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News24
24-05-2025
- Politics
- News24
Trump 'on brand' with anti-woke rant at army officer graduation
Donald Trump's speech at the West Point Military Academy was marked by attacks on transgender inclusivity and army diversity policies. While some cadets and attendees felt Trump's rhetoric was 'on brand,' others described parts of the speech as inflammatory or divisive, leading some Black and Indigenous individuals to leave in protest. The ceremony combined regimented military traditions with Trump's freewheeling commentary, including a mix of enthusiasm, laughter, and discomfort among graduates, attendees, and international guests. Attendees at a graduation event for new US army officers on Saturday tried to brush off inflammatory remarks by Donald Trump, but said they were unsurprised by the president's rhetoric. Trump's speech at the West Point Military Academy veered between attacks on transgender people and army diversity, equity and inclusion policies to slamming his predecessors. An infantry major who declined to give their name said that Trump "sure had them on their toes" with his speech, but when asked about the political content said: "it was my first commander-in-chief's speech" - so had nothing with which to compare. Trump railed against past army efforts to promote integration and tolerance, claiming that after he dismantled such policies, troops were no longer forced to perform drag shows overseas. "(I) liberated our troops from divisive and demeaning political trainings," he said. Cadet George Montras, 23, said that he enjoyed parts of Trump's speech about "winning" - but did not take a view on the more overtly political content. "(Winning) really matters here, whether it is sport, academically, whatever," he said. On whether the speech was unusually political, Montras insisted that "it was pretty on brand" for Trump and he was unsurprised. 'Unravelled' The event was a jarring mix of precision regimented military ceremony against a backdrop of Trump's freewheeling remarks. Graduates threw their hats into the air and marched accompanied by a military band, while Trump wore a red "make America great again" cap and joked about incompetent senior officers. One non-military attendee said Trump's rambling speech "was good then it just kind of unravelled." General Stephane Richou, visiting with a delegation of other senior officers from France, described Trump's speech to the graduating class as "interesting." "I was fascinated by the ceremony," he told AFP describing the "link between the commander-in-chief and the army for these youngsters" as an advantage. A lieutenant colonel in the US army chaplain corps who declined to be named said that the day was about "the joy of serving." Trump attended the New York Military Academy private school but avoided the Vietnam war draft through a medical exemption. Declining to comment on the more controversial elements of the speech, the chaplain said "it was very encouraging" to hear Trump emphasise the importance of the military and that "it was a good time to become an officer." At one point, Trump baselessly alleged that former president Barack Obama had given hypersonic missile technology to Russia, which prompted a large jeer from the non-graduating cadets assembled to see their classmates graduate. 'Divisive policies' There was also enthusiastic applause and cheering in the crowd when Trump rehashed his objection to transgender people competing in women's sport. "We will not have men playing in women's sports if that's OK," he said after vowing to stamp out "divisive" inclusion policies in the military. A special forces lieutenant colonel in the stands laughed out loud when Trump suggested in an off-the-cuff remark that he wanted a West Point gold ring, reserved for alumni of the gruelling four-year course. Kahena Wilhite was supporting a friend who graduated despite racking up 286 hours of disciplinary punishment time. Describing Trump's words unfavorably, the 22-year-old said a number of Black and indigenous people left the stands in protest during the speech, which included praise for Levittown housing developments that formerly excluded non-white owners. On whether it was a safe time to become an officer under Trump, Tom McGill, 75, from Baton Rouge, Louisiana said he was relieved that his grandson was going into an army support role. "He's going into intelligence, I don't know if they see any action," he said, stressing that commentators have "got to give (Trump) a chance" on foreign policy. Cadets that did speak to AFP stressed that the day was meant to be apolitical, and that they were excited to support their classmates. "We're here to support each other," said a second-year cadet who gave his name as Torres and wore a pristine white uniform with a white peaked cap with gold trim.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Brags to West Point Grads He Can Do Whatever He Wants Now
Wearing a red MAGA hat, President Donald Trump said that his election victory means he can do whatever he wants in his commencement speech at West Point on Saturday. 'We had the greatest election victory,' Trump told cadets of the elite United States Military Academy. 'This was November 5. We won the popular vote by millions of votes. We won all seven swing states. We won everything.… We had a great mandate, and it gives us the right to do what we want to do to make our country great again, and that's what we're going to do.' Although the president loves insulting the military, this time he showered the graduates with praise. He also took credit for creating the military's strength. 'In a few moments, you'll become graduates of the most elite and storied military academy in human history,' Trump said. '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.' He told the cadets they are 'the first West Point graduates of the golden age of America. This is the golden age. I tell you, promise, we're in a new age.' Of course, this is not the first time that Trump has laid claim to unlimited power. Trump posted a similar declaration on social media in February. 'He who saves his Country does not violate any Law,' he wrote on Truth Social and X. This idea was validated by the Supreme Court last year, when the conservative justices ruled that a former president is entitled to sweeping immunity from criminal prosecutions. At the time, sources told Rolling Stone that a second Trump administration would use this decision as a shield against pesky laws and rules as they sought to implement their policy agenda. 'It's like Christmas,' a conservative attorney close to Trump told Rolling Stone. 'In every use of official power,' Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned in her dissent, 'the president is now a king above the law.' Just months into Trump's second term, his administration has disregarded due process rights and orders from judges, including those on the Supreme Court, that it return Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia from his incarceration in El Salvador. In March, Trump sent hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants to a notorious prison system in El Salvador without due process, in defiance of a Maryland judge's order. This week, a Massachusetts judge found that Trump officials violated his court order — which prohibits the administration from deporting immigrants to third-party countries without due process — as it moved to send a group of detainees to South Sudan, a dangerous and war-torn country. Over and over again, courts have ruled that the Trump administration's actions are unlawful. Speaking before the West Point cadets, Trump expressed hope that judges will stop standing in the way and allow him to continue his lawless deportations, framing them as necessary to stop a criminal 'invasion' at the border. 'It's not easy, but hopefully the courts will allow us to continue,' he said. Trump separately praised his record so far as president. 'Our country is doing well,' he told the cadets. 'We've turned it around, very quickly. We've turned it around.' 'I just got back from the Middle East, and I was at, as you know, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE. And I will tell you they said, all three leaders, great leaders of those three nations, they all said the same thing: The United States of America is hotter now than we've ever seen it, and a year ago, it was as cold as it gets. It's true. We have the hottest country in the world, and the whole world is talking about it, and that's an honor for all of us. I cannot wait to see the glory that is still ahead.' Trump also took aim at critical race theory and transgender people's participation in sports. Earlier this year, West point disbanded several clubs including the Asian-Pacific Forum Club, the Japanese Forum Club, the Latin Cultural Club, the National Society of Black Engineers Cub, the Native American Heritage Forum, and the Society of Women Engineers Club in response to the Trump administration's executive order to end diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, or DEI. 'We've liberated our troops from divisive and demeaning political trainings,' Trump said. 'There will be no more critical race theory or 'transgender for everybody' forced onto our brave men and women in uniform, or on anybody else for that matter, in this country. And we will not have men playing in women's sports.' He drew attention to West Point's football quarterback, Bryson Daily: 'I don't think a lot of women want to tackle him. I don't think so. How crazy is it — men playing in women's sports? How crazy is it? So ridiculous, so demeaning, so demeaning to women. And it's over. That's over. We've ended it.' More from Rolling Stone Trump Tries to Make Sure States Don't Fight Climate Change Either Rubio Says Blocking Deportations to South Sudan Will Harm Humanitarian Aid Trump Pumped and Dumped His Crypto Backers With Dud Dinner Party Best of Rolling Stone The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump to cadets: "We will not fail you."
This year, the United States Army celebrates its 250th birthday. President Donald Trump kicked off his Memorial Day weekend by speaking at the graduation of the United States Military Academy at West Point. Wearing his signature 'Make America Great Again' red hat and a clashing magenta tie, the Commander in Chief gave his slow, sluggish, partly off-prompter keynote address to 1,002 cadets at Michie Stadium at West Point, N.Y. Trump spent much of the time praising the cadets before him, referring to them at one point as 'a bunch of male models.' He brought up two cadets on stage to honor their contributions to the class of 2025. Cadet Bryson Daily led the Army's Black Knights football team to a winning season, and Cadet Chris Verdugo set a new record on a 18.5-mile freezing winter night hike in just 2 hours and 30 minutes (beating the previous record by 13 minutes). The USMA also made Peter Wang an honorary cadet. Wang was a junior ROTC cadet when he was killed six years ago at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. After praising the military in general, Trump boasted his recent success in securing increased military spending, including new stealth planes, tanks, ships, missiles, and drones. All 'Made in America,' of course. He brought up the 'Golden Dome' missile defense shield to applause, promising to complete it before he left office. He discussed his immigration changes, like sending the army to help protect the southern border and ranting how he inherited a 'terrible' immigration system of releasing 'insane' people and violent criminals from jails. After a brief detour through the same speech on how he won the election, he got back to immigration by claiming that he had closed the borders by "99.999%," claiming Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) only allowed one person who was sick to cross the border to get help. Border crossing are down, according to Trump's own CBP by 94% since March 2024. They also note that illegal border crossing average 264 (out of 673 encounters) per day in March alone. No word on the status of the aforementioned sick border-crosser. Trump included a segue into excluding transpeople from serving in the military, and men in girls' sports, and how the administration and military now only promote on merit and not on DEI. Trump focused much of his speech on how these decisions were to establish a better future for the military and for America. Then, suggesting that success comes from the 'culture of winning,' he started the final segment of speech with some sound advice: 'You have to do what you love. If you don't love it, you won't be successful. Follow your instincts to take the path that you love.' 'Think big. If you're going to do something, you might as well do it big.' 'Brainpower, you have to have. Potential, you have to have. But if you really want to be successful, you have to work hard.' 'Don't lose your momentum.' 'You have to have the courage to take risks and do things differently.' 'With leaders like the West Point class of 2025, the army will never fail,' said Trump to close his over one-hour speech. 'We will never let you down.'
Washington Post
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Trump to speak at a West Point upended by his changes
When President Donald Trump last addressed the graduating class of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, protests inspired by the police killing of George Floyd swept the country — forcing a reckoning on college campuses that extended to the storied institution. Then, school officials directed cadets to spend an academic year exploring how to 'unearth and confront racism, sexism, and other biases that persist at this academy and that undermine American society.'
Washington Post
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
President Donald Trump is set to give the commencement address to West Point graduates
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is delivering his first military commencement address since returning to office. The Republican president is set to speak to West Point's graduating class on Saturday morning. Trump gave the commencement address at West Point in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The president urged the graduating cadets to 'never forget' the soldiers who fought a war over slavery during his remarks, which came as the nation was reckoning with its history on race after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
