President Trump told graduates of the United States Military Academy that it is not the role of the U.S. military to police the world.
On Saturday, the president gave a commencement speech to approximately 1,100 students graduating from West Point that reiterated his nationalist foreign policy vision.
“We are restoring the fundamental principles that the job of the American soldier is not to rebuild foreign nations, but defend, and defend strongly, our nation from foreign enemies,” he said. “We are ending the era of endless wars. In its place is a renewed, clear-eyed focus on defending America’s vital interests. It is not the duty of U.S. troops to solve ancient conflicts in faraway lands that many people have never even heard of.”
“We are not the policemen of the world,” Trump said.
The commencement was held outdoors at Plain Parade Field, and students were distanced 6 feet apart in accordance with social distancing protocols. Families and friends were not permitted to attend the event in person, but they could watch it online.
Trump announced in April that he would make the commencement address despite the growing coronavirus pandemic. That month, Vice President Mike Pence also gave an address at the Air Force Academy’s graduation ceremony.
