Yesterday, President Donald J. Trump addressed more than 1,000 graduating cadets of the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he delivered an inspiring message of service, sacrifice, and winning.
Here are the highlights:
- “Hold on to your culture and your traditions because that’s what makes something really great — and that’s what’s made the Army great, the culture and the tradition. Whether we’re talking about a battalion, a business, a sports team, or even a nation, history has shown that in many ways, culture is destiny — so do not let anyone destroy the culture of winning. You have to win.” Watch
- “Instead of stock options … you chose honor and you chose sacrifice. Instead of business suits and dress shoes, you chose muddy boots and fatigues and keeping yourselves in shape — because West Point cadets don’t just have the brightest minds, you also have the bravest hearts and the noblest souls.” Watch
- “The job of the U.S. Armed Forces is not to host drag shows, 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 any foe and annihilate any threat to America — anywhere, any time, and any place.” Watch
- “From Lexington to Yorktown, from Gettysburg to Sicily, and from Inchon to Fallujah, America has been won and saved by an unbroken chain of soldiers and patriots who ran to the sound of the guns, leapt into the maw of battle, and charged into the crucible of fire to seize the crown of victory — no matter the odds, no matter the cost, no matter the danger.” Watch
- “Every cadet on the field before me should savor this morning because this is a day you will never, ever forget. In a few moments, you will become graduates of the most elite and storied military academy in human history and you will become officers in the greatest and most powerful Army the world has ever known.” Watch
- President Trump recognized cadet Ricky McMahon: “In 2004, when Ricky was just a little boy … his dad, Lt. Col. Michael McMahon, made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation in Afghanistan. Today, Lt. Col McMahon rests not far from here in the West Point cemetery. Last year, two decades after losing his father, Ricky placed a gold chip from his dad’s 1985 class ring into a crucible along 87 other rings with it of past West Point grads that were melted down to forge those now worn by the Class of 2025 … Each of you will carry Michael’s memory with you always as you continue the legacy he gave.”
- President Trump recognized cadet Chris Verdugo: “Last January, when more than 1,000 cadets volunteered for an 18-and-a-half-mile march on a freezing winter night, cadet Chris Verdugo completed the task in two hours and 30 minutes flat — smashing the international record for the competition by 13 minutes … That really is the definition of Army strong.”
