Unknown (89:48)
Love you guys. Well, I just tapped his shoulders like I hit a piece of steel. Guy's in 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. Joe 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. 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. 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, 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. And you have a good man. And 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 to it 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. And 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 scale 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 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. 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 reached before. And you see that, 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. 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. 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 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 friends. Flag like it has never been defended before. 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. We had no problems. We had nothing but success. We had the most incredible economy, the greatest, single greatest economy for a president in history. I think we're going to beat at this time by a lot, if you want to know the truth. But we had something going on, very special, that 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. 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. 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're going to start ship. 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 doing it. 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. 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. 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'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, 2,750 against 505. We had a great mandate, and it gives us the right to do what we want to do to make our country great again. And that's what we're going to do. 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%. 99.999. 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. 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 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. 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. And everything we do, we are bringing common sense back to America. It's all about common sense. We. 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 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. 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 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, morale in the armed forces is soaring to the highest levels in many decades after, after years of recruiting shortfalls. 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, 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. And it's nice to know that you're doing something that everybody wants to do. Isn't it really nice? Wasn't I hated to hear that during the campaign I was hearing that, that 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. 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 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 if they talk, 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 did. 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. You got to love it. Otherwise you won't be successful. In the army. There are a lot of different paths you can take. So follow your instincts and make sure that you take the path that you love, that you're doing something that you love within your military. You will be happier, and the army will be far stronger for it. Second is to think big. Always think big. If you're going to do something, you might as well think big. Do it big, because it's just as tough. And sometimes it's a lot easier thinking big than doing 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. Third, though, you got to do this brain power. 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 always. 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. Eighteen 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. Fourth is. Don't lose your momentum. Momentum is an amazing thing. Keep it going. I tell a story sometimes about a man who was a great, great real estate man. He 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 2,000 and 3,000 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, this was a long time ago, but he was the 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, 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. 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. And 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 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 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. And 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. We 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, 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 to be. Really gives you a headache sometimes. But they had all these people that. 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. It 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've probably read, it's been very, very tough period for me, son. I said, so what happened? 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, but you got to have momentum. But you have to know if 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. Fifth, you have to have the courage to take risks and to do things differently. Eisenhower again was threatened with court martials as a young officer for advocating a new doctrine 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. 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 Cain. His name is Dan Cain, but his nickname was Raisin Cain. I said, your name is Raisin Cain. 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 Kainan. 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 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. 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're going to have tremendous success. Success. Sixth, never lose your faith in America and the American people, because they're always going to be there for you. I went through a very tough time with some very radicalized, sick people. And I say I was investigated more than the great late Alphonse Capone. Alphonse 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. History has shown that in many ways, culture is destiny. So do not let anyone destroy the culture of winning. You have to win. Winning is a beautiful thing. Losing. Not for us. Not for us. Not for anybody here. If it was, you wouldn't be here. From the earliest days of our nation, this supreme tradition of American military service has been passed down from soldier to soldier and generation to generation. 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 of about that? Ricky, a little tiny boy. His dad, Lt. Col. 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 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 you're 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. She 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. Come on up here. That's nice. A handsome guy. They're all good looking here. I don't know what's going on. Whole crowd is beautiful. Thank you very much. I'd like to thank my mother, I'd.
