During what sounded very much like a campaign-style speech, former President Donald Trump accepted his recent diploma from the United States Military Academy’s commencement. He mostly pointed to the big changes he’s made in the military under his administration. His speech combined standard graduation rhetoric with standard 2024 campaign talking points. In particular, administration officials zeroed in on pushing an “America First” worldview and consistently and proudly touted the strength and achievements of the U.S. military.
Once on stage, Trump proudly took the stage wearing his signature red “Make America Great Again” hat. He even took credit for the military’s revitalization and asserted that today’s graduates are ushering us into a “new era.” “You are the first West Point graduates of the golden age of America,” he stated, urging them to lead the army to unparalleled heights. He praised the military’s current status, asserting, “A big part of that job is to be respected again, and you are, as of right now, respected more than any army anywhere in the world.”
Indeed, for much of his address, Trump bashed past administrations for their so-called “disastrous and wasteful wars.” He accused them of sending U.S. soldiers “on nation-building crusades to nations that wanted nothing to do with us.” He further emphasized the military’s primary mission, declaring, “The military’s job is to dominate any foe and annihilate any threat to America, anywhere, anytime and any place.”
In his sweeping criticism, Trump blasted diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. He pointed to the efforts made in recent months at military academies. He touted the removal of what he termed “divisive and demeaning political trainings,” stating, “We’ve liberated our troops from divisive and demeaning political trainings.” Under his leadership, West Point discontinued up to 40 cultural clubs. This is happening at the same time that the Pentagon ordered military academies to keep books on racism and sexism out of their libraries.
The former president’s speech didn’t stop there as he waded into continuing scandals attached to his White House. On today’s call, he specifically cited the proposed 50% tariff on the European Union that is scheduled to go into effect on June 1. He was stymied by courts as they dealt him blows, preventing his planned efforts at mass firings of federal workers. On his way out, Harvard sued him to stop his illegal ban on international student enrollment.