July 3, 2020 was a great day at Mount Rushmore. The vision I had came fully true and then some. As I mentioned in my post written and published ahead of the event, I had gone to Mount Rushmore exactly two years prior to this day – on July 3, 2018 – and there were no fireworks. I had made a call to my friend Ryan at the Department of Interior and put in the inquiry and continued to ask questions and make suggestions.
I have no illusions that either myself or Ryan were the reason that fireworks returned to Mount Rushmore in 2020. Nor do I have illusions that my suggestions that President Trump be the one to bring them back were because of us. Nor do I have illusions that he should attend the event himself and use it to inspire Americans to go out and see America after the COVID19 lockdowns. Nor do I have illusions that he should take my suggestion to use the moment to defend Mount Rushmore and all of American history against those who would want to tear down statues of flawed men and ultimately destroy Mount Rushmore. I have no illusions that we were the reason he went there. But I will say, about half way through his 42-minute speech, I looked over at Ryan, who had helped secure the tickets for us to be there, watching this spectacle from the 7th row, and said with a smile: “This is AWESOME. I could not have written a better speech if I tried!” I could not have written a better plot line for this real life story.
I couldn’t have. Trump delivered in a way that I could have only dreamed up. And before he even took the stage, the magnificent stage was set. The day began with Ryan and I driving up from Denver after flying in there late the night before. We arrived into Keystone, South Dakota, picking up the passes that were reserved for us, only to find they were VIP passes, which meant we were going to be sitting anywhere we could find an open seat in the first 15 rows.
When we walked into the amphitheater a little past 4:00 PM MDT, we found perfect seats in the seventh row, right in the center. There were only 7,500 people permitted to be on-site for this nationally televised event. That is quite a lot of people for an event that is taking place four months into the COVID19 pandemic. In fact, it’s probably one of the largest crowds that has been assembled anywhere since we were asked to stay home to slow the spread in March. Mind you, we were first asked to stay home for 15 days. At this point, we were over 110 days in. Back in May, before anyone knew that the President would be there, the South Dakota government opened up a lottery for tickets. 125,000 people applied and only 7,500 were given out. We were lucky to secure some official passes through some friendly sources at the White House. And we were lucky to be in the single state in the Union that never shut down by force of the government.
The program began around 5:00 PM MDT, with some music by the Air Force Academy Band, some indigenous dancers, and by the re-enactors portraying two of the Presidents on Mount Rushmore: Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.
Lincoln’s speech was very religious in nature. He talked about the fact that we were such a divided nation. Was he speaking of the Civil War period or of America today? Perhaps a double entendre was in order. He also said we had lost our way. We had become an ungrateful people, forgetting our forefathers and all the sacrifices made for us to live with the freedoms we have today. He said our nation must return to the Almighty, we must give thanks to the Almighty, and only then will we restore what we have lost and come together as one people. E pluribus unum.
Teddy Roosevelt started his speech by looking upon the American flag and telling us about its history, about why the colors were red, white, and blue, why there were thirteen stripes, and about the addition of the stars each time a new state was added. He said we must always uphold reverence for this flag, one that symbolizes liberty, equality, and justice for all, and one that so many have died for so we could be free. He also launched into his famous speech about “the man in the arena.” He said it is easy to criticize from the sidelines, but it is the “man in the arena” who has placed himself at his country’s service and who will ultimately make mistakes, but that time will test what he ultimately does for his fellow citizens.
The program returned to some music and other pomp. Concessions inside offered food, drinks, and even ice cream. And you know I got me some ice cream. Around 6:30pm, there was a flyover of Air Force One, which was an incredible sight, especially seeing it from Mount Rushmore. About 45 minutes later, Marine One, along with another decoy helicopter, as well as an Osprey military helicopter, passed right over us and right in front of the faces of Mount Rushmore, as the sun was starting to set. I turned to those around me and said: “The President on Marine One. Flying in front of Mount Rushmore. For an Independence Day celebration. It doesn’t get much more America than that.” And it’s unlikely for anyone to ever see a scene that like that again – especially in a moment of history like this. What a blessing to be here.
Marine One landed somewhere behind us on site. The dignitaries, including the Governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem and her family, began to make their way to the special seating on the sides of the stage. Right smack at 8:15pm, the President and First Lady walked on stage to thunderous applause. He came and stood at the front of the stage. We couldn’t have been more than 100 feet or so away. There were two giant video screens on the sides of the stage, behind them.
As the President and First Lady stood stoically, videos played of military service men and women introducing themselves and introducing the military planes we were about to see flyover. We had about 3 or 4 major flyovers, including the Blue Angels, which came right over the gigantic faces on Mount Rushmore. It was absolutely incredible. I just couldn’t believe the magnificent scenes playing out right in front of us. If you are lucky to see just one of these flyovers, it is so incredible. We were getting almost every flyover imaginable – all at one event — within mere minutes of each other. At Mount Rushmore. With the President of the United States. It was so surreal. It felt like a dream.
When the flyovers seized, the national anthem was played. Then, the Governor of South Dakota came to the stage to talk about the significance of this place and this day and the return of fireworks at Mount Rushmore. Then the Secretary of Interior David Bernhardt, to whom my friend Ryan standing next to me ultimately reports to, delivered some great remarks about the national park service and the rangers and the history of Mount Rushmore. Then, he introduced the President.
For the next 42 minutes, President Trump delivered one hell of a speech. This was not a campaign event and not a campaign speech. Obviously, it’s an election year with many implications. However, he never mentioned his opponent in this November’s election. Instead, he focused on Mount Rushmore. He diligently told the stories of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt, labeling them “the greatest Americans who ever lived.”
Later in the speech, he reminded the audience that we were a nation that produced so many giants of history, across many fields. He said:
Americans are the people who pursued our Manifest Destiny across the ocean, into the uncharted wilderness, over the tallest mountains, and then into the skies and even into the stars. We are the country of Andrew Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant, and Frederick Douglass. We are the land of Wild Bill Hickock and Buffalo Bill Cody. We are the nation that gave rise to the Wright Brothers, the Tuskegee Airmen — Harriet Tubman, Clara Barton, Jesse Owens, George Patton — General George Patton — the great Louie Armstrong, Alan Shepard, Elvis Presley, and Mohammad Ali. And only America could have produced them all. No other place. We are the culture that put up the Hoover Dam, laid down the highways, and sculpted the skyline of Manhattan. We are the people who dreamed a spectacular dream — it was called: Las Vegas, in the Nevada desert; who built up Miami from the Florida marsh; and who carved our heroes into the face of Mount Rushmore. Americans harnessed electricity, split the atom, and gave the world the telephone and the Internet. We settled the Wild West, won two World Wars, landed American astronauts on the Moon — and one day very soon, we will plant our flag on Mars. We gave the world the poetry of Walt Whitman, the stories of Mark Twain, the songs of Irving Berlin, the voice of Ella Fitzgerald, the style of Frank Sinatra — the comedy of Bob Hope, the power of the Saturn V rocket, the toughness of the Ford F-150 — and the awesome might of the American aircraft carriers. Americans must never lose sight of this miraculous story. You should never lose sight of it, because nobody has ever done it like we have done it.
He then announced, that in the wake of so many statues being torn down by angry mobs across our land, he had just signed an executive order “to establish the National Garden of American Heroes, a vast outdoor park that will feature the statues of the greatest Americans to ever live.”
This speech was so patriotic. And after it concluded, it was followed by an absolutely spectacular 18-minute long firework show, where the fireworks were shot above Mount Rushmore. There was such a barrage of fireworks over that 18 minutes, I could have sworn the fireworks show lasted at least 30 minutes. It was overseen by one of the best in the business. And there were so many firefighters on hand to ensure the safety of all the people and the environment.
Two years ago, when I had come to Mount Rushmore to celebrate Independence Day, I had a wonderful time. The only thing that was missing was the fireworks. Many of the little small towns all within 30 minutes to an hour of Mount Rushmore do their own fireworks on July 4th. So, my friend Marshall and I had gone up to Lead, South Dakota to see the fireworks there over the “Open Cut” of an old mine. I simply hoped that fireworks would be brought back to Mount Rushmore.
I never imagined I would be back here so soon to see this magnificent monument, a true artistic and architectural feat, and that I would, within two years, see fireworks over Mount Rushmore. On top of that, we got an even more spectacular show than I could have imagined: fireworks, the President of the United States, the Governor of South Dakota, the Secretary of the Interior, several U.S. Senators and Congressman on stage, multiple military flyovers, speeches by Presidential re-enactors, the Air Force Academy band, and performances by members of some of the indigenous tribes that have made their home in this area for centuries. And a Presidential speech that will be one for the ages – even if our fake news media tried to classify it as “dark and divisive” or, even more weirdly, as a celebration of white supremacy. Thankfully, Rich Lowry at National Review more accurately said “it would be difficult to get a more textbook expression of the American civic religion than the speech at Rushmore.” His later analysis even mentioned that “the reaction to Trump’s speech was unhinged.”
Unless you have a personal agenda against this President and all that is true and beautiful about America, you have to appreciate this moment, this speech, and the unbelievably patriotic scenes – at a time when America needed a moment like this.
American greatness came together all at this iconic site on July 3, 2020 and we were here to witness it. I am grateful to be an American and even more grateful I was able to be part of this spectacular day, witness a historic Presidential speech, and truly see Mount Rushmore Made Great Again. It is a moment I will never forget and I will talk about it until the day I die. America and our leaders have proven, throughout history, to rise to the occasion, time and time again. And, as long as we believe in the greatness of our ideals, we will be here for years, for decades, and for centuries to come – as will Mount Rushmore. And our children and grandchildren will read about it and continue to recall the patriots that came before them — just as we watched the faces of the patriots that first made America great.
All photos taken by the author.