West Point, New York – President Trump used his first military commencement address since returning to office to congratulate West Point cadets on their accomplishments and take credit for the United States’ military power.
“You will become officers in the greatest and most powerful Army the world has ever known,” the president added. “And I know because I rebuilt the Army and I rebuilt the military, and we rebuilt it like nobody had ever rebuilt it before.”
Wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat, the Republican president also discussed the shift in US foreign policy and military intervention, which he previously addressed during a trip to the Middle East earlier this month.
“For at least two decades, political leaders from both parties have dragged our military into missions,” Mr. Trump said, accusing previous leaders of sending soldiers on “nation-building crusades to nations that wanted nothing to do with us.” “It was not meant to be. “It was not meant to be.”
The president’s last speech at the United States Military Academy occurred during a national reckoning following the police killing of George Floyd in 2020. In that speech, Mr. Trump primarily thanked the National Guard for “ensuring peace, safety, and the constitutional rule of law on our streets.” He urged the students not to forget the soldiers who fought to “extinguish the evil of slavery.”
Nine 2020 graduates wrote a letter to administrators requesting that anti-racism training be included in the curriculum at West Point, citing the institution’s failure to produce leaders capable of leading diverse organizations.
Five years later, West Point has complied with the second Trump administration’s executive order prohibiting diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, programs within the military. In February, the United States Military Academy disbanded a dozen cadet clubs based on race and gender, including the Asian-Pacific Forum Club, the National Society of Black Engineers Club, and the Society of Women Engineers Club.
The order prohibits race or gender preference in any branch of the US military and orders Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to conduct internal reviews of DEI initiatives. Throughout the campaign, the President promised to remove “woke” military generals and restore a merit-based system.
On Saturday, Mr. Trump announced that critical race theory would no longer be taught in military academies.
“We’re getting rid of the distractions, and we’re focusing our military on its core mission, crushing America’s adversaries, killing America’s enemies, and defending our great American flag like it has never been defended before,” he told reporters.
Mr. Trump also stated that his administration has set a new peacetime recruiting record.
“Today, morale in the Armed Forces is at its highest level in decades, despite years of recruiting shortfalls. “And last year was the worst of all, the final year of the Biden administration,” Mr. Trump said. “And right now, just less than a year later, we just set a brand new peacetime recruiting record.”
According to CBS News, military records show that enlistments began to recover from a pandemic slump before Election Day. While numbers have continued to rise under Mr. Trump, experts believe the so-called “Trump Bump”—a term coined by Hegseth—is more likely the result of recruitment reforms implemented during former President Joe Biden’s term.
Mr. Trump’s speech comes a day after Vice President JD Vance, a Marine veteran, spoke at the US Naval Academy, emphasizing the administration’s shift in foreign policy away from perpetual wars and open-ended conflicts. The military would no longer be sent on missions unless there was a “specific set of goals in mind,” he told the graduates.
Ahead of Memorial Day, Vance reflected on the sacrifices made by service members. He told the story of Major Megan McClung, 34, who served with him in Iraq but was killed by a roadside bomb.
“She was an officer I served with who was bright, tough and incredibly dedicated to her job,” Vance told me.
He acknowledged that, while not all of the graduates shared his political views, he still supported them.
Of the 1,002 cadets graduating from the United States Military Academy, 14 are international cadets from around the world, including Kosovo, Qatar and Poland.
Former President Joe Biden delivered the West Point commencement speech last year, focusing on the United States’ ongoing foreign policy challenges. He vowed to continue US support for Ukraine, called for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, and reminded graduates that their oath is to the US Constitution, not a specific party.