President vows to take the US ‘to new levels’ in a historic address marking the nation's 250th anniversary.
Washington: Hailing the “unmatched achievement and unlimited potential” of the US, President Donald Trump delivered a soul-stirring address on the country’s 250th anniversary. In a defiant and historic address on the National Mall, Trump declared the beginning of a "Golden Age" for the nation.
Despite severe weather, extreme heat, and a temporary evacuation of the grounds, the President returned to the stage to deliver his vision for the country’s future. Trump said the country was “just getting started” as he vowed to take it “to new levels”.
“America is a nation of winners,” Trump declared. “Today our country is winning again. We will always be on top. We will never let our country fall. We will always be the best." He spoke before a vast fireworks display billed by organizers as the largest “in world history” to mark the occasion.
Trump's speech cited the importance of military strength and in leading technological discovery. "In signing their names to the roster of freedom, those 56 patriots put everything at risk, stepped onto the stage of destiny, and seized a victory for the ages, and that’s what it was, and this is an evening for the ages," Trump said about the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
He said that "We have thrived and flourished because our founders were great, our cause was just, our people are brave, our culture is exceptional, and our destiny is written by God”.
"At 250 years old, we may be the oldest constitutional republic on Earth, but our country is just getting started because the best is yet to come: This is only the dawn of the golden age of America," Trump said.
According to Trump, in this country, “we could achieve the wildest and most impossible dreams, and no dream in history is bigger or more incredible than the one that started on July 4, 1776”.
"Americans won the West and built the modern world, because America is a nation of winners, and today our country is winning again, and we're winning like never before," Trump said just before the midway point of the speech. "America is back, and we want to keep America great."
"There is no challenge Americans can not overcome," Trump said before his concluding remarks. "There is no place we cannot go. There is no goal we cannot reach. And there is nothing that Americans cannot do."
"God bless the immortal patriots of 1776, and long live the cause of independence," Trump said. "May it reign forever and ever and ever. We will always be on top. We will never let our country fall. We will always be the best.”
Trump said America's strength came not only from its Constitution but from the values and character of its people. "The identity of a nation is the destiny of a nation and America has a destiny like no other because we are a people like no other," Trump said.
Trump argued that preserving those values remained essential as the country entered its 250th year. "As we march into our 250th year, an incredible, beautiful year it will be, we must never forget there is no American freedom without American culture. And there is no American founding without the American people," he said.
The President outlined what he described as the defining characteristics of Americans, saying they value independence, personal responsibility and individual rights. "Above all Americans love freedom. We cherish independence," Trump said. "In America, we do not need anyone's permission to say what we think and to live as we please, to worship as we choose, or to keep and bear arms."
He added that Americans were "an incredible, good, kind, and generous people, always ready to help a friend or a neighbor in need." Trump described the United States as a country that rewarded innovation and determination. "We are a nation of dreamers and believers, warriors and explorers, doers and fighters," he said.
"Show us a mountain and we'll just climb it. Show us an ocean and we'll just cross it. Show us a problem and we will just solve it." He also stressed equality under the law and the importance of national unity. "We see every citizen as an individual equal under the law and equal under the eyes of the Lord," Trump said.
