Trump addresses military grads

President Donald Trump used the first military commencement address of his second term to congratulate West Point cadets on their academic and physical accomplishments while veering sharply into politics, taking credit for America’s military might while boasting about the “mandate” he says he earned in the 2024 presidential elections. “In a few moments, you’ll become graduates of the most elite and storied military academy in human history,” Trump said at the ceremony at Michie Stadium. “And you will become officers of the greatest and most powerful army the world has ever known. And I know, because I rebuilt that army, and I rebuilt the military. And we rebuilt it like nobody has ever rebuilt it before in my first term.” Wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat, the Republican president told the 1,002 graduating cadets that the United States is the “hottest country in the world,” boasted of his administration’s own achievements and underscored a distinct America First ethos for the US military, which he called “the greatest fighting force in the history of the world.”

AP