WEST POINT – President Joe Biden delivered the commencement speech at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point’s graduation ceremony at Michie Stadium on Saturday.
More than 1,000 cadets graduated and were commission as second lieutenants. Among them were 12 international cadets. The class encompassed 231 women, 134 African-Americans, 92 Asian/Pacific Islanders, 108 Hispanics and seven Native Americans.
During his speech, President Biden recalled how George Washington said West Point was the “key of America.” As it was at West Point that, “The most powerful empire in the world [was] defeated by an army of ordinary people driven by the sacred cause of freedom. And I might add, you’re about to become full-time members of the most honorable and the most consequential fighting force in the history of the world — that’s not hyperbole — of the world. That’s the truth.”
In his 20-minute speech Biden said, “the motto of this class, ‘Like None Before,’ was an appropriate choice for your class, because you’re graduating into a world — as a student of history, I can tell you — ‘like none before.’”
Biden said there’s never been a time in history when we’ve asked our military to do so many different things in so many different places around the world all at the same time. “Across vastly different regions and very different challenges, our women and men in uniform are hard at work strengthening our alliances, because no country has allies like ours; investing in deterrence, so anyone who thinks they can threaten us thinks again; defending our values by standing up to tyrants; and safeguarding the peace by protecting freedom and openness,” Biden said.
President Biden told the graduates, “Never forget: America is the strongest when we lead not only by our example of our power but by the power of our example.”
Biden has twice addressed a graduating class of cadets at the academy as vice president, but this was his first time to deliver the speech as Commander-in-Chief. Donald Trump was the last president to speak at West Point commencement in 2020. Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at the West Point graduation last year.
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