President Donald Trump honored fallen soldiers and laid out his second term agenda of rebuilding and refocusing military efficiency while delivering a commencement speech at West Point on Saturday.
“Let me begin by saying congratulations to the West Point Class of 2025,” Trump said after taking the stage to chants of “USA, USA” at Michie Stadium in New York. “Every single one of you. Today I can proudly say mission accomplished, great job.”
The speech marked the president’s first military commencement address of his second term. He told the 1,002 graduating cadets that West Point is “the “most elite and storied military academy in human history.”
Trump pointed to failures of past administrations and the painful history of unnecessary foreign entanglements in vowing to return to merit-based systems and the military traditions that have long defined the nation.
“The job of the U.S. is not to host drag shows or transform foreign countries, to spread democracy to everybody around the world at the point of a gun. The military’s job is to dominate and foe and annihilate any threat to America, anywhere, anytime and anywhere,” the president said.
Trump further emphasized his commitment to “peace through strength,” a Reagan-era