Trump's speech to West Point graduates mixes praise, politics and grievances

WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) — President Donald Trump used the first service academy commencement address of his second term Saturday to laud graduating West Point cadets for their accomplishments and career choice while also veering sharply into a campaign-style recitation of political boasts and long-held grievances.

“In a few moments, you’ll become graduates of the most elite and storied military academy in human history,” Trump said at the ceremony at Michie Stadium. “And you will become officers of the greatest and most powerful army the world has ever known. And I know, because I rebuilt that army, and I rebuilt the military. And we rebuilt it like nobody has ever rebuilt it before in my first term.”

Wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat, the Republican president told the 1,002 members of the class of 2025 at the U.S. Military Academy that the United States is the “hottest country in the world” and underscored an “America First” ethos for the military.

“We’re getting rid of distractions and we’re focusing our military on its core mission: crushing America’s adversaries, killing America’s enemies and defending our great American flag like it has never been defended before,” Trump said. He later said that “the job of the U.S. armed forces is not to host drag shows or transform foreign cultures,” a reference to drag shows on military bases that Democratic President Joe Biden's administration halted after Republican criticism.

Trump said the cadets were graduating at a “defining moment” in Army history as he accused political leaders in the past of sending soldiers into “nation-building crusades to nations that wanted nothing to do with us.” He said he was clearing the military of transgender ideas, “critical race theory” and types of training he called divisive and political.

Past administrations, he said, “subjected the armed forces to all manner of social projects and political causes while leaving our borders undefended and depleting our arsenals to fight other countries’ wars.”

At times, his remarks were indistinguishable from those heard in a political speech, from his assessment of the country when he left office in January 2021 to his review of last November's victory over Democrat Kamala Harris, arguing that voters gave him a “great mandate” and “it gives us the right to do what we want to do.”

Frequently turning the focus on himself, he reprised some of his campaign rally one-liners, including the claim that he has faced more investigations than mobster Al Capone.

At one point the crowd listened as Trump, known for his off-message digressions, referred to “trophy wives" and yachts during an anecdote about the late real estate developer William Levitt, a billionaire friend who Trump said lost momentum.

But the president also took time to acknowledge the achievements of individual graduates.

He summoned Chris Verdugo to the stage and noted that he completed an 18.5-mile march on a freezing night in January in just two hours and 30 minutes. Trump had the nationally ranked men's lacrosse team, which held the No. 1 spot for a time in the 2024 season, stand and be recognized. Trump also brought Army's star quarterback, Bryson Daily, to the lectern, where the president praised Daily's “steel”-like shoulder. Trump later used Daily as an example to make a case against transgender women participating in women's athletics.

In a nod to presidential tradition, Trump also pardoned about half a dozen cadets who had faced disciplinary infractions.

He told graduates that “you could have done anything you wanted, you could have gone anywhere.” and that "writing your own ticket to top jobs on Wall Street or Silicon Valley wouldn’t be bad. But I think what you’re doing is better.”

His advice to them included doing what they love, thinking big, working hard, holding on to their culture, keeping faith in America and taking risks.

“This is a time of incredible change and we do not need an officer corps of careerists and yes men,” Trump said. “We need patriots with guts and vision and backbone.”

Just outside campus, about three dozen demonstrators gathered before the ceremony and were waving miniature American flags. One in the crowd carried a sign that said “Support Our Veterans” and “Stop the Cuts,” while others held up plastic buckets with the message: “Go Army Beat Fascism.”

On Friday, Vice President JD Vance spoke to the graduating class at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Vance said in his remarks that Trump was working to ensure U.S. soldiers are deployed with clear goals, rather than the “undefined missions” and “open-ended conflicts” of the past.

Trump gave the commencement address at West Point in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the school forced cadets spread out across the country to travel, risking exposure on public transportation, and then land in New York, a coronavirus hot spot.

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Swenson reported from Bridgewater, New Jersey.

United States Military Academy graduating cadets line up during commencement ceremonies in West Point, N.Y., Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

United States Military Academy graduating cadets throw their hats in the air at the end of commencement ceremonies in West Point, N.Y., Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Class President Katherine LaReau, right, poses with President Donald Trump as she presents the class gift to Trump at the United States Military Academy commencement ceremonies in West Point, N.Y., Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Cadets listen as President Donald Trump, seen on screen, speaks to United States Military Academy graduating cadets during commencement ceremonies in West Point, N.Y., Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Donald Trump salutes alongside Lieutenant General Steven W. Gilland during the U.S. Military Academy commencement ceremonies in West Point, N.Y., Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

President Donald Trump speaks to United States Military Academy graduating cadets during commencement ceremonies in West Point, N.Y., Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

United States Military Academy graduating cadets sit during commencement ceremonies in West Point, N.Y., Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Donald Trump arrives for the U.S. Military Academy commencement ceremonies in West Point, N.Y., Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

President Donald Trump salutes during the United States Military Academy commencement ceremonies in West Point, N.Y., Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Cadets gather ahead of commencement ceremonies for the United States Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

President Donald Trump, second left, is greeted by Steven Gilland, superintendent of the United States Military Academy, as he arrives before delivering the commencement speech at the United States Military Academy commencement ceremonies in West Point, N.Y., Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Donald Trump, fourth from left, walks to board his motorcade before delivering the commencement speech at the United States Military Academy commencement ceremonies in West Point, N.Y., Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Cadets gather ahead of commencement ceremonies for the United States Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Cadets gather ahead of commencement ceremonies for the United States Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

FILE - President Donald Trump is shown on a video screen as he speaks to U.S. Military Academy graduating cadets during commencement ceremonies in West Point, N.Y., June 13, 2020. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, Pool, File)

FILE - President Donald Trump, left, and the United States Military Academy superintendent Darryl A. Williams, right, salute graduating cadets as the national anthem is played during commencement ceremonies in West Point, N.Y., June 13, 2020. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, Pool, File)

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, N.J., Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

NEW YORK (AP) — Reviving a campaign pledge, President Donald Trump wants a one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates, a move that could save Americans tens of billions of dollars but drew immediate opposition from an industry that has been in his corner.

Trump was not clear in his social media post Friday night whether a cap might take effect through executive action or legislation, though one Republican senator said he had spoken with the president and would work on a bill with his “full support.” Trump said he hoped it would be in place Jan. 20, one year after he took office.

Strong opposition is certain from Wall Street in addition to the credit card companies, which donated heavily to his 2024 campaign and have supported Trump's second-term agenda. Banks are making the argument that such a plan would most hurt poor people, at a time of economic concern, by curtailing or eliminating credit lines, driving them to high-cost alternatives like payday loans or pawnshops.

“We will no longer let the American Public be ripped off by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Researchers who studied Trump’s campaign pledge after it was first announced found that Americans would save roughly $100 billion in interest a year if credit card rates were capped at 10%. The same researchers found that while the credit card industry would take a major hit, it would still be profitable, although credit card rewards and other perks might be scaled back.

About 195 million people in the United States had credit cards in 2024 and were assessed $160 billion in interest charges, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says. Americans are now carrying more credit card debt than ever, to the tune of about $1.23 trillion, according to figures from the New York Federal Reserve for the third quarter last year.

Further, Americans are paying, on average, between 19.65% and 21.5% in interest on credit cards according to the Federal Reserve and other industry tracking sources. That has come down in the past year as the central bank lowered benchmark rates, but is near the highs since federal regulators started tracking credit card rates in the mid-1990s. That’s significantly higher than a decade ago, when the average credit card interest rate was roughly 12%.

The Republican administration has proved particularly friendly until now to the credit card industry.

Capital One got little resistance from the White House when it finalized its purchase and merger with Discover Financial in early 2025, a deal that created the nation’s largest credit card company. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is largely tasked with going after credit card companies for alleged wrongdoing, has been largely nonfunctional since Trump took office.

In a joint statement, the banking industry was opposed to Trump's proposal.

“If enacted, this cap would only drive consumers toward less regulated, more costly alternatives," the American Bankers Association and allied groups said.

Bank lobbyists have long argued that lowering interest rates on their credit card products would require the banks to lend less to high-risk borrowers. When Congress enacted a cap on the fee that stores pay large banks when customers use a debit card, banks responded by removing all rewards and perks from those cards. Debit card rewards only recently have trickled back into consumers' hands. For example, United Airlines now has a debit card that gives miles with purchases.

The U.S. already places interest rate caps on some financial products and for some demographics. The Military Lending Act makes it illegal to charge active-duty service members more than 36% for any financial product. The national regulator for credit unions has capped interest rates on credit union credit cards at 18%.

Credit card companies earn three streams of revenue from their products: fees charged to merchants, fees charged to customers and the interest charged on balances. The argument from some researchers and left-leaning policymakers is that the banks earn enough revenue from merchants to keep them profitable if interest rates were capped.

"A 10% credit card interest cap would save Americans $100 billion a year without causing massive account closures, as banks claim. That’s because the few large banks that dominate the credit card market are making absolutely massive profits on customers at all income levels," said Brian Shearer, director of competition and regulatory policy at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, who wrote the research on the industry's impact of Trump's proposal last year.

There are some historic examples that interest rate caps do cut off the less creditworthy to financial products because banks are not able to price risk correctly. Arkansas has a strictly enforced interest rate cap of 17% and evidence points to the poor and less creditworthy being cut out of consumer credit markets in the state. Shearer's research showed that an interest rate cap of 10% would likely result in banks lending less to those with credit scores below 600.

The White House did not respond to questions about how the president seeks to cap the rate or whether he has spoken with credit card companies about the idea.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who said he talked with Trump on Friday night, said the effort is meant to “lower costs for American families and to reign in greedy credit card companies who have been ripping off hardworking Americans for too long."

Legislation in both the House and the Senate would do what Trump is seeking.

Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., released a plan in February that would immediately cap interest rates at 10% for five years, hoping to use Trump’s campaign promise to build momentum for their measure.

Hours before Trump's post, Sanders said that the president, rather than working to cap interest rates, had taken steps to deregulate big banks that allowed them to charge much higher credit card fees.

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., have proposed similar legislation. Ocasio-Cortez is a frequent political target of Trump, while Luna is a close ally of the president.

Seung Min Kim reported from West Palm Beach, Fla.

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Friday, Jan. 9, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

FILE - Visa and Mastercard credit cards are shown in Buffalo Grove, Ill., Feb. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)