With Mount Rushmore Celebration, Trump Courts Danger From Dual Threats Of Wildfires, Virus
President Donald Trump wants to put on a massive fireworks display at Mount Rushmore, where pyrotechnics have been banned for at least a decade. Public health experts are alarmed not only about the potential spread of coronavirus but by the wildfire threat.
The Washington Post:
Trump Is Headlining Fireworks At Mount Rushmore. Experts Worry Two Things Could Spread: Virus And Wildfire.
President Trump is planning a massive fireworks display at Mount Rushmore on July 3, despite a decade-long ban on pyrotechnics at the iconic spot because of concerns about public health, environmental and safety risks. Trump has wanted to stage fireworks at the national memorial in South Dakota’s Black Hills since 2018, according to two individuals familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. But the idea was scuttled or delayed by a number of his advisers, these individuals said. (Eilperin, Fears and Dawsey, 6/24)
AP:
'Faces Of The Conquerors': Trump Trip To Rushmore Draws Fire
Several groups led by Native American activists are planning protests for Trump’s July 3 visit, part of Trump’s “comeback” campaign for a nation reeling from sickness, unemployment and, recently, social unrest. The event is slated to include fighter jets thundering over the 79-year-old stone monument in South Dakota’s Black Hills and the first fireworks display at the site since 2009. But it comes amid a national reckoning over racism and a reconsideration of the symbolism of monuments around the globe. Many Native Americans activists say the Rushmore memorial is as reprehensible as the many Confederate monuments being toppled around the nation. (Groves, 6/25)
