Full transcript of President Trump’s West Point Commencement Address – May 24, 2025

The Russians stole it. Something bad happened. But we’re now — we’re the designer of it, and we’re now building them, and lots of them. And earlier this year, they launched it into space, setting a world record for amateur rocketry. 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. Where is he? Where is he? Come up here. Come up here, Chris. Get up here, Chris. Wow. Come here. That’s — by 13 minutes. Come here, Chris. I want to see this guy. Wow. 13 minutes. Congratulations.

Cadet Chris Verdugo : It’s been a long five years, but I couldn’t have done it with any of these guys. Love you guys all. Thank you.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: That’s great. Keep it going, Chris. That really is a definition of Army strong, isn’t it? International. International.

This class includes 513 graduates who completed Air Assault School, 70 who completed Airborne School, 8 who made it through the ultra-elite Army Diver School, among the most difficult and grueling programs anywhere on Earth. That includes the first two women in West Point history to complete Diver School, Cadets Megan Cooker and Clara Sabo. Where are you? Stand up. Where are they? Wow. Great job. That is not easy. Congratulations, Megan and Clara. That’s a job well done. Fantastic. Thank you very much.

Lighthearted Moments

Some of you achieved a different kind of distinction here at the Academy, including seven century men who completed 100 hours of marching for disciplinary, oh no, infraction. No, don’t tell me I’m doing this. Oh, I’m so sorry. Would you like to stand up? I don’t know. I think I saw Chris standing up. Chris, what’s going on here? Well, you had one good, one not so good, right, Chris? Can’t believe Chris is standing up. But we want everyone to leave here today, Chris. So you’re going to be okay because I’m going to do something with a clean slate. So in keeping with tradition, I hereby pardon all cadets on restriction for minor conduct offenses effective immediately. So you’re all okay.

Athletic Achievements

The class of 2025 is a lot to be proud of, including your first rate athletes and athletics. You are something I’ve been watching, too. I watch. I love the sports stuff. What you’ve done is pretty amazing. Last year, for the first time ever, Army lacrosse became the number one ranked men’s lacrosse team in the entire country. Those of you on the team stand. That’s a big honor. Stand. Great. That’s a tough sport, too. That’s number one in the country.

Your sophomore year, Army football beat Navy 20-17. And the next year, you did it again, beating Navy 17 to 11 and dominating Air Force 23 to 3. But this year, the Black Knights fought your way into the top 20 nationally and racked up your longest winning streak since 1949. With the help of graduating quarterback, Cadet Bryson Daly, or as you call him, Captain America. Captain America. Stand.

Come on up, Bryson. Wow. Go Army football. Shout out to Hoggs, age four. Can’t wait to graduate. Love you guys.

Well, I just tapped his shoulders like I hit a piece of steel. That’s good shape. There’s a reason, you know, there’s always a reason for success. Thank you, Bryson.

At a time when other top college quarterbacks were thinking about going pro, Bryson’s mind was on something else. As he told an interviewer earlier this year, “I’m focused on my career as an infantry officer.” That’s what he wants to do. So, Bryson, you did the right thing and that’s service at its finest. Thanks, Bryson. That’s amazing. He’s an amazing guy with an amazing team.

Each of you on the field today is among the most talented members of your generation. You could have done anything you wanted. You could have gone anywhere. You could have gone to any school. This is one of the hardest schools to get into. And writing your own ticket to top jobs on Wall Street or Silicon Valley wouldn’t be bad. But I think what you’re doing is better.

Instead of sports teams and spreadsheets and software, you chose a life of service. Very important service instead of stock options. And I do that stuff. It’s sort of boring. Honestly, compared to what you’re doing, it’s real boring. You chose honor and you chose sacrifice. And instead of business suits and dress shoes, you chose muddy boots and fatigues, keeping yourself in shape.

Because West Point cadets don’t just have the brightest minds. You also have the bravest hearts and the noblest souls. You’re amazing people. I could not be more proud to serve you as your commander in chief.

America’s Rising Global Standing

And our country is doing well. We’ve turned it around very quickly. We’ve turned it around. 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. And that’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. And we’re going to help you a lot because we’re going to give you a nation as good or better than it ever was. That’s what I promise you.

All the victories that you’ve had together on these grounds will soon pale in comparison to the momentous deeds that you’ll perform on the mission you’re accepting today and as a future leader of America’s army. And we have that army geared up. We have ordered, you know, we just went $1 trillion military budget, General. You know that $1 trillion. Some people say, could you cut it back? I said, I’m not cutting 10 cents. There’s another thing we can cut. We can cut plenty of others. Right, Dan? We can cut plenty of other things. And you have a good man in Dan too, General. I think you’re going to find that.

It’s a very different warfare out there today. Now they’ve introduced a thing called drone. A drone is a little bit different. It makes you have to go back and learn a whole new form of warfare. And you’re going to do it better than anybody else. There won’t be anybody close.

The Legacy of the American Soldier

Generation after generation, the men and women of the army have done whatever it takes to defend our flag, pouring out their blood onto the fields of battle all over the world. And all over the world, you’re respected like nobody is respected.

American soldiers have sprinted through storms of bullets, clouds of shrapnel, slogged through miles of dirt and oceans of sand, scaled 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 triumph belongs to you, the 1000 newest officers of the greatest fighting force in the history of the world. And 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. This is the golden age. I tell you, I promise, we’re in a new age. This is the golden age. And you are going to lead the Army to summits of greatness that has never been reached before. And you see that. You see what’s happening. You see what’s going on in the world.

A Refocused Military Mission

Each of you is entering the officer corps at a defining moment in the Army’s history. For at least two decades, political leaders from both parties have 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 case?

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 our soldiers with absurd ideological experiments here and at home. All of that’s ended. You know that. All of it’s ended. It’s ended. It’s strongly ended. They’re 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, by the way.

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 drag shows to transform foreign cultures or to spread democracy to everybody around the world at the point of a gun. The military’s job is to dominate any foe and annihilate any threat to America anywhere, anytime, and any place.

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, and that’s happening. And I can tell you, you are respected like nobody can believe.

Peace Through Strength

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 — the single greatest economy for a President in history. I think we’re going to beat it this time by a lot, if you want to know the truth. But we had something going on very special.

But if the United States or its allies are ever threatened or attacked, the army will obliterate our opponents with overwhelming strength and devastating force. That’s why my administration has begun a colossal buildup of the United States Armed Forces — a buildup like we’ve never had before. Peace through strength. 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 and have them fold. And that’s happening.

And I’ve approved a $1 trillion investment. And that will be, again, the largest ever in the history of our country. And we are buying you new airplanes — brand-new, beautiful planes, redesigned planes, brand-new planes, totally stealth planes. I hope they’re stealth. I don’t know. The 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. But that’s what they tell me. We have the best tanks anywhere in the world.

We’re going to start shipbuilding again. We used to build a ship a day. 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 going to have the best missiles. We already do 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 ones 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 wouldn’t think this, but our enemies are very unhappy about it. You’ve been hearing, you’ve been reading, why are they doing that? Why? Well, we’re doing it because we want to be around for a long time. That’s why we’re doing it.

Securing Our Borders

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 check-in, 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 out and bringing them back where they came from. Have no choice. And it’s not easy. It’s not easy. But hopefully, the courts will allow us to continue.

You know, we had the greatest election victory. This was — November 5th was — 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. Two thousand seven fifty 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.

And 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 percent. Ninety-nine point nine nine nine. Think of that. That was with the help of our military.

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.

America First

Gone are the days where defending every nation but our own was the primary thought. We are putting America first. We have to put America first. We have to rebuild and defend our nation. And very shortly, you’re going to see a nation better than it’s ever been.

And you see that with the trade. For years, we’ve been ripped off by every nation in the world on trade. We’ve been ripped off at the NATO level. We’ve been ripped off like no country has ever been ripped off. But they don’t rip us off anymore. They’re not going to rip us off anymore.

And you’re seeing it. You have to watch what we’re doing on trade. I know it’s not your primary thing, but it’s quite important, in all fairness. But watch. You’ll see what’s going on. You’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 you want.

In 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 using the word liberal anymore. That’s why I call them liberal. But whatever you are, you know, most importantly, you have to have common sense, because most of it’s — in general, 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 — a lot of very smart people, but they have to have common sense.

Returning to Merit-Based Systems

And we’ve liberated our troops from divisive policies. There will be no more critical race theory or transgender for everybody forced onto our brave men and women in uniform or on anybody else, for that matter, in this country. And we will not have men playing in women’s sports, if that’s okay.

I mean, I wouldn’t want to have to tackle, 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 is it? 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. They’ll be based on merit. We won that case in the Supreme Court of the United States. We’re allowed to go back to a system of merit. We’re a merit-based country again today.

Record Military Recruiting

Morale in the armed forces is soaring to the highest levels in many decades after years of recruiting shortfalls. So we had years and years of recruiting shortfalls. And just last year was the worst of all. The last year of the Biden administration, we couldn’t get anybody to join our military. We couldn’t get anybody to join our police or firefighters. We couldn’t get anybody 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. There’s somebody going to try and take your job. Be careful. You better be good. We are brimming with confidence, and we’re brimming with people.

We had the most — best recruiting month that we’ve had in memory. 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 will say.

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. Thank you. And it’s nice to know that you’re doing something that everybody wants to do, isn’t it? Really nice.

It wasn’t — I hated to hear that. During the campaign, I was hearing that, that the — you couldn’t get people to enlist, but now we’re getting people. And it’s sad because we’re telling so many people, I’m sorry we can’t do it.

Advice for Future Military Leaders

My administration is doing everything possible to forge the most powerful military ever built. But ultimately, the task of keeping America strong and safe in 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. So, as Commander-in-Chief, let me offer a few words of advice as you begin your 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 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, they’re 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 do what you love. If you don’t love it, you’ll never be successful at it. And you’ve done this.

And you really — many of you in the audience, many of you that are graduating, you come from military backgrounds or you love the military. It’s what you want to do. It’s what you want to talk about. One thing I see about people that love the military — that’s all they want to talk about. I’ll be out to

Dinner, and generals, if they love their job—usually the only good ones are the ones that want to talk about it all the time. But that’s what they want to talk about. I rarely, really very rarely see somebody who’s successful that doesn’t love what he or she does. You have to love what you do. In your case, the military is what you chose. And I’ll tell you what, you cannot go wrong. You’re going to see it, too. You’re going to love it more and more with time.

You know, I work all the time. That’s all I do, is I work. Whether it’s politically or before that, I was a very good businessman, in case you haven’t heard. Really good. But I was good because I loved it. I loved it. I learned from my father a little bit. My father was a happy guy, and all he did was work. He’d work Saturdays, Sundays. He’d work all the time. And he was a happy guy. He just loved life. And I learned that. I say, you know, it makes him happy. I’ve seen other people that never work, and they’re not happy.

But 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.

Think Big

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 a small task that’s more difficult.

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. Think big.

Work Hard

Third, though, you got to do this. Brainpower you have to have. Potential you have to have. But to be really successful, you’re always going to have to work hard.

An example is a great athlete, Gary Player, great golfer. He wasn’t as big as the other men that were playing against him. Great, big, strong guys. Gary was a smaller guy. I don’t want to say too small. He’s a friend of mine. He 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 well ahead of his time. He never stopped. He won 168 golf tournaments. He won 18 majors, nine regular and nine on 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. I heard it. He’s the first one. I think I’ve heard it a couple of times since. But he was the first. He said, it’s funny. The harder I work, the luckier I get. And think of that. The harder I work, the luckier I get. And he worked hard and you’re working hard. And the harder you work, the luckier you’re going to get.

Don’t Lose Your Momentum

Fourth is don’t lose your momentum. Momentum is an amazing thing. Keep it going. I tell the 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 Levittowns. He started as a man who built one house. Then he built two. Then he built five. Then he built 20. Then he built a thousand. Then he built two thousand and three thousand a year. And he got very big, very big. He was great at what he did. You see him all over the country still. Levittowns. So a long time ago. But he was the first of the really, really big homebuilders.

And he became very rich. He became a very rich man. And then he decided to sell. He was offered a lot of money by a big conglomerate, Gulf and Western. Big conglomerate. 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 it to 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 his company, and he had nothing to do. He ended up getting a divorce, found a new wife. Could you say a trophy wife? I guess we can say a trophy wife. It didn’t work out too well. But it doesn’t—that doesn’t work out too well, I must tell you. A lot of trophy wives doesn’t work out. But it made him happy for a little while, at least. But he found a new wife. He sold his little boat, and 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 he led the good life.

And time went by, and 15 years later, the company that he sold to called him, and they said, the housing business is not for us. You have to understand, when Bill Levitt was hot, when he had momentum, he’d go to the job sites every night, he’d pick up every loose nail, he’d pick up every scrap of wood. If there was a bolt or a screw laying on the ground, he’d pick it up and he’d use it the next day in putting together a house.

But now he was spoiled, and he was rich. He was really rich. And they called and they said, this isn’t for us, this business, and he’d do other things. Would you like to buy it back? We’ll sell it back to you 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? And 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 you had the biggest people in New York, the biggest people in the country, all in that party. And they were all saluting each other, how great they were. They were all telling each other, I’m greater than you. Gets me really—gives you a headache sometimes.

But they had all these people, they’re telling their own stories about how fantastic—a cocktail party. And I looked over, and I was doing well. 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 a name in real estate. And I looked over, and at the party, sitting in a corner all by himself, nobody was talking to him, was Mr. Levitt. He had just gone bankrupt, lost everything. He’d lost everything—his home, everything.

And I went over and talked to him, because he was in the real estate business, and I loved real estate. And I said, Hello, Mr. Levitt, 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? 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’re doing sometimes, is okay. You got to have momentum, but you have to know that momentum is gone. You have to know when to say it’s time to get out. And it’s a very sad story. I remember that story so well, like it was yesterday.

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 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 what you’re doing. Because believe it or not, you’re in a business and profession where things change as rapidly like warfare, the type of warfare.

Unfortunately, we’re getting 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 the drones that are coming down at angles and with speed and with precision. We’ve never seen anything like it. We’ve never seen anything like it, and we’re learning from it. But your profession changes very rapidly. You’ve got to keep — you’ve got to be at the top of it. You’ve got to be right at the head of the needle.

We need patriots with guts and vision and 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. And the general that did it — you know that story — was named Raisin Cane. His name is Dan Cane, but his nickname was Raisin Cane. I said, your name is Raisin Cane. 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 a guy named Raisin Cane. 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 — 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 can do it in three weeks, and he did it in three weeks. And that’s why he’s the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff right now. And we did things that nobody thought were possible. When you have the right leader and you have the right people — and we have the right people — you’re going to have tremendous success.

Faith in America

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 Capone was a monster. He was a very hardened criminal. I went through more investigations than Alphonse Capone. And now I’m talking to you as President. Can you believe this? Can you believe it?

So you got to fight hard, and you got to never give up. And don’t let bad people take you down. You got to let them — you got to take them down. Got a lot of bad people out there, and 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. And 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, Army 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 us. Not for anybody here. If it was, you wouldn’t be here.

Honoring West Point’s Legacy

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. And it’s a beautiful thing to watch.

Graduating today is Cadet Ricky McMahon, Ricky’s great-grandfather. Stand up wherever you are, Ricky, because you’re going to 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 Ricky?

In 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 — 87 other rings were with it — of past West Point grads that were melted down to forge those now worn by the Class of 2025. Do you all know that? Do you know that? What are you wearing? I want one. Ricky, I want one.

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. So proud. He’s so proud of you today. You know that. And he’s a man that couldn’t be — and he is a man that couldn’t be more proud.

And I want to just — I just love that story. And everybody’s ring, they’re going to remember you, they’re going to remember your family. And most importantly, you’re going to 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? If you want to come up, come up. Come on up. That’s nice. You’re a handsome guy. They’re all good looking here. I don’t know what’s going on. The whole crowd is beautiful.

Thank you very much. I’d like to thank my mother. I’d like to thank my family. I’d like to thank G3, go Gophers. These are good looking people, I’ll tell you, General. What’s going on over here? Look like all a bunch of male models. I can’t stand it.

America’s Enduring Legacy of Service

For two and a half centuries, our republic has endured because of heroes like Michael have laid down their lives for America and because young people like all of you have picked up the banner of service and carried forward the flag of freedom from Lexington to Yorktown, from Gettysburg to Sicily, and from Inchon to Fallujah.

America has been won and saved by an unbroken chain of soldiers and patriots 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 cost, no matter the 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, Belleau Wood, Omaha Beach, Lake Tay Gulf, and Ardennes Forest, Jozen Reservoir, all over, and even a place called Porkchop Hill. And in all of those battles, and so many more, some of the best, brightest, and bravest have come from right here at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, one of the great fabled places anywhere in the world.

Today’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. And over the last week, I had the honor of speaking to the heads of many countries, and they would say, two weeks ago, they say the 8th, they said, Sir, we’re celebrating the victory today of World War II. And I said, wow, that’s nice. Then I’d call another one, unrelated, Sir, we’re celebrating the victory of World War II. Then I called up the President of France on something also unrelated. He said, Sir, we’re celebrating our victory over World War II. I said, whoa, whoa, what have we here? We helped them a lot.

And I had this Russia, I talked to Putin about ending that 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. But they were all celebrating. The only country that wasn’t celebrating was the United States of America. 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. But we were helped by some of the nations, and we were strongly helped by a couple of them.

But every one of them was celebrating. They had 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 of 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.

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. We won two world wars and plenty of other things. But you think of it, we don’t want to have a third world war, but 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.

Never Give Up

Standing before you today, I know that you will never stop. You will never quit. You will never yield. You will never tire. You will never, ever, ever surrender. Never give up. Remember that. Never give up. That’s another little factor I could have added. Never, ever give up.

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. You’re going to have great moments. You’re going to have bad moments. You can never give up.

Through every challenge and every battle, you’ll stand strong, you’ll work hard, you’ll stay tough, and you will fight, fight, fight, and win, win, win.

Conclusion

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? — and to get you lots of victories. We’re going to keep winning. This country is going to keep winning. And with you, the job is easy.

I want to thank you all. Congratulations to the class of 2025. God bless you all. Incredible people. Thank you very much, everybody.

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