At 9:03 p.m. tonight, the 45th and 47th President of the United States took the stage beneath Mount Rushmore in Keystone, South Dakota, as the U.S. Air Force Academy Band played Hail to the Chief. As he approached the bulletproof glass, he stepped around it, waved to the crowd, and then stepped inside the protected enclosure, clapping his hands with a dazed look in his eyes. As he stood there waiting for the music to end, his mouth tightened and stretched as he repeatedly struggled to catch his breath. As he began to speak, it became clear this was not a celebration of America's 250th birthday. It was the 2026 version of the Red Scare.