The Democratic National Committee's official Twitter account on Monday attacked President Donald Trump's planned Fourth of July celebration at Mount Rushmore as "a rally glorifying white supremacy."
"Trump has disrespected Native communities time and again. He's attempted to limit their voting rights and blocked critical pandemic relief," the since-deleted tweet read. "Now he's holding a rally glorifying white supremacy at Mount Rushmore — a region once sacred to tribal communities."
The tweet linked to a Guardian article that detailed criticism from Native American tribes about Trump's proposed Fourth of July event. The article quoted a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe who said Mount Rushmore symbolized white supremacy and glorified conquerors who committed genocide.
"Mount Rushmore is a symbol of white supremacy, of structural racism that’s still alive and well in society today," the member told the newspaper. "It’s an injustice to actively steal indigenous people’s land then carve the white faces of the conquerors who committed genocide."
The DNC's Twitter account deleted the tweet after posting it.
The famed monument, completed in 1941, displays the faces of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.
In May 2019, Trump announced that the annual fireworks display would return to Mount Rushmore after a 10-year absence. The fireworks display ended in 2009 due to concerns over environmental impacts.
Gov. Kristi Noem (R., S.D.) said that free face masks will be provided at the event, set to take place Friday, but that attendees will not be required to practice social distancing.