Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming the superintendent of Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Jennifer Carpenter.
That was quite a rain. Thank you so much for your patience. We're so excited to have you here with us. As they said, my name is Jennifer Carpenter and so much for joining us this evening as we gather on the eve of America's 250th birthday. For more than eight decades, Mount Rushmore has stood as a national symbol of both artistic achievement. It was brought to life through the extraordinary craftsmanship of sculptor Goodson Borglham and the dedication of hundreds of craftsmen. Today, it remains a place where millions come each year to reflect on our shared history and to honor the leaders whose likenesses are etched on these granite cliffs behind me. The men honored at this memorial, Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln, remind us that the American experiment has always depended on courage, vision, and determination of those willing to serve a cause greater than themselves. Their leadership has helped guide our country through moments of extraordinary challenge, growth, and opportunity and helped make us the nation that we are today. As stewards of this remarkable memorial, the National Park Service is honored to preserve this iconic place so that each new generation can experience its history, understand its significance, and draw inspiration from the ongoing story of our nation. Tonight is especially meaningful as we join Americans across the country in celebrating the enduring ideals of freedom, democracy, and opportunity that have guided our nation for two and a half centuries. So enjoy this historic celebration and I welcome you all to an unforgettable evening at Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Thank you for coming.
Across generations, Americans have spoken of liberty. The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty is finally staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Upon the virtue of the people rests the preservation of that trust. Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived can long endure. We've come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is not the critic who counts. Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles. The credit belongs to the man who errs, who comes up short again and again. Who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement. And who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly. It is for us, the living, to be dedicated here to this unfinished work, to the preservation of those rights declared at our founding. To uphold them through duty and discipline and to prove worthy of them through action. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. The government of the United States rests upon the virtue and strength of its people. That this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom. That we choose effort over ease. That liberty must be guarded and that effort must be embraced. That responsibility must be carried. That the government of the people by the consent of the governed shall be defended by those willing to act and entrusted always to its citizens. That this nation shall not perish from the earth. That we dare greatly in its service. That liberty remains its foundation and that its future rests with the American people.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome one of today's most authentic voices of the American West, the Chansancy Williams Band.
Oh, Mount Rushmore. How's everybody doing tonight? I want to play you guys some country music. I'm Chancy Williams from the great state of Wyoming.
Well, thank you guys so much, man. What a crowd. We just got word in our ears that Air Force One is about 2 minutes from flying over. So, you guys, it's going to be pretty epic. So, get your cameras ready. But I'll play you guys this song. Might be one of my favorite songs I've ever wrote. It's a story song and it's kind of an old west thing. This one's called The Saint for You.
Oh, thank you so much. I'll tell you what I've got to do. We've got to do a lot of really cool things in our lives. But I tell you what, that fly over while we're playing music for the great state of South Dakota and America on America's 250th birthday, that was one of the coolest things ever got to happen to us. So, thank you guys for spending that and sharing that with us. This next song is a song I wrote about my uncle. My uncle's name was Dawn. And you know the we got another Uncle Don going to be here in a little while, the commander-in-chief. But this is a true story about one of the greatest cowboys I ever knew. My uncle Dawn. It's called the Ballot of Uncle Dawn for you.
Well, I'll tell you guys what, we got time for about one more. Once again, from the bottom of our hearts, from a bunch of Wyoming Cowboys here, we sure appreciate you guys letting us sing to you tonight. Well, a night will remember forever. You know, we live over there in the cowboy state and we have a little saying over there with the way the world's got over the years. We think the world would be a better place if the world just had more cowboys. What do you think about that? This is for you tonight. America's call. The world needs more cowboys. Hang on a second. Real quick, you guys, I want to introduce my band to you guys. These are my family. We travel all over here to my right playing lead guitar from Saratoga, Wyoming. Would you make some noise for Mr. Wyatt Springsteen? Back there on the bass guitar? He came all the way up from Loveland, Colorado. Would you make some noise on that bass for Mr. Jay Downey? Oh yeah. Hey, back here playing this other league guitar. He's all the way up from Nashville, Tennessee. Burning it down. Would you make some noise there on the guitar for Mr. Thomas Larson? Oh, back there on the drums keeping us all together. One of the best drummers in the land. He's all the way down from Fargo, North Dakota. Would you make some noise there for Domino Dale Heap? Matt Rushmore. As you see, we got a girl in the band we like to brag about. She's the two time Rocky Mountain CMA musician of the year right there playing the hell out of that fiddle. She's all the way up from Casper, Wyoming. Would you make some noise here for Miss Brook Lata? This is for you tonight. America's called The World Needs More Cowboys.
Once again, thank you guys so much. I'm Chancy Williams. Happy birthday, United States of America. 250 H. We love you so much.
Oh, say by the dawn's early light, so proud we held at the twilight's last gleaming. Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight, o'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming. And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, does that star spangled banner yet wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
Tonight, we proudly recognize the courageous men and women who have worn and continue to wear the uniform of the United States Armed Forces. Thank you for your courage. Thank you for your sacrifice. And thank you for your unwavering commitment to our nation. Ladies and gentlemen, our salute to service.
How we feeling that rush bar? Let me hear you. All right. We are the United States Air Force Academy band and it is an honor to be here with you tonight. Let's keep that energy high. Okay, let's go.
Ladies and gentlemen, please help me in welcoming the governor of South Dakota, Larry Rhoden.
How cool is this? Good evening. I'm Governor Larry Rhoden. Welcome to the greatest free state in a nation that was founded on the principles of freedom. Here in South Dakota, we still honor America, our freedoms, our founding fathers. If you need proof of that, just look up. Above us tower four leaders carved in granite. Their image is built to last for generations. Their leadership will not be forgotten. More importantly, the principles and the values and the freedoms that they stood for carry just as much weight as they did 250 years ago. I wanted to read something that President Calvin Coolidge said a hundred years ago when he commemorated the 150th anniversary of America. He said this about the declaration. There's a finality that is exceedingly restful. It is often asserted that the world has made a great deal of progress since 1776 and that we may therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern.
But that reasoning cannot be applied to this great charter. If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If government derives their just power from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which it can proceed historically is not forward but backwards towards a time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, and no rule of the people. Powerful words from a great leader who loved the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Ladies and gentlemen, America is not just a piece of land. America is an ideal, a set of values, a shining city on a hill, an example to the world of freedom.
But freedom doesn't defend itself. That's our job. My great-great-great-grandfather came to America with four brothers alongside General Lafayette to help win the American Revolution. He survived; his brothers did not. He was the first in a long history of family service, including my grandfather in World War I, my father in World War II, my brother in Vietnam, my son who flew Blackhawk helicopters, and my service in the South Dakota National Guard. Defending freedom requires the sacrifice of the brave men and women in uniform, but it also takes everyday Americans and elected leaders who know their duty. We are joined by our 45th and 47th president, President Donald J. Trump. He is a leader who says what he means and does what he says. Since he's been back in the White House, it's like a light switch turned on. Our state can partner with federal agencies and influence change with just a phone call. He puts American people first. It was six years ago President Trump helped bring this event back. My mission as governor has been to keep government limited, remain true to American values, and recognize that our rights are given by God, not government. America isn't perfect, but we overcome challenges. Happy birthday, America. Thank you. There's one more man I'd like to thank: Secretary of the Interior Doug Bergam and the entire team at Interior and Travel South Dakota. Welcome to the better Dakota. Thank you to President Trump and the whole Trump administration for making this event happen. So now, help me welcome United States Secretary of the Interior Doug Bergam.
Good evening, America. Are you ready to celebrate 250 years of the most powerful nation in the world? 250 years ago, a handful of patriots gathered and wrote the Declaration of Independence, declaring a nation founded on the truth that every American is endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The greatest experiment in self-government in human history. We gather beneath four presidents carved in granite, telling a story of ordinary citizens who became presidents. We became the most exceptional nation because of freedom. That spirit lives on in our ranchers, farmers, innovators, miners, manufacturers, and military. Thanks to President Trump, that revolutionary spirit has returned. America is back. President Trump is leading us into a new golden age with peace abroad and prosperity at home. The faces before me give me hope. In a few minutes, the 45th and 47th president will join us. How great to have a leader committed to restoring American strength and pride. President Trump reminds us we're a nation of abundance built on freedom. Let's make this 250th year worthy of our great nation. God bless you, God bless President Trump, and God bless the United States of America.
Musical performance of 'Gloria' and other songs.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the 45th and 47th President of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump.
