President Donald Trump delivered the commencement address on Saturday morning at West Point Military Academy to about 1,000 graduating cadets, praising them for their accomplishments and highlighting their vital role in protecting and preserving America’s sovereignty and glory.
“Congratulations to the West Point Class of 2025 – you are winners, every single one of you,” the president said.
Trump lauded the graduating class for their stunning training record, their athletic victories in lacrosse and impressive academic achievements. “The Class of 2025 has a lot to be proud of,” he remarked.
“Each of you on the field today is among the most talented members of your generation – you could have done anything you wanted, you could have gone anywhere…you chose a life of service instead of stock options,” he said. “…You chose honor and you chose sacrifice and instead of business suits and dress shoes, you chose muddy boots and fatigues.”
Trump described the cadets as having the “bravest hearts” and “noblest souls,” and he projected his extreme pride in being the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces.
“I cannot wait to see the glory that is still ahead, however, for the West Point Class of 2025,” he said.
The president added, “All the victories that you’ve had together on these grounds will soon pale in comparison to the momentous deeds that you’ll perform on the mission that you’re accepting today.”
It was fitting that President Trump highlighted the legacy of the U.S. Armed Forces not only in honor of the commencement, but in honor of Memorial Day Weekend.
“Our soldiers have sprinted through storms of bullets, clouds of shrapnel, slogged through miles of dirt and oceans of sand, scaled towering cliffs of jagged rock and time and time again, the American soldier has charged into the fires of hell and sent the devil racing in full retreat,” Trump said.
He noted that the 250-year legacy of “glory and triumph” of the U.S. Army now belonged to the newest officers of the “greatest fighting force in the history of the world.”
“You are the first West Point graduates of the Golden Age of America,” he continued.
Notably, the president also emphasized his administration’s renewed focus on strength and military might over political agendas and ideology-fueled aggrandization.
“We’re getting rid of the distractions and we’re focusing our military on its core mission,” he explained. “Crushing America’s adversaries, killing America’s enemies, and defending our great American flag like it has never been defended before.”
Reflecting on the political chaos of the Biden administration, Trump added, “The job of the U.S. Armed Forces is not to host drag shows, [or] to transform foreign cultures, or to spread democracy to everybody around the world at the point of a gun. The military’s job is to dominate every foe and annihilate any threat to America anywhere, anytime, and anyplace.”
Trump focused on the critical role that respect plays in establishing this position of strength.
“If the United States is ever threatened or attacked, the Army will obliterate our opponents with overwhelming strength and devastating force,” he said, but he tempered this statement by noting that his focus has always been “peace through strength.”
“Because as much as you want to fight, I’d rather do it without having to fight. I just want to look at them and have them fold – and that’s happening,” he said.