Trump bashes media at first July 4 speech as president: 'I'm president and they're not'

President Trump
(Image credit: Pool/Getty Images)

President Trump gave his first speech celebrating Independence Day since taking office, delivering his Saturday evening address at the Celebrate Freedom Rally in Washington, D.C.

His talk dwelled on twin themes of veterans and the media. "There is no place I would rather be than with you," Trump told a majority-military audience, touting the United States as "a land rich with heroes."

His words about the press were less warm. "The fake media is trying to silence us," he said. "But we will not let them. Because the people know the truth. The fake media tried to stop us from going to the White House, but I'm president and they're not," Trump continued. "The fact is the press destroyed themselves because they went too far. Instead of being subtle and smart, they used the hatchet and the people saw it right from the beginning."

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Watch the full speech below. Bonnie Kristian

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Bonnie Kristian

Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.