President Trump on Friday celebrated the graduation of more than 1,000 midshipmen from the U.S. Naval Academy, promising them his administration will continue to build up the military and ensure America is “respected again” across the globe.
“Together, you are the tip of the spear, the edge of the blade, and the front of the shield defending and protecting our great country,” the president told graduates at the Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md. “There is no issue our pilots can’t handle, no hill our Marines can’t take, and there is no stronghold the SEALs can’t breach. There is no sea the Navy can’t brave, and there is no storm the American sailor can’t conquer.”
“You know that together, there is nothing Americans can’t do. Absolutely nothing,” Trump said. “Together we struggled, together we strive, together we pray, and together we triumph.”
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Trump spent much of his speech lauding the “great rebuilding of the United States military” that has taken place during his administration, noting the increased defense funding he secured earlier this year and the new aircraft carriers and submarines that are being built.
“In case you haven’t noticed, we have become a lot stronger lately,” he said to applause. “We are not going to apologize for America, we are going to stand up for America. No more apologies. We are going to stand up for our citizens, we are going to stand up for our values and we are going to stand up for our men and women in uniform.”
“Yes, they’re respecting us again,” he said. “Yes, America is back.”
The president promised the crowd he would stick around and shake hands with the thousand-plus graduates to congratulate and thank them for their service.
His speech comes just one day after the U.S. withdrew from a highly-anticipated summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, over objections to the authoritarian regime’s latest threat of nuclear war. Trump told reporters prior to arriving at the Naval Academy graduation that he is still talking to officials in Pyongyang and could revive the June 12 summit if certain conditions are met.
“We’ll see what happens. It could even be the 12 [of June]. We’re talking to them now,” he said.
Friday’s graduating class included 283 naval aviators, 134 submariners, 256 surface warfare officers, 15 explosive ordnance disposal officers, 236 United States marines and “35 very tough, very well-conditioned Navy SEALs,” Trump said Friday.
“On behalf of the entire nation, we could not be more proud of the United States Naval Academy Class of 2018,” he said.
