After decrying 'merciless campaign to wipe out our history,' Trump announces new statue park

President Trump on Friday gave a speech at the foot of Mount Rushmore in South Dakota during a controversial Independence Day celebration, where many attendees reportedly weren't wearing masks and ignored public health guidelines amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The president railed against "cancel culture" and "far-left fascism" while describing activists' efforts to remove statues and monuments across the country following protests against police brutality and systemic racism as "a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values, and indoctrinate our children." Trump said "angry mobs" are not only trying to "deface our sacred memorials," but "unleash a violent wave of crime in our cities."

As a response, the president announced he was signing an executive order to establish the National Garden of American Heroes, a vast outdoor park featuring statues of "the greatest Americans to ever live." The suggestion list for who should be represented in the park is long — including, but not limited to, presidents like George Washington, civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., and athletes like Jackie Robinson. Read more about Trump's time at Mount Rushmore at The Associated Press and The Guardian.

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