President Trump Visits Mount Rushmore Ahead of Independence Day

President Donald Trump arrived at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota on Friday to participate in an official Independence Day celebration. The event features a speech by the President and the first fireworks display at the monument in 11 years. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem extended an invitation to the President for the event.

Throughout his presidency, Trump has expressed an affinity for Mount Rushmore, on occasion suggesting the inclusion of his own image among the four presidents carved into the granite. Governor Noem reportedly commissioned a four-foot replica of Trump's head to present as a gift during a 2017 meeting. She stated that conversations with the President included discussions of adding a fifth face to the monument. Trump stated a preference for his image to be added to Mount Rushmore “someday,” though he indicated he was “kidding” at the time of the remark.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial, completed in 1941, features the faces of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. The National Park Service oversees the federal site.

Demonstrators gathered in the vicinity of Mount Rushmore ahead of Trump's visit. Authorities established a designated 'First Amendment area' for protesters located approximately one mile from the monument. South Dakota law enforcement officials, alongside the Secret Service, managed security for the event.