Trump praises ‘unity’ in West Point address
Graduating cadets hailed for service and sacrifice
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump saluted the service and sacrifice of West Point’s graduating class Saturday, calling on cadets to be as visionary as military heroes of the past and encouraging them to stand strong for the cause of freedom and equality at a time of discord and division.
In remarks that emphasized unity, Trump said in his commencement address to the roughly 1,100 cadets that what has historically made the U.S. unique is “the durability of its institutions against the passions and prejudices of the moment.”
“When times are turbulent, when the road is rough, what matters most is that which is permanent, timeless, enduring and eternal,” he said.
Trump’s address – his first at West Point – came at a time when his own relationship with the military has grown strained. The ceremony itself was unconventional, a reflection of the challenges facing Americans amid the pandemic.
Trump announced in April that he would deliver the commencement address for the Class of 2020 – a decision met with swift condemnation from critics, who accused him of putting future military leaders’ lives at risk by forcing them to assemble during a deadly contagion.
“You exemplify the power of shared national purpose.” President Donald Trump In an address to West Point’s graduating class
Cadets were sent home in March when the pandemic hit and finished their studies through remote learning. Only the graduating seniors returned for Saturday’s event, which was moved to an expansive parade field known as the Plain.
In his roughly half-hour remarks to the graduates, Trump praised West Point as “a universal symbol of American gallantry, loyalty, devotion, discipline and great skill.”
Trump, who was welcomed to the ceremony with cannon blasts and a 21gun salute, paid tribute to the diversity of the graduating class, noting the young men and women had come from every state and “from every race, religion, color and creed.”
“But when you entered these grounds, you became part of one team and one family, proudly serving one American nation,” he said. “You exemplify the power of shared national purpose to transcend all differences and achieve true unity.”
Trump, who did not wear a face mask while on the stage, acknowledged the deadly toll of the coronavirus, which has infected more than 2 million Americans and killed nearly 115,000. He called the virus “the invisible enemy … that came to our shore from a distant land called China.”
But, “we will extinguish this plague,” he vowed.
Trump also celebrated the newest branch of the Armed Services – the newly created Space Force – and said that on his watch the U.S. is bringing an end to “the era of endless wars.”
“It is not the duty of U.S. troops to solve ancient conflicts in faraway lands that many people have never even heard of,” he said.
“We are not the policeman of the world. But let our enemies be on notice, if our people are threatened, we will never ever hesitate to act.”