WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) 鈥� President used the first service academy commencement address of his second term Saturday to congratulate graduating West Point cadets on their accomplishments while also veering sharply into politics, taking credit for America's military might and boasting about the 鈥渕andate鈥� he says he earned in the 2024 election.
鈥淚n a few moments, you鈥檒l become graduates of the most elite and storied military academy in human history,鈥� Trump said at the ceremony at Michie Stadium. 鈥淎nd you will become officers of the greatest and most powerful army the world has ever known. And I know, because I rebuilt that army, and I rebuilt the military. And we rebuilt it like nobody has ever rebuilt it before in my first term.鈥�
Wearing a red 鈥淢ake America Great Again鈥� hat, the Republican president told the 1,002 members of the class of 2025 at the U.S. Military Academy that the United States is the 鈥渉ottest country in the world鈥� and underscored an 鈥淎merica First鈥� ethos for the military.
鈥淲e鈥檙e getting rid of distractions and we鈥檙e focusing our military on its core mission: crushing America鈥檚 adversaries, killing America鈥檚 enemies and defending our great American flag like it has never been defended before,鈥� Trump said. He later said that 鈥渢he job of the U.S. armed forces is not to host drag shows or transform foreign cultures,鈥� a reference to that Democratic President Joe Biden's administration halted after Republican criticism.
Trump said the cadets were graduating at a 鈥渄efining moment鈥� in Army history as he accused political leaders in the past of sending soldiers into 鈥渘ation-building crusades to nations that wanted nothing to do with us.鈥� He said he was clearing the military of transgender ideas, 鈥渃ritical race theory鈥� and types of training he called divisive and political.
Past administrations, he said, 鈥渟ubjected the armed forces to all manner of social projects and political causes while leaving our borders undefended and depleting our arsenals to fight other countries鈥� wars.鈥�
At times, his remarks were indistinguishable from those heard in a political speech, from his assessment of the country when he left office in January 2021 to his review of last November's victory over Democrat Kamala Harris, arguing that voters gave him a 鈥済reat mandate鈥� and 鈥渋t gives us the right to do what we want to do.鈥�
But Trump also took time to acknowledge the achievements of individual graduates.
He summoned Chris Verdugo to the stage and noted that he completed an 18.5-mile march on a freezing night in January in just two hours and 30 minutes. Trump had the nationally ranked men's lacrosse team, which held the No. 1 spot for a time in the 2024 season, stand and be recognized. Trump also brought Army's star quarterback, , to the lectern, where the president praised Daily's 鈥渟teel鈥�-like shoulder. Trump later used Daily as an example to make a case against transgender women participating in women's athletics.
In a nod to presidential tradition, Trump also pardoned about half a dozen cadets who had faced disciplinary infractions.
He told graduates that 鈥測ou could have done anything you wanted, you could have gone anywhere.鈥� and that "writing your own ticket to top jobs on Wall Street or Silicon Valley wouldn鈥檛 be bad. But I think what you鈥檙e doing is better.鈥�
His advice to them included doing what they love, thinking big, working hard, holding on to their culture, keeping faith in America and taking risks.
鈥淭his is a time of incredible change and we do not need an officer corps of careerists and yes men,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淲e need patriots with guts and vision and backbone.鈥�
Just outside campus, about three dozen demonstrators gathered before the ceremony and were waving miniature American flags. One in the crowd carried a sign that said 鈥淪upport Our Veterans鈥� and 鈥淪top the Cuts,鈥� while others held up plastic buckets with the message: 鈥淕o Army Beat Fascism.鈥�
On Friday, Vice President JD Vance spoke to the graduating class at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. that Trump was working to ensure U.S. soldiers are deployed with clear goals, rather than the 鈥渦ndefined missions鈥� and 鈥渙pen-ended conflicts鈥� of the past.
Trump gave the commencement address at West Point in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when spread out across the country to travel, risking exposure on public transportation, and then land in New York, a coronavirus hot spot.
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Swenson reported from Bridgewater, New Jersey.
Seung Min Kim And Ali Swenson, The Associated Press
