Trump vows to protect America against the 'radical left' in Fourth of July message

In a Fourth of July speech at the White House, President Donald Trump on Saturday vowed to preserve American history against the "radical left" and blasted the news media for slandering him and the U.S. armed forces in its reporting on the removal of Confederate statues.

“We are now in the process of defeating the radical left," Trump said while kicking off the "Salute to America" ceremonies to mark the nation’s 244th birthday. "The Marxists. The anarchists. The agitators. The looters, and people who in many instances, have absolutely no clue what they are doing.”

Trump accused the media dividing the country by peddling false accusations of racism by him and his allies in their reporting on the removal of Confederate monuments.

“You not only slander me, you not only slander American people, but you slander generations of heroes who gave their lives for America,” Trump said. “You slander people much braver and more principled than you… You are dishonoring people fighting for freedom in the Civil War — you slander them."

Trump also defended his administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, even as health officials warn of a spike in coronavirus cases, saying that the increase in COVID-19 cases is the result of increased testing. 

“And we’ve made a lot of progress, our strategy is moving along well,” Trump said. “It goes out in one area, it rears out its ugly face in another area. But we’ve learned a lot. We’ve learned how to put out the flame.”

Earlier in the day, Trump delivered a more optimistic message to the nation via video, saying America is “making a comeback” from a “terrible plague from China,” and touting Thursday’s better-than-expected jobs report as a signal of a strong rebound from losses due to the coronavirus.

The president's second-annual "Salute to America" on the Fourth of July was scaled-back from the usual national celebrations that included music and fireworks on the South Lawn.  There was also a military flyover, with an “aerial salute.”

On Friday, Trump flew to Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota to preside over a night of speeches, flyovers and fireworks. During that event, he warned of a campaign to "wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values" by removing monuments some say are symbols of racial oppression. The campaign for presumptive Democratic candidate Joe Biden on Saturday responded to the speech, saying the U.S. is "suffering" as a result of having a "divisive" president who doesn't "give a damn about anything but his own gain."