President Donald Trump delivered a stirring and patriotic commencement address Saturday to the U.S. Military Academy's Class of 2025, invoking both biblical truth and military tradition as he celebrated the courage, discipline, and dedication of America’s next generation of Army officers.

In front of nearly 1,000 graduating cadets and a packed audience of families and dignitaries, the president wasted no time reminding the audience of his personal connection to military training. Trump reflected on his formative years at New York Military Academy — just miles from West Point — where he served as captain of cadets and led the varsity baseball team.

“I’ve been here [to West Point] many times, going to high school, not so far away. Good, a good place. Also, a military academy. Not quite of this distinction, but it was a lot of fun for me,” he told the crowd with a smile.

But it wasn’t long before Trump pivoted to a serious, reverent tone. He paid homage to the heroic legacy of West Point, drawing a direct line between its graduates and the legends of American military history.

“Giants like Ulysses S. Grant, John ‘Black Jack’ Pershing, Dwight David Eisenhower, the one and only Douglas MacArthur, old blood and guts, George Patton, and Stormin’ Norman Schwarzkopf, all great,” Trump said, honoring those who set the gold standard in American command.

In a moment that encapsulated his vision of strength through faith and resolve, the president invoked spiritual imagery to describe the tenacity of the American soldier.

“Our soldiers have sprinted through storms of bullets, clouds of shrapnel, slogged through miles of dirt and oceans of sand, scaled towering cliffs of jagged rock,” Trump said. “And, time and time again, the American soldier has charged into the fires of hell and sent the devil racing in full retreat.”

The biblical tone ignited applause from the crowd — a powerful resonance in an era when American values and spiritual heritage are too often sidelined.

Quoting Christ’s own words in Scripture, Trump echoed the Lord’s declaration that “the gates of hell shall not prevail.” It was a reminder that moral clarity and divine truth still guide the soul of a great nation.

Beyond inspiration, Trump struck a decisive policy tone, signaling a departure from divisive identity politics and a return to foundational principles like merit and honor. He emphasized the rollback of left-wing diversity and gender ideology programs in the military.

“Promotions and appointments will not be based on politics or identity. They’ll be based on merit,” Trump declared. “We won that case in the Supreme Court of the United States. We’re allowed to go back to a system of merit. We’re a merit-based country again.”

He also celebrated renewed strength in military recruitment, noting that numbers have surged since his return to office and his appointment of Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense — a move applauded by many as a victory for constitutional conservatives and veterans alike.

As the ceremony neared its conclusion, Trump invoked Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s famous “Duty, Honor, Country” speech — words that continue to stir generations of military leaders.

“America’s army has never failed us, and with leaders like the West Point class of 2025, the Army will never fail,” Trump said, drawing on the legacy of the “Long Gray Line.”

It was a speech rooted not only in history, but in a forward-looking vision — one in which American strength is forged by sacrifice, led by courage, and defended by unwavering conviction in the timeless principles that made the nation great.

And under President Trump’s leadership, those principles are once again finding their rightful place at the heart of American military command.