“In a few moments, you’ll become graduates of the most elite and storied military academy in human history,” Trump said at the ceremony at Michie Stadium. “And 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.”
Wearing a red “Make America Great Again” 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 “hottest country in the world” and underscored an “America First” ethos for the military.
Trump said the cadets were graduating at a “defining moment” in Army history as he accused political leaders in the past of sending soldiers into “nation-building crusades to nations that wanted nothing to do with us.” He said he was clearing the military of transgender ideas, “critical race theory” and types of training he called divisive and political.
Past administrations, he said, “subjected 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’ wars.”
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 “great mandate” and “it gives us the right to do what we want to do.”
Frequently turning the focus on himself, he reprised some of his campaign rally one-liners, including the claim that he has faced more investigations than mobster Al Capone.
But the president also took time to acknowledge the achievements of individual graduates.
In a nod to presidential tradition, Trump also pardoned about half a dozen cadets who had faced disciplinary infractions.
He told graduates that “you could have done anything you wanted, you could have gone anywhere” and that “writing your own ticket to top jobs on Wall Street or Silicon Valley wouldn’t be bad. But I think what you’re doing is better.”
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.
“This is a time of incredible change and we do not need an officer corps of careerists and yes men,” Trump said. “We need patriots with guts and vision and backbone.”
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 “Support Our Veterans” and “Stop the Cuts,” while others held up plastic buckets with the message: “Go Army Beat Fascism.”
