NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- President Trump said on Friday he will attend a fireworks display at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota on Friday, July 3, as part of his Fourth of July activities.
Trump told radio host Dan Bongino of The Dan Bongino Show, "We're getting them at the great monument, we're getting them, I got fireworks ... it hasn't been allowed for environmental reasons -- you believe that one? It's all stone. So I'm trying to say where's the environmental reason? Anyway I got it approved so I'm going to go there on July 3rd, and they're gonna have the big fireworks."
DO NOT MISS my interview today on with President Donald J. Trump. Available now here 👇🏻https://t.co/KNgQuZ43jD pic.twitter.com/RL4KbJxlYf
— Dan Bongino (@dbongino) May 1, 2020
Trump first announced the idea of fireworks there in January.
"I called up our people and within about 15 minutes we got it approved and you're going to have your first big fireworks display at Mt. Rushmore," Trump claimed at the signing ceremony for the US-China trade deal, with South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem in the audience.
He also dismissed concerns at the time that the fireworks posed an environmental threat, saying, "what can burn? It's stone," adding that "nobody knew why, they just said environmental reasons."
But CNN subsequently fact-checked his comments: There were indeed Fourth of July fireworks at Mt. Rushmore for several years, but they were discontinued in 2009 over environmental concerns including increased risk of fires. And the decision to resume fireworks was not approved "in 15 minutes." At the time, the National Park Service was still evaluating the proposal.
But last month, Gov. Noem said fireworks will be held at the landmark, but Trump's attendance was not confirmed.
"We're excited that this will be happening at Mount Rushmore," she said. "We've been working on this for quite some time."
