Speaker 1 (01:32):
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the platform our distinguished guests. United States Congressman from the state of Arkansas and West Point Board of Visitors Chairman, the Honorable Steve Womack. United States Representative for New York's 18th Congressional District and West Point Class of 2004, the Honorable Pat Ryan. The Commandant of Cadets, Brigadier General R.J. Garcia. The Dean of the Academic Board, Brigadier General Shane R. Reeves. The Athletics Director, Mr. Thomas Theodorakis. The Senior Advisor for Character Integration, Dr. Jeff Peterson, the West Point Chief of Staff, Colonel Tom Deaton. The United States Military Academy Command Sergeant Major, Command Sergeant Major Phil Barretto. The United States Corps of Cadets Command Sergeant Major, Command Sergeant Major Tony Powers. Members of the academic board and other senior academy leaders.
(02:41)
Sound attention. Ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the entrance of the official party.
(08:54)
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the 25th Secretary of the Army, the Honorable Daniel P. Driscoll.
(09:01)
the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army, General Randy A. George.
(09:42)
the 61st superintendent of the United States Military Academy, Lieutenant General Steven W. Dillon. Ladies and gentlemen, the 45th and 47th President of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump. Ladies and gentlemen, please remain standing for the invocation by the United States Military Academy Chaplain, Colonel David Bowlus.
David Bowlus (15:14):
I invite you to pray with me. Praise be to the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle. Almighty God, we are gathered here with hearts full of gratitude and pride as we witness the graduation of the West Point class of 2025. We thank you for bringing each graduate to this major milestone today. We thank you especially for your presence when they were pleased under pressure for providing patience as they learn to lead as yearlings, for their commitment and courage to affirm as cows, and for faithful friends who will finish together as firsties. And just as you have been faithful in the past, be their ever-present help in the future.
(15:59)
Thank you for the teammates around them, their family and friends, instructors and sponsors, ta and trainers, mentors, and yes, even their tormentors who stood with them over the last four years. Through them, you ensured these West Point graduates are prepared to lead America's sons and daughters in peacetime and in war. Bless this ceremony today with your presence, bless our president as he leads and inspires us, and God bless the United States of America. In your holy name, I pray. Amen.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
Please be seated.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Take seats. Staff dismissed.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Please welcome the 61st superintendent of the United States Military Academy, Lieutenant General Stephen W. Dillon.
Stephen W. Dillon (17:44):
Mr. President, Congressman Womack, Congressman Ryan, Secretary Driscoll, General George, our Chief of Staff of the Army, distinguished guests and alumni, teammates, family and friends, ladies and gentlemen, good morning, and welcome to West Point, home of the United States Military Academy. We are tremendously honored to have you here today to celebrate the 1,002 outstanding cadets of the class of 2025 as they graduate in commission as the newest officers and leaders of character in your United States Army. First, a very special welcome to the parents, grandparents, siblings, family and friends of our graduates who are here today. Let's give them a round of applause. Thank you all for the love and support and encouragement that you've given your cadet along their journey at the United States Military Academy.
(18:58)
I'd like to acknowledge the members of the 50 year affiliate class for our graduating class, the Courage and Drive class of 1975. Thank you all for supporting, mentoring, and inspiring these new leaders over the past four years. You are all wonderful exemplars of leadership, excellence, and selfless service, and we are grateful to you for demonstrating the strength of the long gray line to this outstanding class. Class of 2025, together, we thrive. Congratulations, and well done. Today, your cadet experience at West Point may come to an end, but today really marks a milestone in your personal journey as you assume the mantle of leadership. As officers in our army. We know you all are looking forward to what's ahead, travel, school, BOLC, ranger school, [inaudible 00:20:09] school, moving, living on your own. Some of you are getting married in like the next six hours. That's right. However, for all of you, I'd just ask of you, take a moment. Take a moment during the next few weeks while you're enjoying some free time to reflect on your time here.
(20:29)
Think about all the opportunities and experiences that you've had and the challenges you've overcome on the road to becoming a leader of character. Think about the hard work, some blood, a lot of sweat, as well as the grit, toughness, determination, and the continual pursuit of excellence. Think about the friends you've made and the relationships developed, the camaraderie with teammates, the tacts, instructors, coaches, and old grads who have encouraged and mentored you, and the family and friends who supported you and cheered you on. Take a moment to appreciate and thank all the people who've helped you get to this point and be grateful for all the experiences and opportunities that have helped shape you these past four years. As you pursue this journey as a leader of character, people, today is about challenging yourself, challenging others to be better, better teammates, better officers, better leaders of character. It starts with you each and every day. Today is also about the responsibility of leadership as army officers, your responsibility to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, to be standard bearers, to lead by example and embody what right looks like.
(21:48)
Most importantly today is about your responsibility, your obligation to the citizens of our nation and to your soldiers, America's sons and daughters, to give them your very best leadership every single day. Also, take a moment to reflect and understand what it means to be a graduate of the United States Military Academy. People expect more from you As a graduate of this institution, you represent this institution, and you represent the United States Army every single day. You now join a proud legacy of leaders of character who've committed themselves to selfless service and continual excellence, guided by our army values and the ideals of duty, honor, country. Those ideals, they unify us and they define us. They define who you are as graduates of the United States Military Academy. And just as they've inspired you, you will now, in turn, inspire future generations. The class of 2025, you are ready
Stephen W. Dillon (23:00):
… ready to face the challenges that await you, prepared to live honorably, lead honorably, and demonstrate excellence in everything that you do. Congratulations and godspeed to all of you. Mr. President, on behalf of the team at the United States Military Academy, it's an honor to present this outstanding class to you this morning as our nation's newest war fighters and leaders of character. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to introduce this morning's commencement speaker, the 45th and 47th President of the United States, President Donald J. Trump.
President Donald Trump (23:46):
Well, I want to 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. I just wanna 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.
(24:49)
Now we want you to relax and I'm supposed to say, "At ease," but you're already at ease. You're at ease because you've made a great choice in what you're doing. Your choices in life have been really amazing. This is a celebration and let's have a little fun. I want to thank your highly respected superintendent, General Steven Gilland. He is really something. I got to know him backstage with his beautiful family, 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. Thank you.
(25:33)
I also want to thank you, Commandant General RJ 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 US Attorney Alina Habba, and very much just all of the friends. We have a lot of friends in the audience today and 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 this ceremony, and they wanted to watch you much more so than me. So I just want to thank so many people are here.
(26:15)
Over the past four years, an extraordinary group of professors, teachers, coaches, leaders and warriors have transformed this class of cadets into an exceptional group of scholars and soldiers, so let's give the entire group, the entire West Point faculty, the staff, for their incredible love of you and outstanding devotion to the core. Let's give them a little hand.
(26:53)
Importantly, we can't forget all of those people beaming with pride. Look at them in the audience. Oh, they're so proud. They're in the stands. Thank your parents, your grandparents and family members who made this all possible for you. Thank you. I think they must have done 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. We'd like to see who you are. Congratulations. Great job. Every cadet on the field before me should savor this morning because this is a day that you will never, ever forget. In a few moments, you will become graduates of the most elite and storied 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, and we rebuilt it like nobody has ever rebuilt it before in my first term.
(28:39)
Your experience here at West Point has been anything but easy, but… Looking out at all of you today, I can proudly say mission accomplished. Great job.
(28:39)
But now you have to go on. You have to forget that, because now you have another. It's a sad thing, isn't it? You can't rest on your laurels no matter what. You just have to keep going. You take it, you 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 as you receive your commissions as second lieutenants, each of you continues down the same hallowed path walked by titans and legends of US military law, giants like Ulysses S. Grant, John Black Jack Pershing, Dwight David Eisenhower, the one and only Douglas MacArthur, Old Blood-and-Guts George Patton, and Stormin' Norman Schwarzkopf. All great.
(30:26)
So many more. They and countless other patriots before you have walked out of these halls and straight into history, and today, you officially join those immortal heroes in proud ranks of the long gray line. You know that term, so beautiful, the long gray line.
(30:52)
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. Congratulations. That's a big honor. This class includes an incredible four Rhodes Scholars. Stand up, please. Four. Wow. That's tied for the most of any West Point class since 1959. That's great, four. Congratulations. Boy, oh boy, oh boy. I want to bring them right to the Oval Office. I don't want to have them go too far away from me. Eight cadets here today took on the challenge of designing their own hypersonic rocket. Oh, we can use you. We're building them right now. We had ours stolen. We are the designer of it. We had it stolen during the Obama administration. They stole it. You know who stole it? The Russians stole it. Something bad happened. We're the designer of it and we're now building them, and lots of them. Earlier this year, they launched it into space, setting a world record for amateur rocketry. Can't get you in there fast enough.
(32:38)
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. By 13 minutes? Come here, Chris. I want to see this guy. Say something. Come here. Come here.
Chris Verdugo (33:03):
It's been a long five years, but I couldn't have done it without any of these guys. Love you guys all. Thank you.
President Donald Trump (34:07):
Wow. That's great. Keep it going, Chris. That really is the definition of Army Strong, isn't it? International. International. This class includes 513 graduates who completed Air Assault School, 70 who completed Airborne School, eight 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 Cooper and Clara Sebu. Where are you? Stand up. Where are they? Huh? Wow. Great job. That is not easy. Congratulations, Megan, Clara. That's a job well done. Fantastic. Thank you very much.
(35:02)
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, infractions. 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. You're all okay.
(35:02)
The Class of 2025 has 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. Look at that. 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.
(35:02)
Your sophomore year, Army Football beat Navy 20-17. 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 Daily or, as you call him, Captain America. Captain America. Stand up, Bryson. Where is Bryson? We got to get him up here, right? Come on, Bryson. Come on up. Man, oh, man. I heard he's… well, I came to a game and he was… I said, "Yeah, he can get into the NFL, can't he?" but he chose this life, and you know what? I think he made a good choice. Come on up here, Bryson. Come on up. Wow. Congratulations. That is an honor.
Bryson Daily (37:40):
Go, Army Football. Shout out to Hogs, H4. Can't wait to graduate. Love you, guys. Thank you. It's nice to meet you.
President Donald Trump (37:40):
Anything we can do, let me know. Okay? It's a great honor.
Bryson Daily (37:40):
Thank you.
President Donald Trump (39:49):
What a great guy. Well, I just tapped his shoulders like I hit a piece of steel. The guy's in good shape. There's a reason. 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. Bryson, you did the right thing. That's service at its finest. Thanks, Bryson. That's amazing. He's an amazing guy with an amazing team.
(39:49)
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. 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. And our country is doing well. We've turned it around. Very quickly, we've turned it around.
(40:39)
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. 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.
(41:47)
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… we just went $1 trillion military budget, General. Do you know that? One 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.
(42:25)
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. 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. 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.
(43:05)
All over the world, you're respected like nobody is respected. Our 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 soldier has 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 1,000 newest officers of the greatest fighting force in the history of the world.
(43:46)
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. Promise. We're in a new age. This is the Golden Age. You are going to lead the Army to summits of greatness that has never reached before, and you see that, and you see what's happening. You see what's going on in the world. Each of you is entering the officer corps at a defining moment in the Army's history.
(44:27)
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, strongly ended.
(44:54)
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.
(45:39)
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.
President Donald Trump (47:49):
… The job of the US Armed forces is not to host drag shows to transform foreign cultures, but 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. 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.
(47:49)
We had nothing but success. We had the most incredible economy, 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 [inaudible 00:47:32], but we had something going on very especially. But if the United States or it's allies were ever threatened or attacked the army will obliterate our opponents with overwhelming strength and devastating force. That's why my administration is begun a colossal build-up of the United States Armed forces, a build-up 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. That's happening. That's happening.
(48:17)
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 and brand new planes. Totally stealth planes. I hope they're stealth. I don't know, 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 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 today. Now I 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.
(49:22)
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'll be completed before I leave office. And you wouldn't think this, but our enemies are very unhappy about it. They've been hearing, I'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. We're also restoring the fundamental principle that a central purpose of our military is to protect our own borders from invasion.
(49:52)
Our country was invaded for the last four years and they've allowed people to come into our country that shouldn't be. They 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 is not easy. But hopefully the courts will allow us to continue. We had the greatest election victory. This was November 5th, we won the popular vote by millions of votes. We won all seven swing stage. We won everything. We won 2,750 districts against 505. 2750 against 505.
(50:28)
We had a great mandate and it gives us the right to do what we want to do to make our country great again. 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 reduced a number of illegal boarder 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%, 99.999, think of that. I 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. 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.
(50:28)
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. The 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 in 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. Been reading about it over the last few days. We're making deals with other nations that we're not even… Nobody thought it would be even possible. And the reason is very simple, they respect us again, they respecting your country again. That's what you want.
(50:28)
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 use the word liberal anymore. That's why I called them liberal. But whatever you are, most importantly you have to have common sense because most of its general, most of its about common sense when you go right down to it and then we have a lot of people with a lot of… A lot of very smart people, but they have to have common sense. And we've liberated our troops from divisive and demeaning political trainings. 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'll not have men playing in women's sports if that's okay.
(55:40)
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 is 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 want that based in the Supreme Court in the United States, we're about to go back to a system of merit. We're a merit-based country again. Today…
(55:40)
… recruiting [inaudible 00:55:40] 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 of 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… Most people joined and we are brimming. In fact, be careful there's somebody that are 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 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'll 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.
(56:30)
And it is nice to know that you're doing something that everybody wants to do, isn't it really nice? Listen, I hated to hear that during the campaign I was hearing that they couldn't get people to enlist, but now we're getting people. It's sad because were 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 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.
(57:10)
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 have graduated, 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 if they talk, that's what they want to talk about. I really very rarely see somebody's 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'm telling you what, you can not go wrong. You're going to see it too. You're going ti love it more and more with time. 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.
(59:13)
I said, "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 is just as tough and sometimes it is 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 and just solve it and solve more of it."
(01:00:16)
If you go into solve a problem and might as won't 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. 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 [inaudible 01:00:58], 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.
(01:01:15)
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 anybodies ever won. But he made a statement years ago and I heard it. I heard it. He's the first one and 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." He worked hard and you are working hard and the harder work, the luckier you're going to get. Fourth is don't lose your momentum. Momentum is an amazing thing. Keep it going. I tell a story sometimes about a man, he was a great, great real estate man. It was a man who was admired for real estate all over the world actually.
(01:01:49)
But all over the country. He built Levittowns towns. He started as the man who built one house, then he built two, then built five, then he built 20, then he built a thousand, then he built 2000 and 3000 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 towns. This was a long time ago, he was a first of the really, really big home builders and he became very rich, became a very rich man. And then he decided to sell. He was offered a lot of money by a big conglomerate, Dolphin Western, 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 this company and he had nothing to do.
(01:01:49)
He ended up getting a divorce, found a new wife, would you say a trophy wife? I guess we could say a trophy wife. It didn't work out too well, but it doesn't work out too well. I must tell you, I've had 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, 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 lived a good life and time went by and he got bored. 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 Will Levitt was hot, when he had momentum, he'd go to the job sites every night and 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 they'd use it the next day in putting together a house.
(01:01:49)
But now he was spoiled and he was rich and he was really rich. And they called and they said, "This is isn't for us, this business. We need to 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, long time ago, and yet the biggest people in New York, the biggest people in the country were all at that party. They were all saluting each other, how great they were. They were all telling each other, "I'm greater than you." Gives you a headache sometimes. But they had all these people who were telling their own stories about how fantastic…
(01:01:49)
A cocktail party and I looked over and I was doing well. I was invited to the party, so I had to be doing well. I was very, very young, but I made it anyway, real estate. I looked over and at the party sitting in a corner all by himself, nobody was talking him, was Mr. Levitt. He had just gone bankrupt, lost everything. He lost everything. His home, everything. I went over and talked to him because he was in the real estate business and I love real estate. 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 tough period for me, son." And I said, "So what happened?" I says, "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."
(01:06:23)
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, but you got to have momentum. But you have to know when that momentum is gone, you have to know when to say, "It's time to get out." And that'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 the 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 a history. So don't be ashamed. And don't be afraid. This is a time of incredible change.
(01:07:31)
And we do not need an officer core 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 profession where things change as rapidly like warfare. A type of warfare. Unfortunately we're getting to see it with Russia and Ukraine and we're studying it and it is 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 with speed and with precision. We've never seen anything like it, never seen anything like it, and we're learning from it. But your profession changes very rapidly. 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.
(01:07:32)
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 Razin Caine. His name is Dave Caine and his nickname was Razin Caine. I said, "Your name is Razin Caine. 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 Razin Caine and he is now the head of the…
President Donald Trump (01:09:00):
… for. I want to know a guy named Razin' Caine. And he is now the head of the joint chiefs of staff, and he's a highly respected man. We defeated, think of it, ISIS. They said, "How long did 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. 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.
(01:09:27)
Six, 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. You got to never give up, and don't let bad people take you down. 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.
(01:10:00)
Finally, hold onto your culture, 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, 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. It's not for us. It's not for anybody here. If it was, you wouldn't be here.
(01:11:08)
From the earliest days of our nation, this supreme tradition of American military service has been passed down from solider to soldier and generation to generation, and it's a beautiful thing to watch. Graduating today is Cadet Ricky McMahon. 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, 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 you're wearing? I want one. Ricky, I want one.
(01:12:51)
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 as he looks down. To Ricky and his mom, Janette, 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. He is a man that couldn't be more proud. 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. You can sit down. You want to come up? If you want to come up, come up. Come on up. Come on up here. That's nice. Yeah, 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. What a great thing. That's nice. It's yours.
Ricky McMahon (01:13:31):
I'd like to thank my mother. I'd like to thank my family. And I'd like to thank G3. Go Gophers!
President Donald Trump (01:15:04):
Thank you. Thanks. Thank you. These are good-looking people, I'll tell you, General. What's going on out there? Look like all a bunch of male models. I can't stand it. And two and a half centuries our Republicans 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 through 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.
(01:15:34)
All over the world, out 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, Leyte Gulf and Ardennes Forest, Chosin Reservoir, all over, and even in a place called Pork Chop 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. 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.
(01:16:21)
Over the last week, I had the honor of speaking to the heads of many countries, and they would say… Two weeks ago, the eighth, 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." And I called up president of France on something also unrelated. He said, "Sir, we're celebrating our victory over World War II." I said, "Well, whoa, what have we here?" We helped them a lot. And I had this Russia, 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.
(01:16:47)
But they were all celebrating. The only country that wasn't celebrating was the United States of America. And I said, "Isn't it 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 were celebrating. They had Victory Day. They call 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 and say 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.
(01:18:35)
I said, "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. You won two world wars and plenty of other things. But 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. 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.
(01:19:43)
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 big. You're going to have great moments. You're going to have bad moments. 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. So, I want to just congratulate you all. I'm going back now to deal with Russia, to deal with China.
Audience (01:20:49):
Oh!
President Donald Trump (01:20:49):
What's that all about? 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.
Speaker 3 (01:21:05):
Thank you so much.
President Donald Trump (01:21:05):
You're welcome.
Speaker 3 (01:21:05):
[inaudible 01:21:18] that seat. Okay? Thanks.
Speaker 1 (01:21:05):
Ladies and gentlemen, at this time, please remain standing for the presentation of the class gift. The class president, Cadet Catherine LaReau, will present a panoramic photo of the Class of 2025 to the president.
Catherine LaReau (01:21:05):
Mr. President, from on behalf of the Class of 2025, I would like to present you with this class photo as a token of appreciation for your inspiring words today.
President Donald Trump (01:21:05):
Thank you very much.
Catherine LaReau (01:21:05):
Thank you, sir.
President Donald Trump (01:21:05):
Beautiful. Thank you very much. That's very impressive. Thank you very much. Okay.
Catherine LaReau (01:21:05):
Thank you, sir.
President Donald Trump (01:21:05):
She stole it.
Speaker 4 (01:21:05):
H, upturn, too. Ready. Ready. Cock. Ready. Present. On.
Speaker 5 (01:21:05):
Class, attention. Free. Cover. Present arms.
Speaker 1 (01:21:05):
Ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the departure of the president.
Speaker 4 (01:21:05):
H, order. Arms. Hey, on. Cock.
Speaker 5 (01:21:05):
Class, order. Arms. On. Cover.
Speaker 1 (01:25:12):
Please remain standing for the singing of The Corps. A cherished West Point song, The Corps became a West Point tradition at the Baccalaureate service for the Class of 1911 and first song at graduation in 1962.
MUSIC (01:25:22):
The Corps! The Corps! The Corps!
(01:25:22)
The Corps, bareheaded, salute it, with eyes up, thanking our God.
(01:25:22)
That we of the Corps are treading, where they of the Corps have trod.
(01:25:22)
They are here in ghostly assemblage.
(01:25:22)
The ranks of the Corps long dead.
(01:25:22)
The ranks of the Corps long dead.
(01:25:22)
And our hearts.
(01:25:22)
And our hearts are standing attention, while we wait for their passing tread.
(01:25:22)
The Corps of today.
(01:25:22)
The Corps of today.
(01:25:22)
We salute you.
(01:25:22)
The Corps of an earlier day.
(01:25:22)
We salute.
(01:25:22)
We follow, close order, behind you, where you have pointed the way.
(01:25:22)
We salute the Corps.
(01:25:22)
The long gray line of us stretches, through the years of a century told.
(01:25:22)
And the last.
(01:25:22)
And the last one feels to the marrow, the grip of your far off hold.
(01:25:22)
Grip hands with us now though we see not.
(01:25:22)
Grip hands with us, strengthen our hearts.
(01:25:22)
As the long line stiffens and straightens with the thrill that your presence imparts.
(01:25:22)
Grip hands though it be from the shadows.
(01:25:22)
[inaudible 01:27:38].
(01:25:22)
While we swear, as you did of yore.
(01:25:22)
Or living, or dying, to honor the Corps, and the Corps, and the Corps.
Speaker 4 (01:25:22):
H. Take seats.
Speaker 1 (01:25:22):
Please be seated.
Speaker 5 (01:25:22):
Class, take seats.
Speaker 1 (01:28:32):
Ladies and gentlemen, the dean of the Academic Board, Brigadier General Shane R. Reeves.
Shane R. Reeves (01:28:44):
Class of 2025, your education has prepared you to be a leader of character, sworn to uphold the values embodied in our Constitution. So, on behalf of the Academic Board, I present these graduates and recommend each is worthy of a Bachelor of Science degree. The Secretary of the Army will present diplomas to those cadets awarded summa cum laude designation, class valedictorian, cadet first captain, class president and the Army Athletic Association trophy winners. Will the members of the Class of 2025 now come forward to receive their-
