In a since-deleted tweet, the
Democratic National Committee accused
President Trump of “holding a rally glorifying white supremacy” by attending the fireworks display at Mount Rushmore on Independence Day.“Trump has disrespected Native communities time and again. He’s attempted to limit their voting rights and blocked critical pandemic relief. Now he’s holding a rally glorifying white supremacy at Mount Rushmore — a region once sacred to tribal communities,” the DNC tweeted early Tuesday morning. The tweet linked to a story by The Guardian, which reported that some Native
American groups are planning
protests at Mount Rushmore in response to Trump’s expected attendance on July 3.“Mount Rushmore is a symbol of white supremacy, of structural
racism that’s still alive and well in society today,” Native American activist Nick Tilsen told the
British paper. “It’s an injustice to actively steal indigenous people’s land then carve the white faces of the conquerors who committed genocide.”DNC press secretary Brandon Gassaway did not return a request for comment on why the tweet was deleted. The
Trump campaign immediately seized on the incident, tweeting that “Joe Biden's Democrat Party says Mount Rushmore and 4th of July celebrations ‘glorify white supremacy.’”“To stop this insanity, you have to vote on November 3rd,” the campaign stated.Trump has faced allegations of white supremacy from prominent
Democrats in the past. Last August, Biden claimed while on the campaign trail that “everything the president says and has done encourages white supremacy.” Senator
Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) a potential running-mate for Biden, has explicitly called Trump a white supremacist.“He’s done the wink and a nod. He has talked about white supremacists as fine people. He’s done everything he can to stir up racial conflict and hatred in this country,” Warren said last August while campaigning for president in Iowa.