President Biden on Saturday told graduating class of the U.S. Military Academy to stay true to their values in the face of threats and turmoil around the world.
“I urge you to hold fast to the values you learned at West Point,” Biden told the graduates.
He said they must uphold the oath they took on their first day at West Point, an oath “not to any party or to any president, but to the Constitution of the United States, to all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
Biden said the class’ motto is fitting for the challenges they will face as new members of the Army, including helping Ukraine in its war with Russia, facilitating humanitarian efforts in Gaza and defending Israel from Iran. The Associated Press reported.
“There has never been a time in history when so many different things have been asked of the military at the same time in so many different places around the world,” he said.
Many of Biden’s sentiments were met with applause from the audience, in contrast to former President Trump’s 2020 West Point commencement speech, which drew criticism.
Trump’s speech came just weeks after he posed for a photo at St. John’s Episcopal Church with former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley.
Police forcibly removed George Floyd protesters so they could walk to the church, and members of the Class of 2020 wrote a letter urging them to keep their pledge.
Similar to Biden’s remarks on Saturday, the letter states, “We pledge to never submit to any prince, any government, any political party or any tyrant.”
“Your oath adheres to a set of principles and ideals expressed in the Constitution and its amendments,” the letter said.
Biden did not mention Trump in his speech but stressed the importance of democracy while continuing to issue warnings about the upcoming election.
“Nothing is guaranteed in American democracy,” he said. “Every generation has an obligation to defend it, protect it, preserve it and choose it. Now it’s your turn.”
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