Former President Donald Trump has announced that he intends to reverse a "ridiculous" policy of President Joe Biden should he return to the White House.
Trump, who announced his bid for a non-consecutive second term in November, took to Truth Social on Thursday to promise that he would "soon" be reinstating a Fourth of July fireworks celebration at Mount Rushmore.
The former president made the pledge after Republican Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota said that the Biden administration had turned down a request for fireworks at the national memorial site for a third consecutive year.
Noem argued that fireworks at Mount Rushmore were the "best way" to celebrate the Fourth of July, despite criticism over the environmental impact and protests from Native Americans who say that fireworks at the site are disrespectful to their sacred lands.
"But I made this incredible event happen, and was there to celebrate with the great people of South Dakota, and America," Trump wrote in response to Noem. "Ridiculous that it is no longer allowed. So great for USA spirit. As President, it will SOON happen again. I Love Mount Rushmore!"
The National Park Service denied Noem's request in a letter sent to South Dakota's Deputy Tourism Department Secretary Wanda Goodman on Thursday.
A copy of the letter obtained by The Daily Caller points out the potential for the fireworks to cause wildfires and release environmental contaminants, while noting that such displays "continue to be viewed by multiple Tribes as an adverse effect on the traditional cultural landscape."
After a permit was rejected last year, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Chairman Harold Frazier told Sioux Falls CBS affiliate KELO that his tribe was "staunchly opposed" to fireworks at Mount Rushmore.
"We've always maintained, you know, that's a sacred, very, very sacred site for us Indians and, you know, we feel that fireworks and things like that is a desecration to, you know, our place, our land," Frazier said. "Our people will take the stance that needs to be taken to protect the Black Hills."
Noem launched an unsuccessful lawsuit over the request being denied last year. In an opinion obtained by local NBC affiliate KNBN, Judge David Straus wrote that "nobody has a right to shoot off fireworks on someone else's land, whether it be a neighbor; an area business; or as is the case here, a national park."
Native American groups protested the fireworks display the last time it happened at Mount Rushmore, in 2020, with Trump in attendance. Some also called for the monument to past presidents to be destroyed, arguing that it is a "symbol of white supremacy" and colonialism.
Trump has repeatedly suggested that his own face should be carved onto Mount Rushmore, although there may be no more carvable rock on the structure.
In addition to reinstating fireworks at Mount Rushmore, the former president has pledged to destroy the "left-wing censorship regime," reinstate his U.S.-Mexico border policies and dismantle drug cartels if elected in 2024.
Newsweek has reached out to the National Park Service for comment.
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