Far from Washington for one evening, Donald Trump boasted on Friday of an "exceptional" America and denounced the "violent disorder" provoked by the anti-racist demonstrations linked to the death of George Floyd, in the majestic setting of Mount Rushmore, without dwell on the alarming figures of the coronavirus in a worried country.
Very criticized for his management of the pandemic, the American president offered himself, on the eve of the national holiday of July 4, an evening of fireworks and a speech with a very harsh tone in conquered territory. The stormy billionaire expressed himself under the gaze of four of his distant predecessors, carved in granite, which he praised for a long time: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
"The most exceptional country on Earth"
Under a cloudless sky and in front of a crowd chanting "Four more years", in which masks were rare, he posed, four months before the presidential election, in defender of the "integrity" of his country . "We will tell the truth as it is, without apologizing: the United States of America is the most just and exceptional country ever to have existed on Earth", and "the Americans are strong and proud" , he launched.
In the midst of a debate on the symbols of the country's history, and while statues of Confederate generals were brought down by anti-racist demonstrators, he denounced "a campaign aimed at erasing our history, defaming our heroes, suppressing our values and indoctrinate our children. " "The violent disorder we have seen on our streets and in our cities (...) is the result of years of extreme indoctrination and bias in education, journalism and other cultural institutions," he said. added.
The filmed death of George Floyd, a black man asphyxiated by a white police officer in Minneapolis on May 25, sparked protests, sometimes interspersed with violence, unheard of since the great civil rights marches of the 1960s.
Coronavirus crisis is "managed"
The billionaire has only briefly mentioned the resurgence of cases of Covid-19 in the south and west which "puts the whole country in danger" in the words of Anthony Fauci, director of the American Institute of Infectious Diseases . In bad shape in the polls, Donald Trump has been sticking to one message for several days: the coronavirus crisis is "managed", the American economy is starting again "stronger and faster" than expected and the year 2021 will be "Historic".
However, in striking contrast to Europe, records of contamination are broken daily in the United States. The Johns Hopkins University, which refers, announced that the United States had recorded 57,683 new infections due to the coronavirus Friday in twenty-four hours. Many states have had to pause the deconfinement, or even backtrack, hastily closing bars and beaches.
Donald Trump Junior's girlfriend, the president's eldest son, has tested positive for herself, the New York Times reported on Friday . Kimberly Guilfoyle, 51, was present at Mount Rushmore, but did not travel on the presidential plane.
At the start of this long holiday weekend, former Democratic President Barack Obama called for a start. “Defeating this virus will require everyone's mobilization. Wear a mask. Wash your hands, ”he tweeted. "And listen to the experts, not those who are trying to divide us."
"No social distancing"
The White House tenant, who was accompanied by his wife Melania Trump, knew he could count on a warm welcome in South Dakota, a sparsely populated state which he won in 2016 with more than 60% of the vote.
And Republican Governor Kristi Noem had indicated in advance that she did not intend to spoil the party. "We have told those who are worried that they can stay at home," she said. "For those who want to join us, we will distribute free masks, if they decide to wear one. But there will be no social distancing. "
Representatives of Sioux tribes demonstrated to protest against the organization of this evening in the Black Hills mountains - where the heads were carved from 1927 to 1941 - which they consider sacred.
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