President Donald Trump will headline one of the nation’s biggest Independence Day celebrations this evening, traveling to Mount Rushmore for a patriotic event marking America’s 250th birthday.
South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden announced that Trump will attend the America250 fireworks celebration at the iconic national memorial on July 3, welcoming the president to what state officials are calling one of the centerpiece events of the nation’s semiquincentennial.
“It is my honor to welcome President Trump to the great state of South Dakota,” Rhoden said in a statement.
“Together, we will throw the biggest birthday party ever for our nation and celebrate America’s legacy of freedom, liberty, and justice for all.”
The event is expected to feature military tributes, patriotic music, historical reenactors, family activities and a large fireworks display over Mount Rushmore, culminating with remarks from Trump beneath the towering granite sculptures of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. Organizers say the celebration is intended to honor the nation’s founding while kicking off the Fourth of July weekend.
It also marks the return of fireworks to Mount Rushmore for the first time since 2020.
The display had been suspended for several years amid environmental concerns and permitting disputes, but South Dakota officials and the Department of the Interior reached an agreement earlier this year to revive the tradition as part of the nationwide America250 celebration. Attendance is limited through a public lottery that closed earlier this spring.
Trump has made preparations for America’s 250th anniversary a signature priority of his second administration, hosting the “Great American State Fair” in Washington this week while unveiling a broader series of patriotic events planned throughout the year.
Speaking during last week’s festivities, Trump said the anniversary is an opportunity to celebrate both the country’s past and its future.
“This anniversary is a time to be proud of our past, but it is also a time to lift our sights, expand our ambitions and raise our expectations of what America can be,” Trump said.
“We will leave our children nothing less than the richest inheritance, most advanced civilization and highest standard of living in human history. There’s never been anything like it… the best is yet to come.”
The Mount Rushmore visit also renews Trump’s long association with the monument.
He previously spoke beneath the memorial during a 2020 Independence Day celebration and has frequently praised Mount Rushmore as one of America’s greatest national landmarks. Over the years, allies and some lawmakers have even floated the idea of adding Trump’s likeness to the monument, though no official proposal has advanced beyond public discussion.
