MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th July, 2020) US President Donald Trump has marked the July 4 Independence Day holiday with a large event at the White House, which included a firework display and a military aircraft flyover, according to a video published by the president on Twitter.
"On this wonderful day, we celebrate our history, our heroes, our heritage, our flag, and our FREEDOM. Happy Fourth of July to Everyone! #SaluteToAmerica," Trump wrote in an accompanying tweet.
The president's Boeing 747 "Air Force One," US World War II planes such the Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress," and the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth bomber were among the aircraft to participate in the flyover.
During a speech at the event, Trump attacked individuals who have targeted the country's statues and monuments during six weeks of public unrest following George Floyd's death on May 25.
"We will never allow an angry mob to tear down our statues, erase our history, indoctrinate our children, or trample on our freedoms. We will safeguard our values, traditions, customs, and beliefs," Trump said.
The president added that he had signed an executive order to create the National Garden of American Heroes, which will feature statues of what he called the "greatest Americans who have ever lived."
Among those named by the president include the Founding Fathers, such as George Washington, and former presidents Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan.
Trump's list of greatest US citizens also includes author Harriet Beecher Stowe, who wrote a famous anti-slavery novel in the nineteenth century, Harriet Tubman, an African-American abolitionist and political activist, as well as civil rights leader Martin Luther King.
Confederate statues and those depicting individuals linked to racism and slavery have been a frequent target of civil rights protesters in the United States over recent weeks. On Saturday evening, a statue of Christopher Columbus, the Italian explorer who claimed to discover North America, was brought down in the city of Baltimore by protesters.�
