Donald Trump West Point Speech

[00:00:13]
Donald Trump
Thank you very much. This is a beautiful place. I've been here many times, going to high school, not so far away. A good place, also a military academy. Not quite of this distinction, but it was a lot of fun for me. And I just want to say hello, cadets, and on behalf of our entire nation, let me begin by saying congratulations to the West Point class of 2025. You are winners, every single one of you. Thank you. I want you to relax, and I'm supposed to say at ease, but you're already at ease. Because you've made a great choice in what you're doing. Your choices in life have been really amazing. So this is a celebration, and let's have a little fun. I want to thank your highly respected superintendent, General Stephen Gillen. And he is really something. I got to know him backstage with his beautiful family.

[00:01:17]
Donald Trump
And his reputation, his wife is just incredible. His reputation is unbelievable. And thank you very much. Your daughter is a winner also, just like everybody out there. A real winner. Thank you. I also want to thank Comandant General R.J. Garcia, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll, Army Chief of Staff General Randy George, Senator Ashley Moody, Representatives Steve Womack, Bill Huizenga, Pat Ryan, Mark Green, Keith Self, Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Haba, and very much just all of the friends. We have a lot of friends in the audience today. I just want to thank them all for being here. We have a tremendous amount of my friends. They wanted to come up and they wanted to watch the ceremony and they wanted you much more so than me. So I just want to thank so many people here.

[00:02:18]
Donald Trump
Over the past four years, an extraordinary group of professors, teachers, coaches, leaders, and warriors have transformed this class and cadets into an exceptional group of scholars and soldiers. So let's give the entire group, the entire West Point faculty, staff, for their incredible love of you and outstanding devotion to the Corps, let's give them a little hand. We can't forget all of those people beaming with pride. Look at them in the audience. They're so proud. They're in the stands. So thank your parents, your grandparents, and family members who made this all possible for you. Something right based on what I'm looking at. America loves our military moms and dads. Nearly one-third of the cadets graduating today are themselves the children of veterans. So to everyone with us this morning who served America in uniform, no matter your age, please stand so we can salute your service.

[00:03:42]
Donald Trump
We'd like to see who you are. Every cadet in 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 Nusnalli and Nistori Military Academy in Human History, and you will become officers in the greatest and most powerful army the world has ever known. And I know because I rebuilt that army, and I rebuilt the military, I rebuilt it like nobody has ever rebuilt it before in my first step. Your experience

[00:04:49]
Donald Trump
here at West Point has been anything but easy.

[00:05:37]
Donald Trump
You have to forget that. Because now you have another. It's a sad thing, isn't it? You know, you can't rest in your laurels no matter what. You just have to keep going, take it, take a little day off, and you go on to the rest. Because you have to have victory after victory after victory, and that's what you're going to have if you receive your commissions as second lieutenants. Each of you continues down the same hallowed path. by titans and legends of U.S. military law, giants like Ulysses S. Grant, John Blackjack Pershing, Dwight David Eisenhower, the one and only Douglas MacArthur. They countless other pages before you have walked out of these halls and straight into history. And today, you officially join those immortal heroes in a proud ranks of the long gray line. You know that term, so beautiful. The long.

[00:06:54]
Donald Trump
Among the 1,000 cadets graduating today, 26 of you wear the prestigious Star Wreath, signifying the highest level of academic achievement. Please stand up, 26. Let's see if somebody stands who shouldn't be standing. It's a big honor. This class includes an incredible four Rhodes Scholars. Stand up, there's four. Most of any West Point class since 1959. That's great, congratulations. Boy, oh boy, oh boy. I wanna bring them right to the Oval Office. I don't wanna have them. Go too far away from me. Eight cadets here today took on the challenge of designing their own hypersonic rocket. Oh, we could use you building them right now. We had our stolen. We are the designer of it. We had it stolen during the Obama administration. We stole it. You know what's stolen? The Russian stolen. Something bad happened. But we're now, we're the designer of them.

[00:08:33]
Donald Trump
We're now building them, lots of them. And earlier this year, they launched it into space, setting a world record for amateur rocket, but they can't get you in there fast enough. This class excelled not only mentally but also physically 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. This class includes 513 graduates who completed aerosol school, 70 who completed it. That includes the first two women Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations distinction here at the Academy, including seven century men who completed Would you like to stand up? I've been watching you, I watch you, I love the sports stuff. What you've done is pretty amazing.

[00:12:41]
Donald Trump
Last year, for the first time ever, Army lacrosse became the number one ranked men's lacrosse team in the entire country. That's number one in the country. Your sophomore year, Army football being named 2017. And the next year, you did it again, BD. and racked up your longest winning streak since 1949 with the help of

[00:14:46]
Speaker 2
Thank

[00:15:23]
Donald Trump
Bryce's mind was on something else, as he told an interviewer earlier this year, I'm focused on my career as an infantry officer, the 21st century.

[00:15:39]
Speaker 2
This is satisfying. Thanks, bro. That's amazing. It's amazing. You have an amazing

[00:15:47]
Donald Trump
team. today as among the most talented members of your generation. You could have done anything you wanted to. You could have gone anywhere. You could have gotten to any school. This is one of the hardest ones to get into. Writing your own ticket to top jobs on Wall Street or Silicon Valley wouldn't be bad, but I think we can do it better. Instead of sports teams, spreadsheets, and so forth, we chose a life of service, very important service, instead of stock options. And I did that stuff. It's sort of boring, honestly. compared to what you're doing as a real lawyer. You chose honor and you chose sacrifice instead of business suits, fresh shoes. You chose money moves and fatigues, keeping yourself in shape. Because West Point units don't just have the brightest minds, they also have the bravest hearts and the noblest souls of amazing people.

[00:16:48]
Donald Trump
I could not be more proud to serve you as your Commander-in-Chief, and our country is doing well. We've turned it around. Very quickly, we've turned it round. I just got back from the Middle East, and I was at, as you know, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE. And I will tell you, they said, All three leaders, great leaders of those three nations, they all said the same thing. 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. It's true. We have the hottest country in the world, and the whole world is talking about it. It's an honor for all of us. I cannot wait to see the glory that is still ahead. However, for the West Point class of 2025, we're going to help you a lot because we're going to be a nation as good or better than it ever was.

[00:17:53]
Donald Trump
That's what I promise you. We've had together in these rounds will soon fail in comparison to the momentous deeds that you'll perform on the mission you're accepting today as the future leader of America's army. And we have that army here. We have more than just one trillion-dollar military budget, General. Do you know that? One trillion. Some people say we can cut it back. I said, I'm not cutting 10 cents. It's another thing we can cut. We can cut plenty of others, right, Dan? We can cut one of other things, and we have a good man in the end. very different warfare out there. They've introduced a thing called drone. A drone is a little bit different. You have to go back and learn a whole new form of warfare. doing better than anybody else and won't be anybody close.

[00:18:56]
Donald Trump
Generation after generation of men and women of the army have done whatever it takes to defend our flag, pouring out their blood into the fields of battle all over the world. Respected like nobody has respected our soldiers. have sprinted through storms of bullets, clouds of trap, slogged through miles of dirt and oceans of sand, scale towering cliffs of jagged rock. And time and time again, the American soldiers charged into the fires of hell and sent the devil racing in full retreat. No task has ever been too tough for America's Army. And now that 250-year legacy of glory and pride belongs to you, the 1,000 newest officers of the greatest fighting force in the history of the world. That's what you are, and that's what you're being thought of again. You are the first West Point graduates of the Golden Age of America.

[00:20:10]
Donald Trump
We're going to do it since the golden age. And you're going to lead the army to summons of greatness that has never reached before. You see that. You see what's happening. You see that's going on in the world. Each of you is entering the officer corps in a defining moment in the Army's history. For at least two decades, political leaders from both parties had dragged our military into missions it was never meant to be, it wasn't meant to be. People would say, why are we doing this? Why are we wasting our time, money, and souls in some cases? They sent our warriors on nation-building crusades to nations that wanted nothing to do with us. led by leaders that didn't have a clue in distant lands, while abusing ourselves with absurd ideological experiments, here and at home, All of that's in it, you know.

[00:21:11]
Donald Trump
All of it's in it. Send it in strongly, you know, and not even allowed to think about it anymore. 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. We fought for other countries' borders, but we didn't fight for our own border, but now we do. like we have never fought before, God. But under the Trump administration, those days are over. We're getting rid of the distractions and we're focusing our military on its core mission, crushing America's adversaries, killing America's enemies, and defending our great American flag like it has never been defended before. The job of the U.S. Armed Forces is not to host grand shows to transform foreign cultures, but to spread democracy to Everybody around the world at the point of a gun.

[00:22:25]
Donald Trump
The military's job is to dominate any foe and annihilate any threat to America anywhere, anytime, and

[00:22:41]
Speaker 2
anyplace. A

[00:22:42]
Donald Trump
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. And that's happening, and I can tell you, you are respected like nobody can believe. As president, I am laser-focused on our core national interests. My preference will always be to make peace and to seek partnership, even with countries where our differences may be profound. As you know, we're working on a lot of things right now. When I left office four years ago, we had no wars. We had no problems. We had nothing but success. We had the most incredible economy, the greatest single greatest economy for a president But we had something going on very special. If the United States or its allies are ever threatened or attacked, the Army will obliterate our opponents with overwhelming strength and devastating force.

[00:23:47]
Donald Trump
That's why we're My here. administration has begun a colossal buildup of the United States Armed Forces. A buildup like we've never had before. Peace through strife. You know the term. I've used it a lot. Because as much as you want to fight, I'd rather do it without having to fight. I just want to look at them

[00:24:18]
Speaker 2
and have them fall. And that's happening.

[00:24:28]
Donald Trump
approved a $120,000 investment, and that will be, again, the largest ever in the history And we are buying you new airplanes, brand new beautiful planes, redesigned planes, brand new planes, totally stealth planes. I hope they're stealth. That whole stealth thing, I'm sort of wondering. You mean if we shape a wing this way, they don't see it, but the other way they see it? I'm not so sure. That's what they tell me. We have the best tanks anywhere in the world. We're gonna start shipbuilding again.

[00:25:06]
Speaker 2
We used to build a ship a day.

[00:25:09]
Donald Trump
Now we don't build them anymore. We had a lot of people that didn't know much about getting things built. But that's all I've done in my life is build. We're gonna have the best missiles we already did, drones, and much, much more. And earlier this week, I think you'll like this, I announced that we are officially building all in America, made in America, designed in America. We're the only ones that could do it because we're the only one with the great technology We're building the Golden Dome Missile Defense Shield to protect our homeland and to protect West Point from attack. And it will be completed before I leave office. And you know, you would think this, but our enemies are very unhappy about it. You've been hearing, you've been reading, why are they doing that? Why? We're doing it because we want to be around for a long time.

[00:26:07]
Donald Trump
We're also restoring the fundamental principle that a central purpose of our military is to protect our own borders from invasion. Our country was invaded for the last four years, and they've allowed people to come into our country that shouldn't be here. Criminals walk in, no vetting, no checking, no nothing. Where are they coming from? And they were taking people out of prisons. They were taking gang members. They were taking the mentally insane and allowing them to come in. And we're getting them out of our country. We have no choice. We're getting them back and bringing them back where they came from.

[00:26:53]
Speaker 2
It's

[00:26:53]
Donald Trump
not easy. But hopefully the courts will allow us to continue. You know, we had the greatest election victory this year, so we won the popular vote by millions of votes. We won all seven swing states. We won everything. We won 2,750 districts. Against 505, 2,750 against 505, we had a great mandate, and it gives us the right to do what we want to do, to make our country great again, and that's what we're going to do. On day one, I deployed our military to the southern border. And since that day we've reduced the number of illegal border crossings where there used to be hundreds of thousands of people coming into our country a day. We had nobody come in in the last week and a half. We were at 99.999%. One nine nine nine, thank you. I was with the help of our military.

[00:28:03]
Donald Trump
We had one person come in. One. You know why? He got very sick. We brought him through to have him brought to a hospital. One person. And for that, please don't hold me responsible, but that's okay. They did the right thing. God of the day, we're defending every nation but our own, The primary thought, we are putting America first. We have to put America first.

[00:28:32]
Speaker 2
rebuild and defend our nation, and very shortly you're going to see a nation better than it's ever been.

[00:28:40]
Donald Trump
And you see that with the trade. The years we've been ripped off by every nation in the world on trade. We've been ripped of at the NATO level.

[00:28:49]
Speaker 2
We've

[00:28:50]
Donald Trump
been ripped off like no country has ever been ripped off. They don't rip us off anymore.

[00:28:56]
Donald Trump
They're not going to rip us off. And you see, you have to watch what we're doing in trade. I know it's not your primary thing, but it's quite important to all of us. But watch. You'll see what's going on. We've been reading about it over the last few days. We're making deals with other nations that were... Not even, nobody thought it would be even possible. And the reason is very simple, they respect us again. They're respecting our country again, that's what we want. And everything we do, we are bringing common sense back to America. It's all about common sense. We can say we're liberal, we're conservative. The new word is progressive, they don't like the new word liberal anymore.

[00:29:37]
Donald Trump
That's why I call them liberal. But

[00:29:42]
Donald Trump
whatever you are, you know, most importantly you have to have common sense. Because most of it's about common sense when you get right down to it. And we have a lot of people with a lot of very smart people. They have to have common sense. We've liberated our dreams from divisive and demeaning political change. There will be no more critical race theory of change before everybody forced onto our brave men and women in uniform or on anybody else for that matter is caught. as an example, Bryson, as a man. But I don't think a lot of women want to tackle him. I don't think so. How crazy is it? Men playing in women's sports. How crazy? So ridiculous. So demeaning. So demeaning to women. And it's over. That's over. We've ended it. And promotions and appointments will not be based on politics or identity.

[00:30:59]
Donald Trump
They'll be based on merit. We want that case in the Supreme Court. The amendment says we're allowed to go back to a system of merit.

[00:31:08]
Donald Trump
We're a merit-based country, and today... Recruiting George Floyd in just last year

[00:31:26]
Donald Trump
was the worst of all.

[00:31:28]
Donald Trump
The last year of the Biden administration. We couldn't get anybody to join our military. We couldn't anybody to join the police or firefighters. We couldn't everybody to join anything. And right now, just less than a year later, we just set a brand-new peacetime recruiting record. The most people joined, and we are brimming. In fact, be careful. This is someone who's trying to take your job. Be careful. We are brimming with confidence, and we're brimming with people. We had the most best recruiting month that we've had in years. Remember, nobody remembers anything like it. And that's all because they have spirit now. They have spirit. They have a spirit for our country. And now everybody wants to be doing what you're doing. Think of that. So it's really a great honor, I'll say.

[00:32:24]
Donald Trump
And I'm pleased to report that By next week, the Army is expected to surpass its recruiting targets for the entire year, something that hasn't happened in 28 years where we've had that. So that's pretty good. It's nice to know that you're doing something that everybody wants to do. Isn't that really nice? Listen, I hated to hear that. During the campaign, I was hearing that they couldn't get people to enlist without getting people. It's sad because we're telling so many people, I'm sorry we can't do it. My administration is doing everything possible to forge the most powerful military ever built. But ultimately the task of keeping America strong and safe for the years ahead is going to belong to you. Among you are the lieutenants, majors, colonels and generals who will lead the army for the next 10, 20, 30 and even 40 years.

[00:33:22]
Donald Trump
So as Commander-in-Chief, let me offer a few words of advice as we begin here. Army careers. And I thought I'd do this, and I can make this to a civilian audience or to a military audience. It's pretty much the same. And, uh... I did this recently at Ohio State. And they really liked it. I gave them a little advice as to what I see for what you want to do and some tips. And first of all, and you've already done it. Different from civilians that are making their decision right now. You've already made your decision. I love your decision. You have to do what you love. You have to what you love, if you don't love it, you'll never be successful at it.

[00:34:06]
Donald Trump
And you've done this, and you really, many of you in the audience, many of the you that have graduated, You come from military backgrounds, or you love the military, it's what you want to do, it's what want to talk about. One thing I see about people that love the military is all they want to talk about. I'll be out to dinner Generals, if they love their job, usually the only good ones are the ones who want to talk about it all the time. But if they talk, that's what they want to talk about. I rarely, really very rarely see somebody successful that doesn't love what he or she does. You have to love what you do. Your case, the military is what you chose, and I'll tell you what, you cannot go wrong. You can see it too, you can love it more and more with time.

[00:34:54]
Donald Trump
You know, I work all the time. That's all I do is I work. Whether it's politically or before that, I didn't. I was a very good businessman in case you haven't heard. Really

[00:35:05]
Speaker 2
good. But

[00:35:06]
Donald Trump
I was good because I loved it.

[00:35:08]
Speaker 2
I loved it, and I learned from my father a little bit. My father was

[00:35:12]
Donald Trump
a happy guy, and all he did was work. He'd work Saturdays, Sundays. He'd work all the times, and he was a happy man. I just love life, and I love that. I say, you know, it makes him happy. I've seen other people that never work, and they're not happy. You got to love it, otherwise you won't be successful. In the Army, there are a lot of different paths you can take, so follow your instincts and make sure that you take the path that you love, that you're doing something that you love. Within your military, you will be happier, and the Army will be far stronger for it. Second is to think big. Always think big. If you're going to do something, you might as well think big, do it big, because it's just as tough, and sometimes it's a lot easier thinking big than doing the small task that's more difficult.

[00:36:08]
Donald Trump
One of your greatest graduates, General Eisenhower, used to say, whenever I run into a problem that I can't solve, I always like to make it bigger to solve it and solve more of it. If you're going to solve a problem, it might as well be a big problem as opposed to a small problem that lots of people can take advantage of and solve. so you can achieve something really amazing. Thank you, baby. Third though, you gotta do this. Brain power you have to have. Potential you have to

[00:36:42]
Speaker 2
happen.

[00:36:43]
Donald Trump
But to be really successful, you're always going to have to work hard. An example is a great athlete, great player, great golfer. He wasn't as big as the other men that were playing against him. Great, big, strong guys, characters, a smaller guy. I don't want to say too sweet, but a friend of mine gets a little angry at people because he hits the ball just as far. He said, I hit the ball further than them. Why am I small? But he worked very, very hard. He was always doing exercise. He was always well ahead of his time. He never stopped. He won 168 golf tournaments. He won 18 majors, 9 regular and 9 in the senior tour. 18 with 168. That's the most tournaments internationally. The most tournaments anybody's ever won. But he made a statement years ago and I heard it.

[00:37:36]
Speaker 2
I heard it, he's the first one. I think I've heard it a couple of times since.

[00:37:40]
Donald Trump
He was the first. He said, it's funny, the harder I work,

[00:37:45]
Speaker 2
the luckier I get. And

[00:37:47]
Donald Trump
think of that, the harder you work, the lucky I get. He worked hard and you worked hard and the harder you worked, the lucknier you get. Fourth is, don't lose your momentum. Momentum is an amazing thing. Keep it going. I tell a story sometimes about a man who was a great, great real estate man. It was a man who was admired for real estate all over the world, actually, but all over the country. He built Leavittowns and started Edson's. A man who built one house, then he built two, then he built five, then he build 20, then he built 1,000, then he 2,000 and 3,000 in a year. And he got very big, very big. He was great at what he did. You see him all over the country still 11 times. So a long time ago, he was the first of the really, really big home builders.

[00:38:47]
Donald Trump
And he became very rich. He was a very rich man. He decided

[00:38:54]
Speaker 2
to sell. He was offered a lot of money by a big company.

[00:38:58]
Donald Trump
conglomerate, Gulf and Western, big conglomerates. They didn't do real estate. They didn't know anything about it, but they saw the money he was making they wanted to take into a public company. And they gave him a lot of money, tremendous amount of money, more money than he ever thought he'd get. And he sold this company. and he had nothing to do. He ended up getting divorced. Could you say a trophy wife? I guess we could say a trophy. It didn't work out too well. But it doesn't work out to well. I must say. A lot of trophy wives doesn't work. And it made him happy for a little while at least.

[00:39:37]
Speaker 2
But he found a new wife. He

[00:39:40]
Donald Trump
sold his little boat, he got a big yacht, he had one of the biggest yachts anywhere in the world. He moved for a time to Monte Carlo and led a good life. And time went by and he got bored, And 15 years later, the company that he sold to And they said, the housing business is not for us. You have to understand, when Bill Evans was hot, when he had momentum, he'd go to the job sites every night. He'd pick up every loose nail. It'd pick up every scrap of wood. If there was a bolt or a screw laying in the ground, it'd pick it up and it'd use it the next day and put it together half. But now he was spoiled and he was rich, he was really rich. And they called him and said, this isn't for us, this business, do other things.

[00:40:33]
Donald Trump
And would you like to buy it back or sell it back to me cheap? And they did, he bought it. He bought it, he thought he made a great deal and he was all excited, but it was 15 years later. He lost a lot of momentum, remember the word momentum? He lost everything. It just didn't work. He lost everything, and I was sitting at a party on Fifth Avenue one night a long time ago, and yet the biggest people in New York, the biggest people of the country were all in that party. They were all saluting each other, how great they were, and they were all telling each other. I'm greater than you. Gets to be really, gives you a headache sometimes. But then all these people that tell you their own stories about how fantastic a cocktail party in October. And I was doing well.

[00:41:23]
Donald Trump
I was, I don't know, I was invited to the party, so I had to be doing well. I was very, very young. But I made it anyway, we really stayed in. I looked over and at the party, sitting in the corner all by himself, nobody was talking to him, it was Mr. Levin. He had just gotten angry and lost everything. He lost everything, his home, everything. And I went over and talked to him because he was in the real estate business and I love real estate. And he said, hello Mr. Lemon, how are you? He said, hello, Donald. It's nice to meet you. He knew me from being in the business. I said, so how's it going? He goes, not well. It's really not going well, as you probably read. It's been a very, very tough period for me, son. I said, so what happened?

[00:42:11]
Donald Trump
Is there anything you can do? He goes, no, there's not a thing I can do. He said, I'll never forget. He said, I've lost my momentum. I just didn't have it. I used to have it, but I lost my momentum, so it's a story I tell. And you have to know when you have the momentum, but sometimes you have to also know when you've lost the momentum. And leaving a field, sometimes leaving what you do, sometimes is okay. But you've got to have momentum, but you have to note that momentum is gone. You have to know it's here. And it's a very sad story. I remember that story so well, like it was yesterday. Fifth, you have to have the courage to take risks and to do things differently. Eisenhower again was threatened with court-martials as a young officer for advocating a new doctrine.

[00:43:07]
Donald Trump
of tank warfare. Billy Mitchell was thrown out of the Army for pioneering the use of air power. They said, what do you mean air power? Don't be ridiculous. People willing to try and do things differently It's never going to be easy for them, but they're the ones that are going to really do the important things. They're the ones who are going to make history. So don't be ashamed and don't be afraid. This is a time of incredible change, and we do not need an officer corps of careerists and yes-men and people that want to keep it going the way it's been because it changes rapidly, especially when you're doing it.

[00:43:45]
Donald Trump
Because believe it or not, you're in a business profession where things change as rapidly like warfare the type of warfare unfortunately we get to see it with russia and ukraine and we're studying it and it's a very terrible thing to study but we're seeing the different forms of warfare we're seeing with speed and with precision. We've never seen anything like it. Never seen anything like and we're learning from it. Your profession changes very rapidly. You've got to keep it — you've got to be at the top of it. You've got be right at the — at the head of the needle. We need patriots with guts and vision, backbone, who take personal risks to ensure that America wins every single time. We want to win our battles. You know, I defeated ISIS in three weeks. They told me it would take five years.

[00:44:43]
Donald Trump
And the general You know that story, but his name, Racin' Kane. His name is Dan Kane. But his nickname was Racin' Kane. I said, your name is Racin' Kate. I love that. Is that a nickname? That's what they call me, sir. I love you, General. I think you're the guy I'm looking for. I want to know what that name reason became. And he is now the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And he's a highly respected man. And we defeated, think of it, ISIS. They said, how long in Washington? Sir, it will take four years to defeat them, maybe five. And maybe we won't because they're all over the place. And then I met a man that said we could do it in three weeks, and we did it in three week. And that's why he's the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff right now.

[00:45:32]
Donald Trump
And we did things that nobody thought were possible. We've had great military success. When you have the right leader and you have the right people, and we have the right people, you can have tremendous success. Success. Sixth, never lose your faith in America and the American people, because they're always going to be there for you. I went through a very tough time with some very radicalized sick people. And I say I was investigated more than the great, late Alphonse Capone. Alphonse was a monster. He was a very hardened criminal. I went through more investigations than Alphonse. And now I'm talking to you as president. Can you believe this? Can you believe

[00:46:16]
Speaker 2
it? You've got to fight hard. You've got never give up.

[00:46:23]
Donald Trump
And don't let bad people take you down. You gotta let them, you gotta take them down. A lot of bad people out there. Those people you have to figure it out. But you also have a lot of great people. Finally, hold on to your culture and your traditions because that's what makes something really great. 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. Winning is a beautiful thing. Losing, not for us. Not for anybody here, but it was you would be here. From the earliest days of our nation, this supreme tradition of American military service has been passed down from soldier to soldier and generation to generation.

[00:47:23]
Donald Trump
It's a beautiful thing to watch. Graduating today is cadet Ricky McMahon.

[00:47:31]
Speaker 2
Ricky's great-grandfather...

[00:47:34]
Donald Trump
Stand up wherever you are and continue like this. Ricky's great grandfather served in World War I. His grandfather served in World War II. And his uncle, father, and mother all graduated from West Point. Where is he? 2004. When Ricky was just a little, little tiny boy, who would think about that, Ricky, a little tiny boy? His dad, Lieutenant Colonel Michael McMahon, made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation in Afghanistan. Today, Lieutenant Colonel 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 it. Eighty-seven other rings were with him of past West Point grads. that were melted down to forge those now worn by the class of 2025. You all know? Do you know what you're wearing?

[00:48:53]
Donald Trump
Each of you will carry Michael's memory with you always as you continue. The legacy he gave you and gave you. Something that would be so proud, he would be so proud, he is proud. He looks down. To Ricky and his mom, Jeanette, you embody what this place is all about and I know Michael. He's up there, he's smiling broadly. He's so proud. He's so proud of you today, you know that? And as a man, it couldn't be any easier. A man that couldn't be more proud. And I want to just, I just love that story. Everybody's ringing. They're gonna remember you. They're gonna your family. And most importantly, they're gonna remember a great tradition. It's a great tradition, of West Point and of winners. Thank you very much. It's great to meet you. Thank you. You can sit down. You want to come up?

[00:49:44]
Donald Trump
If you want to come, come up.

[00:49:58]
Speaker 2
You're a handsome guy. They're all good looking, no matter what's going on. The whole crowd is beautiful. Thank you very much.

[00:50:20]
Donald Trump
I'd like to thank G3, Go Gophers.

[00:50:35]
Speaker 2
Looks like a bunch of male models I can't stand. For two and a half centuries, our republic has endured

[00:50:48]
Donald Trump
because of heroes like Michael

[00:50:51]
Speaker 2
have

[00:50:51]
Donald Trump
laid down their lives for America and because young people like all of you have picked up the Banner of service is carried forward, the flag of freedom. From Lexington to Yorktown. From Gettysburg to Sicily. And from Inchon, Fallujah, America has been won and saved by an unbroken chain of soldiers and makers 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 costs, no matter danger. All over the world our soldiers have made sacred the ground where they shed their blood and showed their valor. From Seminary Ridge to San Juan Hill, Nala Wood, Omaha Beach, late day golf, And in all of those mountains and so many more, some of the best, brightest, and bravest have come, from right here at the U.S.

[00:52:12]
Donald Trump
Military Academy at West Point, one of the great fabled places anywhere in the world. America's Army has never failed us and with leaders like The West Point Class of 2025, the Army will never fail. We will never let you down. speaking to the heads of many countries. They would say, two weeks ago, they said, the 8th, they said, sir, We're celebrating the victory today of World War II. And I said, wow, that's nice. And I called another one. And they said, sir, we're celebrating the victory of the world war II. He said, sir, we're celebrating our victory over World War II. I said, whoa. terrible war that's going on, and he said they're having a big victory march. And they did lose, in all fairness, 51 million people. They were all celebrating. The only country that wasn't celebrating was the United States of America.

[00:53:52]
Donald Trump
And I said, isn't that amazing? We were the ones that won the war, and we were helped. We were helped in some cases, we had to help them.

[00:54:01]
Speaker 2
But we

[00:54:02]
Donald Trump
were helped

[00:54:02]
Speaker 2
by

[00:54:03]
Donald Trump
some of the nations. And we were strongly helped by a couple of them.

[00:54:08]
Speaker 2
But

[00:54:08]
Donald Trump
every one of them was suffering, and Victory Day, they called it Victory Day in Europe, Victory Day all over. And we weren't even thought about. Nobody had a victory day. And so I named that special day and another special day from now on as a holiday, but a holiday where we work. Because we don't have enough days. We're going to be having so many holidays. We're not going to be able to work anymore. But I named it for World War II, and a separate day in November, as you know, for World War I. I said, you know, all these countries that participated in the war are celebrating, but the greatest country of them all And the country that won the war, nobody even talked about. And so we're going to be talking about it too from now on. And I think you'll appreciate it.

[00:55:02]
Donald Trump
We won the First World War. We won the Second World War. And you know where we won them from? Right here at West Point. West Point won the war. You want two world wars? And plenty of other things, if you want to think of it. We don't want a third world war. We won the First World War. We won the Second World War. Right here from West Point. And that's something. And we're going to be talking about it. You know, they can talk about it. And in some cases, as you know, they didn't do too much to help. They were ground down. But they were celebrating victory. No, we're going to celebrate victory because we're the ones that won that war. Standing before you today, I know that you will never stop. You will never quit. You will never yield. You will never tire.

[00:55:55]
Donald Trump
You will never, ever, ever surrender. Never give up. Remember that. Never give up It's another little fact I committed. Never, ever give up

[00:56:05]
Donald Trump
Raise your right hand. I pledge I will never, ever give up. You can never give up. You can never give up. If you do, you're not going to be successful because you'll go through things that will be bad enough.

[00:56:19]
Donald Trump
Great moments and bad moments. You can never give up. You can never be challenged. You can never get back.

[00:56:25]
Donald Trump
You'll stand strong, you'll work hard, you'll stay tough, and you will fight, fight, fight and win, win, win. So I want to just congratulate you all. I'm going back now to deal with Russia, to deal with China. What's that all about?

[00:56:55]
Donald Trump
and to get

[00:56:57]
Donald Trump
you lots of victories. We're gonna keep winning. This country's gonna keep winning, and with you, the job is easy. I wanna thank you all. Congratulations to the Class of 2025. God bless you all. Incredible people. Thank you very much, everybody.

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