WEST POINT, New York — President Trump vowed Saturday to refocus the US military on protecting US borders while cowing enemies into diplomatic capitulation during his graduation speech at the United States Military Academy.
“You are winners, every single one of you,” the 78-year-old commander in chief told the 1,002 graduating cadets, who are becoming second lieutenants in the Army. “You are the first West Point graduates of the Golden Age of America.”
Wearing his signature red “Make America Great Again” cap, he quickly turned to a blistering attack on prior presidents without naming them.
“For at least two decades, political leaders from both parties have dragged our military into missions it was never meant to be [in]. People would say, ‘Why are we doing this? Why are we wasting our time, money and souls in some cases?’” Trump said.
“They sent our warriors on nation-building crusades to nations that wanted nothing to do with us, led by leaders who didn’t have a clue in distant lands while abusing our soldiers with absurd ideological experiments.”
“All of that is ended,” he declared.
Several cadets were invited up on stage mid-speech as the president touted their physical, academic and extracurricular achievements — including more than two dozen Star Wreath recipients, four Rhodes scholars, eight winners of a hypersonic rocket design contest and the first two female graduates of diver school in West Point history.
The crowd cheered loudly for their peers and for the president’s remarks promising to revitalize the military, but were less enthusiastic during portions of the address that touted policies of restraint.
“They subjected the armed forces to all manner of social projects and political causes while leaving our borders undefended and depleting our arsenals to fight other countries’ wars.
“But under the Trump administration, those days are over. We’re getting rid of the distractions and focusing our military on its core mission: crushing America’s adversaries, killing America’s enemies, and defending our great American flag,” he said.
“The job of the US 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 the gun. The military’s job is to dominate any foe and annihilate any threat to America anywhere, anytime, and anyplace,” he added.
“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.”
“My preference always will be to make peace and seek partnership, even with countries with which our differences may be profound,” he went on.
“As much as you want to fight, I’d rather do it without having to fight. I’d rather just look at them and have them fold. And that’s happening.”
Trump touted his plans for a Golden Dome missile defense system as part of his $1 trillion projected military budget in the coming year — and said border protection would continue to be a top priority to stanch the flow of illegal immigration and drugs.
“A central purpose of our military is to protect our own borders from invasion. Our country was invaded for the past four years,” he said.
Trump also told graduates they were among the “smartest” and “toughest” soldiers in the world and “among the most talented members of your generation.”
“Instead of sports teams, spreadsheets, and software, you chose a life of service,” Trump said.
“I could not be more proud to serve you as your commander in chief.”
Trump told cadets that he just returned from his three-nation tour of the Middle East last week and that he was told “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. And it’s true, we have the hottest country in the world and the whole world is talking about it. I can’t wait to see the glory that is ahead.”
While congratulating students who designed a hypersonic rocket, Trump said that Russia stole plans for an American-designed rocket under President Barack Obama — an allegation he previously made in January.
“We had ours stolen,” Trump said. “During the Obama administration, they stole it. You know who stole it? The Russians stole it. Something bad happened.”
Trump said he was “rebuilding” the military “like nobody’s ever rebuilt it before,” to cheers from younger cadets in the stands.
“You have to have victory after victory after victory, and that’s what you’re going to have as you receive your commissions.”
The president also offered advice drawing from his personal experience, including to work hard and not let “bad people” get in their way.
“I went through a very tough time with some very radicalized, sick people,” Trump said, referring to four criminal cases he faced before winning the Nov. 5 election.
“I went through more investigations than Alphonse Capone, and now I’m talking to you as president. Can you believe this? So you got to fight hard. You’ve got to never give up and don’t let bad people take you down. You’ve got to take them down.”
