutics , diagnostics ) .
Supari invoked the principle of “ viral sovereignty ” to argue that it made no sense for countries to share viruses freely when these would ultimately end up in the hands of pharmaceutical companies that would sell their vaccines to the highest bidder – most likely the US and European governments .
Supari ’ s frustration clearly highlighted the way in which access to essential medicines and vaccines has always worked : whichever government can pay the most will get the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ samples or trials that were central to its development actually took place .
After years of negotiation , the WHO finally agreed the pandemic influenza preparedness framework , which provides a roadmap for how research products for that virus can be shared equitably across countries around the world .
As the world fixates on when a Covid-19 vaccine might become available , recent history shows us that rhetoric about solidarity and cooperation easily gives way to a mad scramble of competing national interests .
At the WHO assembly this May , a resolution @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make Covid-19 research products global public goods .
But these will be empty words in the absence of hard discussions and concrete details about which countries are at the front of the queue , how many doses each country will have to access to , and how principles of fairness and equity will run through all decisions .
When a vaccine or new therapy for Covid-19 is discovered , we can expect the clamour from citizens to become louder , and the pressure on governments to intensify .
What Trump knows best is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ business is money .
Unfortunately , this also applies during a pandemic , when whoever has the most money can afford the most vaccines and essential medicines , too .
• Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh

Donald Trump has called Covid-19 a hoax, encouraged his followers to take hydroxychloroquine and threatened to cut all ties between the US and the World Health Organization. He has predicted that coronavirus will disappear one day, like a miracle, organised indoor rallies with no masks during the height of the pandemic and encouraged public health officials to slow down testing, because carrying out tests results in a larger number of confirmed cases. He has praised scientists for developing an HIV/Aids vaccine (which doesn’t exist), been accused of stealing 20 ventilators from Barbados and taking face masks from Germany and France.
In this wild west moment in international relations, Trump boasted this week that the US had bought the world’s entire supply of remdesivir, the antiviral drug produced by the US biotechnology company Gilead. Remdesivir is one of the few proven medications for treating Covid-19 patients. Though low- and middle-income countries can still produce their own generic versions of the drug, European and other high-income countries are not able to buy remdesivir or produce it for three months. Fortunately the UK and Germany have stockpiled enough of the drug to treat all the patients who need it.
Trump’s “America first” behaviour is in keeping with how powerful states usually behave during outbreaks. During the 2014 Ebola epidemic, an experimental therapy called Zmapp made headlines. Ebola is one of the deadliest viruses to humans and kills about 70% of people who catch it if they don’t receive medical support. Zmapp had only been trialled in 18 rhesus monkeys, but even in relatively late stages of the disease it was 100% effective in the monkeys recovering. A mass scramble followed, with countries desperate to acquire the limited doses of Zmapp available. Powerful, high-income countries such as the US and Spain were able to procure Zmapp for their health workers, while doctors and nurses in west African countries were largely left without an effective treatment.
This issue was also raised during the H5N1 avian flu outbreak in 2006, when the Indonesian health minister Siti Fadilah Supari expressed concern that low- and middle-income countries had to share virus samples with the WHO and associated research centres, but did not benefit from the resulting products (vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics). Supari invoked the principle of “viral sovereignty” to argue that it made no sense for countries to share viruses freely when these would ultimately end up in the hands of pharmaceutical companies that would sell their vaccines to the highest bidder – most likely the US and European governments.
Supari’s frustration clearly highlighted the way in which access to essential medicines and vaccines has always worked: whichever government can pay the most will get the product, regardless of where the virus samples or trials that were central to its development actually took place. After years of negotiation, the WHO finally agreed the pandemic influenza preparedness framework, which provides a roadmap for how research products for that virus can be shared equitably across countries around the world.
As the world fixates on when a Covid-19 vaccine might become available, recent history shows us that rhetoric about solidarity and cooperation easily gives way to a mad scramble of competing national interests. At the WHO assembly this May, a resolution was passed by all member states to make Covid-19 research products global public goods. But these will be empty words in the absence of hard discussions and concrete details about which countries are at the front of the queue, how many doses each country will have to access to, and how principles of fairness and equity will run through all decisions. When a vaccine or new therapy for Covid-19 is discovered, we can expect the clamour from citizens to become louder, and the pressure on governments to intensify.
What Trump knows best is that the only thing that matters in business is money. Unfortunately, this also applies during a pandemic, when whoever has the most money can afford the most vaccines and essential medicines, too.
Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh


theguardian--2020-07-04--Love of science, not Trump's ignorance, will make America great again

We know what the temperature was in Philadelphia on 4 July 1776 , because Thomas Jefferson wrote it down at 6am ( 68F ) , 9am ( 72.25F ) , 1pm ( 76F ) , and 9pm ( 73.5F ) .
Even on this most important day , the author of the Declaration of Independence was never too busy to observe nature .
Scientific language helped as he scratched out the words , claiming it was “ self-evident ” that people had rights , based on “ the Laws of Nature and of Nature ’ s God ” .
Like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is in the middle of a convulsive reappraisal , one of many ways in which the country feels deeply divided as it enters its birthday weekend .
If history is adding to our stress , science is not far behind .
When Dr Anthony Fauci testified in Congress this week , it was difficult to know what was worse , his prediction that huge numbers of people will still get sick with Covid-19 , or his regret that so many Americans remain stubbornly “ anti-science ” .
The two are , of course @ @ @ @ @ @ @ paradox that a country so technologically advanced should be in some sense hostile to the science that lifted it so high .
Yet it has been true since the beginning .
Some of these tensions go back even earlier , to the Great Awakening of the 1740s , when rural crowds were whipped into frenzies against educated coastal elites , denounced as Pharisees , who knew nothing of the genuine gospel .
But when the US became a reality , these tensions receded , replaced by a commitment to factuality and reason , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the revolution .
No one better symbolized the Enlightenment than Benjamin Franklin , whose scientific reputation came in handy when it was urgent to impress the French .
One of his nicknames was “ l ’ ambassadeur éléctrique ” – the electric ambassador , after his famous experiment with lightning .
Nearly every major founder joined the American Philosophical Society , including George Washington , John Adams and James Madison .
Jefferson even served as its president and contributed research on insects , fossils and the new flora and fauna coming in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – of the United States .
This commitment to science always helped as Americans struggled to find their footing on the world ’ s stage .
It is undeniable that deep racial inequities were built into the system , undermining democracy from the start .
But the founders expected later generations to tinker with the structure they were building , as if it were a mechanical object , like those depicted in the engravings of Diderot ’ s Encyclopedia , full of interlocking parts that could be adjusted to bear new weight .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ than others .
But even those who were not maintained a decent respect for the tradition established by the founders .
Andrew Jackson wore his lack of education like a badge of honor , but he was ultimately a pragmatist .
He and his successors created new offices to map the continent and sent expeditions into the Pacific and the Middle East .
In Washington , a pride in science began to alter the city ’ s skyline , with the Smithsonian castle and a handsome Greek Revival Patent Office , a temple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was an obscure lawyer in Springfield , Illinois , who in 1849 sent in a design for a device to lift a boat over a sandbar .
Abraham Lincoln may have been under-educated , like Jackson , but he remains the only president with a patent to his name .
Science and mathematics were crucial to his growth .
The earliest known Lincoln documents are arithmetic assignments and he explained that the Greek mathematician Euclid taught him how to win an argument , to prove a “ proposition ” .
That Euclidean word @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Address , which sets out to “ prove ” Jefferson ’ s argument that all men are created equal .
Under Lincoln , science advanced mightily , playing a significant role in winning the civil war .
The National Academy of Sciences was founded in 1863 .
Lincoln also established a medical research unit of the army that continues to do important research on viruses .
( In 2005 , it re-sequenced old flu specimens from the 1918 pandemic . )
The White House turned into a weapons lab of sorts , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a president eager to try them out , often personally .
More than 20,000 patents were issued in the North during the war years .
In the South , it was different .
With fewer cities , universities and immigrants , the Confederacy could not innovate on the same scale .
Only 266 patents are known , or one for every hundred in the north .
By its very nature , slavery depended on the suppression of information .
That proved to be a fatal flaw .
Later presidents understood that democracy grew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at every level , including the state universities that also stemmed from Lincoln ’ s presidency .
The teaching of science improved and American discoveries began to be noticed on the world stage .
Of course , “ anti-science ” did not disappear completely .
In the famous Scopes trial of 1925 , in Dayton , Tennessee , an epic trial was fought over the teaching of evolution and a former secretary of state , William Jennings Bryan , did all he could to resist the forces of progress .
But by then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a nation that liked facts .
Since then , many Republicans and Democrats have occupied the White House , and nearly all have followed the lead of the founders in letting the facts speak for themselves .
Herbert Hoover was a mining engineer .
When Franklin D Roosevelt ran for the White House in 1932 he used a scientist ’ s language to demand “ bold , persistent experimentation ” .
Like Lincoln , he became a wartime commander , and understood how useful scientists could be in a national emergency .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the ways in which science and government have reinforced each other since then .
But a short list of highlights would include the moon landings , Darpa ’ s work toward the internet , and the Human Genome Project .
Each was a tribute to bipartisanship and the confident embrace of knowledge .
That feels like a long time ago .
In a very different moment , when science is most needed , “ anti-science ” is at the helm .
How it survived all those decades of scientific achievement would require @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vulnerability of science before its natural enemies : falsehood , emotion and a refusal to believe the evidence .
It would include sections on the lingering evangelical hatred for Darwin , long after the humiliations of the Scopes trial , and all the creative ways lobbyists explained away health problems caused by nicotine , DDT and other toxins .
It would culminate in the story of our non-response to climate change , which , by its Alice in Wonderland logic , requires all science to become suspect .
That self-inflicted wound made it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ science was most needed , in the early months of 2020 .
It will be a challenge for future historians to explain how a country that gained so much from science suddenly abandoned its faith in the facts .
But a reckoning is surely coming – the laws of Nature and Nature ’ s God are still in force .
Even in these unhappy times it is a consolation to go back to the beginning , to read the words of our first president , in his first message to Congress , at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ called “ the Great Experiment ” – a scientist ’ s phrase .
“ There is nothing , ” George Washington said , “ which can better deserve your patronage than the promotion of science and literature .
Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness.
” • None Ted Widmer is distinguished lecturer at the Macaulay Honors College of the City University of New York .
His latest book , Lincoln on the Verge : Thirteen Days to Washington , was just published

We know what the temperature was in Philadelphia on 4 July 1776, because Thomas Jefferson wrote it down at 6am (68F), 9am (72.25F), 1pm (76F), and 9pm (73.5F). Even on this most important day, the author of the Declaration of Independence was never too busy to observe nature. Scientific language helped as he scratched out the words, claiming it was “self-evident” that people had rights, based on “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God”.
Like so many of the founders, Jefferson is in the middle of a convulsive reappraisal, one of many ways in which the country feels deeply divided as it enters its birthday weekend. If history is adding to our stress, science is not far behind. When Dr Anthony Fauci testified in Congress this week, it was difficult to know what was worse, his prediction that huge numbers of people will still get sick with Covid-19, or his regret that so many Americans remain stubbornly “anti-science”. The two are, of course, connected.
It is an odd paradox that a country so technologically advanced should be in some sense hostile to the science that lifted it so high. Yet it has been true since the beginning. Some of these tensions go back even earlier, to the Great Awakening of the 1740s, when rural crowds were whipped into frenzies against educated coastal elites, denounced as Pharisees, who knew nothing of the genuine gospel.
But when the US became a reality, these tensions receded, replaced by a commitment to factuality and reason, helpful in the military and diplomatic struggle of the revolution. No one better symbolized the Enlightenment than Benjamin Franklin, whose scientific reputation came in handy when it was urgent to impress the French. One of his nicknames was “l’ambassadeur éléctrique” – the electric ambassador, after his famous experiment with lightning.
Nearly every major founder joined the American Philosophical Society, including George Washington, John Adams and James Madison. Jefferson even served as its president and contributed research on insects, fossils and the new flora and fauna coming in from the west during his other presidency – of the United States.
This commitment to science always helped as Americans struggled to find their footing on the world’s stage. It is undeniable that deep racial inequities were built into the system, undermining democracy from the start. But the founders expected later generations to tinker with the structure they were building, as if it were a mechanical object, like those depicted in the engravings of Diderot’s Encyclopedia, full of interlocking parts that could be adjusted to bear new weight.
Some presidents were more attuned to science than others. But even those who were not maintained a decent respect for the tradition established by the founders. Andrew Jackson wore his lack of education like a badge of honor, but he was ultimately a pragmatist. He and his successors created new offices to map the continent and sent expeditions into the Pacific and the Middle East. In Washington, a pride in science began to alter the city’s skyline, with the Smithsonian castle and a handsome Greek Revival Patent Office, a temple to American ingenuity.
There is nothing which can better deserve your patronage than the promotion of science and literature George Washington
One aspiring inventor was an obscure lawyer in Springfield, Illinois, who in 1849 sent in a design for a device to lift a boat over a sandbar. Abraham Lincoln may have been under-educated, like Jackson, but he remains the only president with a patent to his name. Science and mathematics were crucial to his growth. The earliest known Lincoln documents are arithmetic assignments and he explained that the Greek mathematician Euclid taught him how to win an argument, to prove a “proposition”. That Euclidean word appears at the beginning of the Gettysburg Address, which sets out to “prove” Jefferson’s argument that all men are created equal.
Under Lincoln, science advanced mightily, playing a significant role in winning the civil war. The National Academy of Sciences was founded in 1863. Lincoln also established a medical research unit of the army that continues to do important research on viruses. (In 2005, it resequenced old flu specimens from the 1918 pandemic.) The White House turned into a weapons lab of sorts, as inventors tried to get their products to a president eager to try them out, often personally. More than 20,000 patents were issued in the North during the war years.
In the South, it was different. With fewer cities, universities and immigrants, the Confederacy could not innovate on the same scale. Only 266 patents are known, or one for every hundred in the north. By its very nature, slavery depended on the suppression of information. That proved to be a fatal flaw.
Later presidents understood that democracy grew stronger as people acquired more knowledge, at every level, including the state universities that also stemmed from Lincoln’s presidency. The teaching of science improved and American discoveries began to be noticed on the world stage. Of course, “anti-science” did not disappear completely. In the famous Scopes trial of 1925, in Dayton, Tennessee, an epic trial was fought over the teaching of evolution and a former secretary of state, William Jennings Bryan, did all he could to resist the forces of progress. But by then, science was an established fact, in a nation that liked facts.
Since then, many Republicans and Democrats have occupied the White House, and nearly all have followed the lead of the founders in letting the facts speak for themselves. Herbert Hoover was a mining engineer. When Franklin D Roosevelt ran for the White House in 1932 he used a scientist’s language to demand “bold, persistent experimentation”. Like Lincoln, he became a wartime commander, and understood how useful scientists could be in a national emergency.
Buzz Aldrin poses for a photograph beside the deployed United States flag on the moon, 20 July 1969. Photograph: NASA/Reuters
It would be impossible to list all of the ways in which science and government have reinforced each other since then. But a short list of highlights would include the moon landings, Darpa’s work toward the internet, and the Human Genome Project. Each was a tribute to bipartisanship and the confident embrace of knowledge.
That feels like a long time ago. In a very different moment, when science is most needed, “anti-science” is at the helm.
How it survived all those decades of scientific achievement would require a different essay, about the surprising vulnerability of science before its natural enemies: falsehood, emotion and a refusal to believe the evidence. It would include sections on the lingering evangelical hatred for Darwin, long after the humiliations of the Scopes trial, and all the creative ways lobbyists explained away health problems caused by nicotine, DDT and other toxins. It would culminate in the story of our non-response to climate change, which, by its Alice in Wonderland logic, requires all science to become suspect.
That self-inflicted wound made it inevitable that the US would underperform when science was most needed, in the early months of 2020.
It will be a challenge for future historians to explain how a country that gained so much from science suddenly abandoned its faith in the facts. But a reckoning is surely coming – the laws of Nature and Nature’s God are still in force. Even in these unhappy times it is a consolation to go back to the beginning, to read the words of our first president, in his first message to Congress, at the beginning of a national story he called “the Great Experiment” – a scientist’s phrase.
“There is nothing,” George Washington said, “which can better deserve your patronage than the promotion of science and literature. Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness.”


theguardian--2020-07-04--Donald Trump says US 'under siege from far-left fascism' in Mount Rushmore speech – video

Standing beneath Mount Rushmore on the eve of independence day in the US , the president said the nation ’ @ @ @ @ @ from far-left fascism ' .
He defended the symbolism of statues and monuments , including @ @ @ @ @ the carved faces of four US presidents .
They include George Washington and Thomas Jefferson @ @ @ @ @ .
Trump said : 'These heroes will never be defaced .
Their legacy will never @ @ @ @ @ Their achievements will never be forgotten' • US under siege from 'far-left fascism ' , @ @ @ @ @ speech

Standing beneath Mount Rushmore on the eve of independence day in the US, the president said the nation’s history was 'under siege from far-left fascism'. He defended the symbolism of statues and monuments, including Mount Rushmore - which features the carved faces of four US presidents. They include George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, who were slave owners. Trump said: 'These heroes will never be defaced. Their legacy will never, ever be destroyed. Their achievements will never be forgotten'


theguardian--2020-07-05--Trump claims 99% of US Covid-19 cases are 'totally harmless' as infections surge

Donald Trump has celebrated independence day with a string of false and misleading claims attempting to play down the coronavirus pandemic and warning that China will be “ held accountable ” .
The US president staged a “ Salute to America ” jamboree on the south lawn of the White House with flyovers by military jets , parachute jumps and patriotic songs , but little effort among guests to physical distance or wear face masks .
The country has undergone staggering changes unthinkable when Trump hosted the first such event a year ago on 4 July with tanks and other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The coronavirus has infected 2.8m Americans and killed nearly 130,000 , the worst tallies in the world .
Saturday ’ s national celebration was inevitably more subdued , but the president refused to let the pandemic or dismal poll figures rain on his parade , waving with his wife , Melania , from a White House balcony then walking the south lawn to ripples of applause and a cry of : “ Four more years !
” “ We got hit by the virus that came from China , ” the president said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from someone in the audience .
“ We ’ ve made a lot of progress .
Our strategy is moving along well .
It goes out in one area , it rears back its ugly face in another area .
But we ’ ve learned a lot .
We ’ ve learned how to put out the flame.
” The number of infections now regularly tops 50,000 per day , higher than in April when the US was in the first grip of infections .
Dr Anthony Fauci , the nation ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ week : “ I think it ’ s pretty obvious that we are not going in the right direction.
” Trump returned to his now familiar and baseless complaint that America has a high caseload because it performs more tests .
“ Now we have tested almost 40m people .
By so doing , we show cases , 99 % of which are totally harmless .
Results that no other country can show because no other country has the testing that we have , not in terms of the numbers or in terms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the president arrived at the “ 99 % ” harmless figure .
He also returned to his criticisms of the source of the coronavirus .
“ China ’ s secrecy , deceptions and cover up allowed it to spread all over the world .
One hundred and eighty-nine countries and China must be held fully accountable.
” There was applause from the guests , but the White House has so far failed to detail what measures it is considering against Beijing , with which it recently struck a major trade deal .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the president offered a wildly optimistic prediction : “ We ’ ll likely have a therapeutic and/or vaccine solution long before the end of the year.
” The presidential election is on 3 November .
But the lion ’ s share of Trump ’ s remarks were a rehashing of a speech he gave on Friday night at Mount Rushmore , breaking from 4 July tradition by seeking to stoke a culture war and pour salt on America ’ s racial wounds instead of a unifying message .
“ We are now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ left , the Marxists , the anarchists , the agitators , the looters , and people who in many instances have absolutely no clue what they are doing , ” he said .
“ We will never allow an angry mob to tear down our statues , erase our history , indoctrinate our children or trample on our freedoms ... We will teach our children to cherish and adore our country so they can build its future .
Together , we will fight for the American dream.
” Trump pointedly said “ our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ when Columbus discovered America ” .
Statues of Christopher Columbus have been toppled along with those of Confederate generals during several weeks of protest against racial injustice following the police killing of George Floyd , an African American man , in Minneapolis .
Some have argued that , instead of America ’ s familiar birthday in 1776 , the nation truly began in 1619 with arrival of the first enslaved Africans in Virginia .
But Trump went on : “ In every age , there have always been those who lie about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the present ... Their goal is demolition .
Our goal is not to destroy the greatest structure on earth , what we have built , the United States of America.
” Trump touted an executive order he issued on Friday for the creation of a national garden of Americans heroes and berated the media for dishonouring , lying and slandering the country ’ s best .
He added : “ We will not throw away our heroes .
We will honour them and we will prove worthy of their sacrifice ...
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ villains .
They were heroes.
” Following his speech , Trump and the first lady watched a spectacular display of military jets that have taken part in America ’ s military conflicts from the second world war onwards .

Donald Trump has celebrated independence day with a string of false and misleading claims attempting to play down the coronavirus pandemic and warning that China will be “held accountable”.
The US president staged a “Salute to America” jamboree on the south lawn of the White House with flyovers by military jets, parachute jumps and patriotic songs, but little effort among guests to physical distance or wear face masks.
The country has undergone staggering changes unthinkable when Trump hosted the first such event a year ago on 4 July with tanks and other military hardware at the Lincoln Memorial. The coronavirus has infected 2.8m Americans and killed nearly 130,000, the worst tallies in the world.
Saturday’s national celebration was inevitably more subdued, but the president refused to let the pandemic or dismal poll figures rain on his parade, waving with his wife, Melania, from a White House balcony then walking the south lawn to ripples of applause and a cry of: “Four more years!”
President Donald Trump speaks during an event on the South Lawn of the White House on 4 July. Photograph: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
“We got hit by the virus that came from China,” the president said, prompting a strange whoop and applause from someone in the audience. “We’ve made a lot of progress. Our strategy is moving along well. It goes out in one area, it rears back its ugly face in another area. But we’ve learned a lot. We’ve learned how to put out the flame.”
The number of infections now regularly tops 50,000 per day, higher than in April when the US was in the first grip of infections. Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, warned this week: “I think it’s pretty obvious that we are not going in the right direction.”
Trump returned to his now familiar and baseless complaint that America has a high caseload because it performs more tests. “Now we have tested almost 40m people. By so doing, we show cases, 99% of which are totally harmless. Results that no other country can show because no other country has the testing that we have, not in terms of the numbers or in terms of quality.”
People attend an event on the South Lawn of the White House on 4 July. Photograph: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
It was unclear how the president arrived at the “99%” harmless figure.
He also returned to his criticisms of the source of the coronavirus. “China’s secrecy, deceptions and cover up allowed it to spread all over the world. One hundred and eighty-nine countries and China must be held fully accountable.”
There was applause from the guests, but the White House has so far failed to detail what measures it is considering against Beijing, with which it recently struck a major trade deal.
And contradicting Fauci and other public health experts, the president offered a wildly optimistic prediction: “We’ll likely have a therapeutic and/or vaccine solution long before the end of the year.” The presidential election is on 3 November.
But the lion’s share of Trump’s remarks were a rehashing of a speech he gave on Friday night at Mount Rushmore, breaking from 4 July tradition by seeking to stoke a culture war and pour salt on America’s racial wounds instead of a unifying message.
“We are now in the process of defeating the radical left, the Marxists, the anarchists, the agitators, the looters, and people who in many instances have absolutely no clue what they are doing,” he said.
“We will never allow an angry mob to tear down our statues, erase our history, indoctrinate our children or trample on our freedoms ... We will teach our children to cherish and adore our country so they can build its future. Together, we will fight for the American dream.”
Trump pointedly said “our way of life” began in 1492 “when Columbus discovered America”. Statues of Christopher Columbus have been toppled along with those of Confederate generals during several weeks of protest against racial injustice following the police killing of George Floyd, an African American man, in Minneapolis.
Some have argued that, instead of America’s familiar birthday in 1776, the nation truly began in 1619 with arrival of the first enslaved Africans in Virginia.
But Trump went on: “In every age, there have always been those who lie about the past in order to gain power in the present ... Their goal is demolition. Our goal is not to destroy the greatest structure on earth, what we have built, the United States of America.”
Trump touted an executive order he issued on Friday for the creation of a national garden of Americans heroes and berated the media for dishonouring, lying and slandering the country’s best. He added: “We will not throw away our heroes. We will honour them and we will prove worthy of their sacrifice ... The patriots who built our country were not villains. They were heroes.”
Following his speech, Trump and the first lady watched a spectacular display of military jets that have taken part in America’s military conflicts from the second world war onwards.