US President Donald Trump used a speech at the West Point military academy on Saturday to launch sharp attacks on previous US administrations and on diversity initiatives within the military.
Addressing newly commissioned officers at the historic New York institution, Trump mixed traditional tributes to top graduates with a combative tone reminiscent of his campaign rallies.
The 78-year-old Republican, now in his second term, did not hold back in criticizing previous military interventions. He said past leaders had “dragged our military into missions that wasted our time, money, and souls,” and led troops “who didn’t have a clue in distant lands.”
Trump also railed against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies in the military, arguing that they had turned the armed forces into “social experiments.” He declared, “The job of the US armed forces is not to host drag shows. The military’s job is to dominate any foe, to annihilate any threat to America, anywhere.”
The speech also included jabs at US allies, with Trump claiming European and Asian partners had long “cheated” the United States—asserting, “They don’t rip us off anymore.”
While Trump’s remarks drew occasional applause, many cadets remained reserved. Military officers are expected to remain apolitical, and brief remarks by others at the event avoided references to the president.
Trump’s push to remove DEI programs has included removing books on racism from military academy libraries. Earlier this month, Graham Parsons, a philosophy professor at West Point, resigned, accusing the academy of abandoning its educational mission to align with White House demands.
In his resignation letter published in The New York Times, Parsons said the new guidelines that downplay discussions of racism and sexism in favor of portraying America as an unerring force for good amounted to “indoctrination, not education.”
