‘Not army’s job to host drag shows’: Trump rips inclusion policies in rally-style West Point speech
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
A graduating cadet being invited to speak by US President Donald Trump during his commencement address for the West Point military academy in the US on May 24.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
WEST POINT, New York – President Donald Trump ripped US diversity and inclusion policies, knocked Nato, and took credit for building up the military on May 24, in a campaign-style commencement speech at the prestigious US Military Academy, West Point in New York.
Mr Trump, wearing a suit and his signature red Make America Great Again cap, mixed advice to “work hard” with a list of his top grievances about cultural and political issues while speaking to a stadium filled with cadets, family members and a largely supportive crowd.
“The job of the US Armed Forces is not to host drag shows, to transform foreign cultures,” Mr Trump said. “The military’s job is to dominate any foe and annihilate any threat to America, anywhere, any time, in any place.”
Since coming into office for the second time in January, Mr Trump has rolled back diversity, equity and inclusion programmes in the military and throughout the US government as part of a larger effort to rescind policies enacted by his predecessor, Mr Joe Biden.
“We’ve liberated our troops from divisive and demeaning political training,” Mr Trump told the 1,002 cadets graduating from the academy.
“There will be no more critical race theory or transgender for everybody forced onto our brave men and women in uniform, or on anybody else for that matter in this country.”
Mr Trump has been a strong supporter of the military even as he has put his own stamp on it, as he has other branches of government.
In February, he fired the then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General C.Q. Brown, and pushed out five other admirals and generals in an unprecedented shake-up of military leadership.
It was the second time Mr Trump addressed graduates of the academy on the Hudson River, following his appearance in 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, when cadets sat farther apart and wore masks to prevent spread of the virus.
West Point aims to educate the next generation of US Army leaders for a military that is meant to be apolitical and is sworn to defend the US Constitution.
In a speech full of partisan rhetoric on May 24, Mr Trump took credit for rebuilding the US Army and referenced his tariff-fuelled trade war while repeating his longstanding criticism of Nato allies for not spending more on defence.
“We’ve been ripped off by every nation in the world on trade. We’ve been ripped off at the Nato level,” Mr Trump said.
“We’ve been ripped off like no country has ever been ripped off, but they don’t rip us off anymore.”
The US President will preside over the US Army’s celebration of its 250th anniversary on June 14 with a parade on one of Washington’s main thoroughfares. The anniversary coincides with Mr Trump’s own birthday.
Last week, Mr Trump spoke about a signature piece of his military vision, announcing he had selected a design for the US$175 billion (S$225 billion) Golden Dome missile defence shield and named a Space Force general to head the programme aimed at blocking threats from China and Russia.
Mr Trump said on May 24 the shield would protect West Point.
Experts have said the Golden Dome could provoke other states to launch similar systems or develop more advanced weapons to evade the missile shield, escalating an arms race in space. REUTERS
Cadets preparing to throw their hats into the air during the commencement ceremony at West Point military academy in New York, the US, on May 24.
