Read Trump’s full “Salute to America” speech from the National Mall

President Donald Trump marked the 250th anniversary of American independence on Saturday with a speech in Washington. The address blended patriotic tributes to the nation’s history with campaign-style messaging and several themes likely to dominate the lead-up to the midterm elections.

Speaking after severe weather forced a roughly two-hour evacuation of the National Mall, Trump hailed the anniversary as “one of the most joyous and glorious milestones of all time.” The president honored veterans from several generations of military service, including World War II veterans and one of the first Black officers to command a Special Forces team in combat during the Vietnam War.

The ceremony featured historic American flags tied to defining moments in the nation’s past, including the flag that draped President Abraham Lincoln‘s casket and one flown aboard an aircraft piloted by the Wright brothers. Trump used the occasion to celebrate what he described as America‘s resilience and achievements over the past 250 years. The president’s speech was followed by a massive fireworks display over the U.S. capital.

While the address was more focused on American history and national celebration than Trump’s typical campaign rallies, the president still worked in some familiar asides, including a joke about serving a third term and remarks praising members of World War II’s “Greatest Generation.”

“They are the greatest generation,” Trump said. “I hate to admit that, but they are.”

But the president also injected a distinctly political tone into the address, a departure from the more unifying themes traditionally associated with Independence Day speeches. Trump renewed his support for the SAVE America Act, legislation aimed at tightening election rules that has faced resistance from some Republicans in Congress. He also highlighted his backing of Second Amendment rights and repeated warnings about what he described as a growing communist threat, a message that has become increasingly prominent in his public remarks.

“We will always be on top,” Trump told the crowd. “We will never let our country fall. We will always be the best.”

One night earlier at Mount Rushmore, Trump also urged Americans to defend the freedoms envisioned by the nation’s founders, while warning of what he characterized as a growing “communist” threat from the political left. The president tied the Mount Rushmore message to his broader themes of patriotism, immigration and national identity.

David A. Frank, a professor emeritus of rhetoric and political communication at the University of Oregon and a faculty ambassador with the University of Oxford Consortium for Human Rights, told Newsweek via email that Trump’s Mount Rushmore speech suggested the president was framing the nation’s political divisions as part of a larger struggle over American identity.

Looking ahead to the president’s July 4 remarks, Frank said the key question was whether Trump would deliver a speech aimed at the entire country or one more closely resembling the campaign-style rallies that have become a hallmark of his political movement.

“Trump’s speech will be a rally, improvised in real time with the crowd, and that is the frame to judge it by,” Frank said. “He riffs, repeats, and builds his speeches on the reaction of his audience.”

While Frank described Trump as an effective speaker in that setting, he argued that “an improvised rally is built for the people in the room, which is a different thing from an anniversary address meant to speak to the whole country.”

Frank said the 250th anniversary inevitably raises questions about who is included in the nation’s founding promise. He pointed to Frederick Douglass’ 1852 Fourth of July speech and recent debates over birthright citizenship as examples of how Americans continue to wrestle with the meaning of national belonging. Citing historian Jill Lepore’s argument that the United States is a nation that continually debates its own history and identity, Frank said the anniversary celebrations should be viewed as part of that ongoing conversation rather than simply a commemoration of the past.

“This 250th celebration will be another episode in that fight,” Frank said.