Protestors Rally Over Trump’s West Point Speech

GARRISON – Citizens from across the Hudson Valley held protests at the gates of West Point, on the Hudson River below West Point, and directly across the river from West Point on the riverbank in Garrison, New York.

During Trump’s embarrassing speech – in which he rambled about trophy wives and yachts while wearing a red MAGA hat – motorboats, sailboats, and dozens of kayaks circled below West Point flying American flags and carrying signs declaring Trump “Unfit” to be President. Hundreds of protesters lined the banks of the river directly across from West Point singing patriotic songs and holding banners saying “Hands Off Our Freedoms” and “No Tyrants, No Kings.”

Earlier, as guests arrived for the commencement ceremony, they were greeted by protesters outside West Point’s gates chanting “Go Army, Defend Democracy,” “Go Army, Beat Tyranny,” and “Go Army, Sink Fascism.” Katie Rogers, the wife of an Army officer and mother of a West Point graduate, said many cadets and West Point families are upset with President Trump’s abandonment of our allies and embrace of dictators, his ban on clubs for minorities, and the removal of teachings on slavery and the civil rights struggle.

Diana Patton, Commander of Veterans Defending Democracy, said “Protecting schools from fascism is a veteran’s duty. Our fight for freedom abroad means nothing if we surrender the battle for young minds at home. Education, accessible to all, is democracy’s bedrock, preventing the indoctrination that breeds tyranny. Safeguard our schools; safeguard our republic.”

As protesters waved flags and sang “American the Beautiful,” one of the protest’s organizers, Alex Dubroff, said “We are witnessing a drastic shift in our democracy—one that appears to be moving away from the principles that the patriots of the American Revolution fought so hard to establish. This Memorial Day, we demand that our elected officials put an end to the tyranny on our doorstep. If they fail, every Veteran who fought and died in the name of democracy is for nothing.”

Peter Bynum, a co-organizer of the event, said “Trump’s appearance at West Point, where George Washington and his troops resisted tyranny and broke free from a king, is a profound insult to American patriots. Trump attacks the very principles George Washington fought for: our democracy, our Constitution, our freedoms, and the rule of law.”

The protests were larger than the last time Trump spoke here in 2020. His insertion of conservative ideology into the military, along with his abandonment of allies and embrace of dictators, has made West Point a flashpoint in the culture wars.

Boaters were joined by Clearwater, a sailing sloop founded by folk singer Pete Seeger. “Clearwater is proud to sail today in defense of clean water” said its president, David Toman. “The United States relies on regulatory agencies like the EPA to uphold protections that keep our rivers, communities, and ecosystems safe. Weakening these safeguards puts public health at risk and undermines decades of environmental progress. We’re on the water to say: clean water is our moral obligation to our children and all future generations — and we will defend it.”

The protest was organized by Joining Forces, a grassroots coalition that includes members of Defense of Democracy, Veterans Defending Democracy, Indivisible, the Working Families Party, Putnam Progressives, Peekskill Progressives and other Hudson Valley groups.