Faithwire
  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • News
  • Politics
  • Coronavirus Updates
  • Faith
  • Opinion
  • Christmas
  • Set Free Course

Democrats Link Mount Rushmore to ‘Glorifying White Supremacy’

Photo by Dennis Guten/Unsplash
Photo by Dennis Guten/Unsplash
Share Tweet
By Tré Goins-Phillips
Editor

June 30, 2020

The Democratic Party set its ire on Mount Rushmore in a since-deleted tweet Monday night, decrying an upcoming Independence Day celebration at the treasured American monument as “glorifying white supremacy.”

At the invitation of South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R), President Donald Trump plans to headline a major fireworks display at Mount Rushmore on July 3, marking the first time the site has hosted such a patriotic spectacle since 2009. Prior to that point, Fourth of July fireworks shows at Mount Rushmore were an annual tradition.

“Trump has disrespected Native communities time and again,” read the erased tweet from the official account linked to the Democratic Party. “He’s attempted to limit their voting rights and blocked critical pandemic relief. Now he’s holding a rally glorifying white supremacy at Mount Rushmore — a region once sacred to tribal communities.”

The political party linked to an article from The Guardian, a left-leaning European outlet, which promoted the belief that Mount Rushmore, a 60-foot high sculpture depicting the faces of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt that was completed between 1927 and 1941, is “a symbol of white supremacy.”

Nick Tilsen, a Native American activist, told the British newspaper it is “an injustice to actively steal indigenous people’s land, then carve the white faces of the conquerors who committed genocide.”

What’s the response?

Needless to say, the Democrats’ tweet sparked swift backlash and has since been deleted.

Gov. Noem chimed in on the bubbling issue last week, when conservative commentator Ben Shapiro tweeted, “So, when is our woke historical revisionist priesthood going to insist on blowing up Mount Rushmore?” In response, Noem wrote, “Not on my watch.”

Not on my watch. https://t.co/U6gGap5Ib6

— Governor Kristi Noem (@govkristinoem) June 23, 2020

Meghan McCain, the lone conservative co-host on “The View,” saw this coming, too:

We're like one week removed from entire cable news panels debating whether or not we should blow up Mount Rushmore.

— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) June 22, 2020

Here’s a sampling of some other responses to the Democratic Party’s post:

The party of Joe Biden is now attacking Mount Rushmore. pic.twitter.com/FtVYC6htWa

— Marc Lotter – Text TRUMP to 88022 (@marc_lotter) June 30, 2020

Shot/chasers pic.twitter.com/cAFkywdEi2

— Zach Parkinson (@AZachParkinson) June 30, 2020

Oh no… DNC is going to need to cancel one of its National Committee membershttps://t.co/WYPehUAkv0 pic.twitter.com/rCXVsmcS6L

— Zach Parkinson (@AZachParkinson) June 30, 2020

The (foreign media) article the Democrat Party linked to quotes an activist saying, "Mount Rushmore is a symbol of white supremacy, of structural racism that’s still alive and well in society today"

— Matt Wolking (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@MattWolking) June 30, 2020

It would be wise for the Democrats to realize that Twitter is not real life. The cancel campaigns are much louder (and obnoxious) online than in real life.

— Erielle Davidson (@politicalelle) June 30, 2020

I mean we still don't even know where he stands on removing statues. They let him out to run around once a week and give a 12-minute statement on something and then back to basement grandpa.

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) June 30, 2020

In addition to the July 3 fireworks display at Mount Rushmore, President Trump is planning to host a scaled-back “Salute to America” event on the south lawn of the White House on July 4 to honor the U.S. military.

Judd Deere, a spokesperson for the White House, told The Washington Post the Trump administration consulted with the physician’s office and military office while planning the trip to South Dakota.

“The president looks forward to taking part in the Independence Day festivities, hosted by Gov. Noem, and celebrating the greatest country the world has ever known capped off with a magnificent fireworks display above the great faces of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln,” Deere said. “The president takes the health and safety of everyone traveling in support of himself and all White House operations very seriously.”

There have also been environmental concerns about reinstating the Fourth of July fireworks show. Cheryl Schreier, who served as the superintendent at Mount Rushmore National Park between September 2010 and May 2019, told the Post having so many people on a small tract of land poses “public health and safety risks, not only to the visitors but to employees.” She also said fireworks is “a bad idea based on the wild land fire risk, the impact to the water quality of the memorial, [and] the fact that it is going to occur during a pandemic without social distancing guidelines and the emergency evacuation issues.”

However, earlier this year, the Park Service issued an environmental assessment concluding the Independence Day event would cause “no significant impact” on the monument or surrounding public lands.

Latest

  • News

    ‘Miracle’ Landing: Florida Pilot Passes Out — Passenger with No Flight Experience Takes Over with ‘Hand of God’

  • Entertainment

    Marvel’s ‘Scarlet Witch’ Actress Reveals Her Real-Life Connections to Witchcraft, Says She’s ‘Witchy’

  • News

    ‘A Psychological Prison’: Taliban’s Latest Demand Leaves Women in Tears as Afghanistan Reels in Poverty, Desperation

  • News

    New Warner/Discovery President ‘Un-Cancels’ JK Rowling After She Was Sidelined for Defending Women Amid Transgender Craze

  • Life

    ‘A God Thing’: They Adopted a Severely Handicapped Baby Despite Doctors’ Warnings, and It Changed Everything


Navigation

  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Sign up to get our newsletter your inbox every day.

Newsletter Signup

Do you want to read
more articles like this?