President Donald Trump delivered a commencement address at the University of Alabama, proclaiming its Class of 2025 the first of America’s “Golden Age.” Hailing their potential, Trump told the graduates they could become the “greatest generation” in U.S. history. He reflected on his first 100 days back in office, citing unprecedented accomplishments and predicting rapid national growth. Trump’s appearance marked the first official commencement address at the university in 18 years, introduced by iconic football coach Nick Saban before a crowd of 6,700 graduates and their families.
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#TrumpAlabamaSpeech #GoldenAgeOfAmerica #GreatestGeneration #TrumpCommencement #TrumpSpeech2025 #UniversityOfAlabama #TrumpNews #AlabamaGraduation #Trump100Days #NickSaban #CrimsonTide #AmericanRevival #TrumpLegacy #USGraduation2025 #AmericaFirst #TrumpReturns #TrumpVictorySpeech #StudentGraduation2025 #TrumpInAlabama #AmericanFuture
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NewsTranscript
00:00USA! USA! USA!
00:03Thank you, Coach.
00:30Wow, what a nice-looking group this is.
00:35What a beautiful group of people.
00:40And especially a very big hello to the University of Alabama.
00:45Congratulations to the class of 2025.
00:49Roll Tide. Roll Tide.
00:51There are things that happen in life that are very important.
01:02And you always remember where you were when they happened.
01:06As a student at Alabama, you'll always remember where you were when your head coach, Nick Saban, retired.
01:16Remember that?
01:17Because he's done such a fantastic job.
01:20The last time I was here, and that's true with Nick.
01:23What a great coach.
01:24Let's bring him back.
01:26No, you have a good coach right now, though.
01:28You have a good coach right now.
01:31He was great.
01:33But the last time I was here, the Crimson Tide beat the Georgia Bulldogs 41-32.
01:43I was here.
01:44I got to watch it.
01:45That was some game.
01:46Today, it's my pleasure to return to this campus as the first president ever to deliver the keynote commencement address to this truly great American university.
01:56It's a great school.
02:01And there's nowhere I'd rather be than right here in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Titletown, USA.
02:07That's what it's become.
02:09And I love this place.
02:13Maybe it's because I won Alabama by 45 points.
02:16Could that be the reason?
02:1845?
02:18You know, the way they say, like, the polls have closed in Alabama.
02:23Trump has won Alabama immediately.
02:26It was very quick.
02:27It was very, very quick and nasty.
02:29That's what we like.
02:30They put all seven of your commencement ceremonies, I don't know if you know this, but they put them
02:36all together the first time ever, so I better do well or I'm in big trouble.
02:40But I want to thank President Bell for his 10 years of distinguished service, highly respected
02:46gentlemen, but 10 years of service to this great university overseeing the education of
02:52100,000 proud Alabama graduates.
02:55That's something to have on your record.
02:56I also want to thank Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, who's here with us, and she's a fantastic
03:02woman.
03:03There is she.
03:04There is she.
03:05She's around here someplace.
03:08She's here.
03:10I just took a picture.
03:11I said, you're doing a great job, along with the very wonderful man, a friend of mine,
03:16Senator Tommy Tuberville.
03:18Where's Tommy?
03:22Tommy's great.
03:23When he wanted to run for the Senate, you know, I said, well, you beat Alabama six times
03:30in a row.
03:31How can you run for the Senate?
03:32He said, well, I just look at him and I say, well, I was responsible for them getting
03:37Nick Saban.
03:38I said, that's a good reason.
03:39And he won very easily.
03:41He won.
03:42But I'll never forget that.
03:44Thanks also to a wonderful person, Representative Lisa McClain, a great person, great, highly
03:52respected, Gary Palmer, Robert Adderholt, Dale Strong, Ronnie Jackson, Ralph Norman, along
04:01with Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, Alabama Secretary
04:08of State, Wes Allen, great people, Alabama Senate President Pro Tem Garland Gudger, Chancellor
04:17Sid Trant, and members of the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.
04:23But most importantly, and they would agree with this, let's give a big round of applause
04:28to your incredible parents, grandparents, and family members, because they made this wonderful
04:40day possible.
04:41Oh, you're great.
04:44Without them, it doesn't happen.
04:46Without them, you probably aren't here, and you wouldn't have that big, beautiful smile
04:49on your faces.
04:51This year, the graduating Alabama class of 2025 has over 6,600 graduates.
04:58You're the largest class in school history.
05:01Among your ranks are among the 800 first-generation college students and nearly 3,000 students from
05:09right here in the great state of Alabama.
05:12Amazing.
05:17And this class also includes many Rhodes Scholars, Goldwater Scholars, 213 Merit Scholars, and
05:27over 1,500 students graduating with red caps.
05:31You know what that signifies?
05:334.0 GPA.
05:35That's a lot of students.
05:37That's a lot of students.
05:42That's pretty good.
05:47I know who I'd pick.
05:48I'd look for a red cap.
05:49I'd say, I want you to work for the beautiful Trump administration, this lovely administration.
05:56In addition, the class of 2025 has nearly 130 active duty service members, veterans, and
06:02members of the University of Alabama ROTC.
06:05Thank you very much.
06:13Everywhere you look, you can see the fierce spirit of this school.
06:17But nowhere more clearly than in your world-class athletics is nothing like it.
06:23Probably there's no school like it.
06:26That's why I would like to recognize the 11 graduating seniors on the University of Alabama
06:31football team.
06:32Where may they be?
06:33Where are they?
06:34You just have to look, and they're about a foot taller than everybody else.
06:38Oh, great.
06:40Thank you very much.
06:41Congratulations.
06:42Great season.
06:46Great season.
06:51There is something truly special about the players, coaches, and the fans who pack the
06:55stands at Bryant-Denny Stadium and proudly sing Dixieland Delight.
07:01We like that.
07:04The team has changed college football forever and inscribed into the history books the names
07:10of Bear Bryant, Joe Namath, four Heisman Trophy winners, and of course, the great Nick Saban.
07:17This place is truly where legends are made.
07:28It really is.
07:29It's a special place.
07:30When your president called, we talked about it.
07:32It took me about two seconds to say, I'll go.
07:35I wasn't looking to do it.
07:36And we are busy.
07:37You know, we're winning a lot of battles right now.
07:40We love winning.
07:41Don't we love winning?
07:42We're winning a lot of battles.
07:44But I wanted to do this.
07:47For the University of Alabama, good isn't good enough.
07:50Tough isn't tough enough.
07:51And great isn't great enough.
07:53The Crimson Tide does not rest, does not quit, and does not stop winning until it's all time.
08:02You know, it's all time.
08:03You're always winning, and you're going to keep winning.
08:05That's why the University of Alabama football team has won more games in the last decade
08:11than any college football team in America.
08:14That's not bad.
08:22And it's why last fall, you beat Auburn for the fifth year in a row.
08:26That's not bad.
08:30That's not bad.
08:32The University of Alabama has a brand, and that brand is winning.
08:37That brand is winning.
08:38Great school.
08:39Last year, the Crimson Chaos watched the Tide Hoops make it to the Final Four for the first
08:46time ever.
08:47And this year, you built on your incredible record and returned to the Elite Eight.
08:52So not only is Alabama a great football school, it's now one of the nation's best basketball
08:57schools.
08:58And congratulations.
08:59And I love sports, and I think I should have come here.
09:09I think I should have come here.
09:12Congratulations, as well, to the women's track and field team for winning two SEC titles
09:17this year.
09:18That's something.
09:19As long — and as long as I'm President, we will always protect women's sports.
09:26Men will not play in women's sports.
09:27Men will not play in women's sports.
09:28No way.
09:29No way.
09:30They say that's an 80-20 issue.
09:32No, it's a 97-3 issue, I think.
09:47No, men will not be playing in women's sports.
09:51I already — I said that, and I classified it with a very powerful executive order.
09:57As you know, it's done.
09:58The Class of 2025 was the first to enter the halls of this university in the aftermath
10:04of COVID-19.
10:06Following a difficult senior year of high school, many of you came here to Tuscaloosa.
10:12You came around the country, and for the very first time, you experienced something called
10:16freedom.
10:17You had freedom.
10:19So, let's give a big round of applause to the leaders of this state who chose liberty
10:25over lockdowns.
10:26They did.
10:27They did a good job.
10:29As you know, there are few campuses in the world more beautiful than this one, and there
10:42are few memories sweeter than the ones you have formed, really, at this capstone and
10:47at the capstone.
10:49You'll miss the beautiful sounds of Denny Chimes, the excitement of lining the Walk of Champions,
10:55the Saturday tailgates at the Quad.
10:58As you graduate, it's natural to reflect on four years of happy memories, and you've
11:03really had happy memories here.
11:05You've done a lot of winning.
11:06Winning is a good thing to do.
11:09But today, I'm also asking you to look forward to, really, something very, very bright and
11:15more promising, and it's going to be an even more promising tomorrow.
11:19I promise you that.
11:20You're the first graduating class of the Golden Age of America.
11:25We're in the Golden Age.
11:26You watch.
11:27This is the Golden Age.
11:33This is the Golden Age.
11:34We've done things that nobody thought possible.
11:37One hundred days yesterday.
11:39One hundred days, and we've done things that nobody thought even possible.
11:43Like many generations before you, you're graduating at an exciting time for our nation, a period of
11:53both extraordinary change and incredible potential in what will be unbelievable growth.
11:59You're going to see that very soon.
12:00You're going to see it starting very, very soon.
12:03The whole world is talking about it.
12:05Our country has always been defined by its ability to reform and reinvent itself, to meet the challenges
12:12of the next era.
12:13The last four years were not good for our country.
12:17But don't let that scare you.
12:19It was an aberration.
12:20We're run by people who truly, at that time, four years, we were run by people that didn't
12:28have a clue.
12:29They didn't have a clue.
12:31I'm trying — and I'm trying to be nice when I say it that way.
12:36They allowed our beautiful USA to be laughed at, scorned, and taken advantage of by everybody.
12:42We were ripped off on trade by nations all over the world, both friend and foe.
12:46And oftentimes, a friend was far worse on trade than the foe.
12:50But those days are over.
12:52You're at the start of something very, very big.
12:54You're going to see that very soon.
12:56And now, exactly 250 years after the first patriots stood and fought at Lexington and Concord,
13:03we're in the midst of another kind of revolution, a revolution of winning and a revolution of common
13:09sense.
13:10Common sense.
13:20Everywhere you look, broken systems, corrupt institutions, and tired dogmas are being
13:26swept away by the tide of history.
13:28Ancient wisdom is being rediscovered, and the best and strongest traits of America are
13:33coming back for all to see bigger, better, and greater than ever.
13:38Coming back, and they're coming back fast.
13:40The spirit of our age is one of boldness, vigor, ambition, and adventure.
13:46And it's exciting to be you and young.
13:48Oh, I'd pay you a lot of money to have your age.
13:51You have a great future.
13:55The people have rejected the voices of a failed establishment.
13:58You saw that in the election.
14:00We've turned the page on endless wars, crippling debt, open borders, ruinous inflation, and the
14:06lack of respect for our country and for its leaders.
14:10But we're turning that all around, and we're turning it around very fast.
14:14We will, very quickly, make America great again.
14:19This week, we're celebrating the most successful first 100 days of any presidential administration in the history of our country.
14:39And we've been given a lot of credit for that, but 100 days does not a full-term make.
14:48But we're going to do even better as we move along.
14:51In a matter of weeks, we've achieved the lowest number of illegal border crossings ever recorded.
14:56And you've seen it, hundreds of thousands of people pouring into our country from prisons, from mental institutions, from gangs, and all over the world, not just in South America.
15:16You'd see hundreds of thousands of people pouring across in one day.
15:20You know what we had just recently?
15:22Three.
15:23Three.
15:24Three!
15:25And we slashed the number of illegal aliens released into the United States by 99.999 percent.
15:38And, you know, if that number is wrong, the fake news, which is all over the place today,
15:45is going to be correcting me before I get to the next sentence.
15:50Now, 99.999 percent.
15:54How about that?
15:55Nobody thought that was possible.
15:57They said you needed legislation.
15:58No, you just needed a new president.
16:00That's what you needed.
16:01But despite the tremendous success, as you've been reading, the courts are trying to stop me from doing the job that I was elected to do.
16:15We won by millions of votes.
16:17We won all seven swing states.
16:19Seven out of seven.
16:20We won 312 Electoral College votes.
16:24They said, oh, 270 would be great.
16:26We won 312.
16:28And 2,750 counties versus 525 counties throughout the nation.
16:35That's why when you look at a map, it's all red.
16:38It's all red.
16:39Every inch of it is red.
16:41A little couple of blue dots.
16:42But they have to let us do the job that the voters want us to do.
16:49Judges are interfering, supposedly based on due process.
16:53But how can you give due process to people who came into our country illegally?
16:57They want to give them due process.
17:00I don't know.
17:04We've created 350,000 new jobs and brought core inflation down to its lowest level in many, many years.
17:11Energy is down.
17:12Look at your cost of energy.
17:14Way down.
17:15Groceries are down.
17:17Even eggs are down.
17:18Remember I came in?
17:19Remember I was here a week and they started screaming at me, the fake news.
17:23Egg prices have doubled.
17:25I said, they just got here.
17:26I've been here for four days.
17:27I said, tell me about egg prices.
17:30They doubled.
17:31Well, they didn't double under me.
17:34I just got there and we did a great job.
17:37We brought down the cost of eggs.
17:38In fact, they said you won't have eggs for Easter.
17:40They wanted to give, we have a big Easter egg hunt at the White House.
17:43You saw it just take place.
17:45And they thought we should order thousands of plastic eggs.
17:48Plastic?
17:49I said, no, we'll do it.
17:50And we straightened out the egg situation very quickly.
17:53My great Secretary of Agriculture did a fantastic job.
17:57And we had so many eggs, we didn't know what the hell to do with them.
18:02And prices of eggs have gone down 87 percent since I took office.
18:06That's something, right?
18:12But the price of food has gone down and mortgage rates are down.
18:15And the gasoline prices just hit $1.88 a gallon in three states.
18:22Can you believe it?
18:23It was at $3.50.
18:24It was at $4.00.
18:26We're drilling.
18:27Oh, we're drilling.
18:28You know, drill, baby, drill, right?
18:30We drill, baby, drill.
18:31We do that.
18:32We got it down.
18:33We have it going good.
18:34And, you know, when energy drops that much, you don't have much inflation.
18:38It's hard to have inflation.
18:39It was just announced that, in the first quarter, investments in the United States are up 22 percent.
18:45That we're leading the whole world in investment.
18:48Everybody is pouring into our country with big dollars.
18:51And it's all about November 5th.
18:53The November 5th election and tariffs and incentives that we've given that are going to make this country so much richer.
19:00We have $36 trillion in debt.
19:04That's going to start to come off.
19:06It's going to come off rapidly.
19:07But we'll be over $8 trillion in investment with Apple and others investing $500 billion each.
19:16We've never had a period of time in two months because we're here for three months, a little bit more.
19:22But give me a break for the first month.
19:23You know, had to get a little acclimated.
19:25Had to see where the enemy lies because they're already looking to impeach Trump.
19:29You know, these crazy people.
19:30Let's impeach him.
19:31For what?
19:31We don't know exactly, but we'll try it.
19:34These people are crazy.
19:36So we had to, you know, get our bearings for the first couple of weeks.
19:40So in two months, we had over $8 trillion — think of it — committed.
19:46Nobody's ever seen anything like it.
19:48There's never been anything like it in any country at any time.
19:51And it's all because they want to avoid the tariffs.
19:53We want to get here fast.
19:55And I've said, you know, a number of times, tariff is the most beautiful way.
19:59There's a beautiful word in the world.
20:00And I got absolutely decimated by the fake news.
20:04They said, what about love?
20:05What about your wife?
20:07What about your parents?
20:09What about religion and God?
20:12So I said, all right, it's the fifth nicest word I've ever seen.
20:16And since I've done that, I've been in good shape.
20:18Nobody's bothered me.
20:19They've been very nice.
20:20So it's the fifth most beautiful word I've ever heard.
20:23But it's making us very rich.
20:25And you'll be seeing the results pretty soon — sooner than most people think.
20:29Because that's what other countries have been doing to us, just so you understand.
20:33They were tariffing the hell out of us.
20:35We couldn't sell cars in Europe.
20:37We couldn't sell cars in China.
20:38We couldn't sell cars in Japan or anywhere else.
20:41We couldn't do anything.
20:42And all we're doing is we're doing it to them, but we're doing it much better.
20:46And the U.S. military is suddenly seeing its best recruiting numbers ever.
20:51We've never had numbers like this.
20:52We now have waiting lists because there is such incredible spirit in our country.
21:03There's a great spirit.
21:04And just think, six months ago — and you remembered, it was embarrassing — before
21:10the election, six months ago, we were hearing and reading that numbers of those joining
21:14our military were at the worst levels ever.
21:18We've never had anything like it.
21:19Right?
21:20You remember that?
21:21And now they're at the best levels ever.
21:23We have waiting lists to get into the military.
21:25We couldn't fill the positions.
21:31And that included in our police forces, our fire departments.
21:35We love our fire departments also.
21:37We can never forget our fire departments.
21:39But our police forces were begging for help.
21:45And now they're brimming over with people and applicants, and they're getting great ones.
21:49It's amazing what's taking place.
21:51And that's really the spirit.
21:52Each of the graduates in this arena will soon have the chance to help lead this project
21:57of national renewal.
22:00And that's what it is.
22:01It's a national renewal.
22:03We suffered so badly for four years.
22:05We had one of the greatest economies — we actually had the greatest economy in the history
22:09of our country during the first term of Trump.
22:12And then we got hit hard with inflation during the Biden economy.
22:18It was horrible.
22:19We were hit so hard.
22:20The worst probably ever.
22:22They say 48 years.
22:23We'll accept that.
22:24But I would say ever.
22:26You'll embrace this moment and you'll step forward with strength and grit, faith and patriotism
22:32to put America on a new trajectory for your children.
22:36And then you'll take your place among the greatest generations in the history of our country.
22:40I think you have a chance to be the greatest generation in the history of our country,
22:45because we're turning it around and you happen to be available.
22:49You're available.
22:51That's a good time to be available.
22:58There are some times when it's not so good to be available.
23:01But this is a great time.
23:03I'm absolutely confident that the Alabama class of 2025 is up to the task.
23:09Are you up to the task?
23:10You learned a lot about winning here in Alabama,
23:17and now we need you to help win for America.
23:21For the business majors here today,
23:24I challenge you not merely to use your talents for financial speculation,
23:29but to apply your great skills that you've learned and had
23:33to forging the steel and pouring the concrete of new American factories,
23:38plants, shipyards and even cities which are going up all over our country.
23:42Don't just build a strong portfolio.
23:45Build a very, very strong America, and you're going to do that.
23:57To the engineers, brilliant you are, technicians, scientists and math majors,
24:04we need your Alabama spirit and competition to keep our country at the forefront of every single domain.
24:12America should have the world's tallest buildings,
24:14design the fastest airplanes, build the greatest cars,
24:17do everything the absolute best, better than any other nation in the world,
24:22and you can do it.
24:23And we will soon land American astronauts on Mars.
24:26That will happen.
24:27That will happen.
24:28In every field you have studied,
24:38there are problems to be solved and breakthroughs to be made.
24:42To the journalism majors of which I've had a lot of problems with.
24:47I must be honest.
24:49I'm not sure I like them.
24:50No, I do. I do.
24:51But you're really leading a very thing because we need a great and free press.
24:56We need a brilliant press.
24:57They're like a watchkeeper.
24:58They're very important.
24:59And you can go out and take it down a new track.
25:03Help save the country.
25:05So important.
25:08Your task is so important.
25:10And it's to build a media that Americans can trust and remember.
25:14The people of this country, they know the truth when they hear it.
25:19That's why the ratings, the approval numbers of the media are so low.
25:24We need those ratings to be 100 percent.
25:27We have to be able to trust our media.
25:29They say you have to have that.
25:31You need strong, strong borders.
25:34And you need really free, fair, clean elections.
25:37You need those things.
25:38But the media is a big part of it.
25:40In the world of health and medicine, there is an exciting new movement.
25:44To get poisons out of our food supply.
25:46Keep toxins out of our government.
25:53Clean out our environment and make America healthy again.
25:58And I think Bobby is going to do a great job.
26:00Don't you?
26:01I think so.
26:05I think he's the guy we needed.
26:07And in government, it is the task of your generation to replace
26:11bureaucracy, graft, and waste with a new system that defends American freedom.
26:18These are big tasks before you.
26:20But the reward for your hard work will be the United States of America is stronger,
26:25prouder, better, and more unified than ever, ever, ever before.
26:31It's going to be.
26:40As you embark on this great adventure, let me share some of the biggest lessons
26:44I've learned from a lifetime spent building dreams and beating the odds.
26:48I beat a lot of odds.
26:50A lot of odds.
26:51A lot of people said, I don't know.
26:54But it worked out okay.
26:55Where are we?
26:56Oh, gee.
26:56I'm President.
26:57How did that happen?
27:00Now, you're going to be in the same position.
27:02But some of the — would you like to hear some of the ideas?
27:05Or should I just skip over that part, huh?
27:07That's going to be more interesting than all the other stuff,
27:10which was slightly political, right?
27:13I'm going to give it to you, though, just as I see it
27:15and as I've learned it, the hard way and the easy way.
27:18First, if you're here today and think that you're too young to do something great,
27:24let me tell you that you are wrong.
27:26You're not too young.
27:27You can have great success at a very young age.
27:30You're all very young.
27:31In America, with drive and ambition, young people can do anything.
27:36I was 28 when I took my first big gamble to develop a hotel in Midtown Manhattan,
27:41the Grand Hyatt, and it worked out incredibly well.
27:45But I was very young at the time.
27:47I was like a very young person in sort of an old person business.
27:51Steve Jobs was 21 when he founded Apple.
27:54Walt Disney was 21 when he founded Disney.
27:57James Madison, James Monroe, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson.
28:02They were no older than 25 when they began the journeys
28:06that etched their names into the history books for all time.
28:10So, to everyone here today, don't waste your youth.
28:13Go out and fight right from the beginning,
28:15from the day you leave this incredible university.
28:18Go out and fight.
28:20Fight tough.
28:21Fight fair.
28:22But go out and fight.
28:23You're going to be very successful.
28:24Because now is the time to work harder than you have ever worked before.
28:28Push yourself further than you have ever pushed yourself before.
28:32Find your limits and then smash through everything.
28:36Go and smash through.
28:38You've watched that football team smash through.
28:41You're going to do the same thing.
28:42You're at the age when you have the time and vitality to do really incredible things.
28:51If you give, just give it your all.
28:53You'll look back and a decade from now, you'll be astounded by what you've achieved.
29:00You'll remember this day.
29:01You'll remember when a guy named Trump was giving the commencement address and he said,
29:06I could do it, and guess what, I did.
29:08I think you're going to remember that very fondly.
29:10I hope so.
29:11Second of all, and very importantly, you have to love what you do.
29:21Okay?
29:22You have to.
29:23I rarely see somebody that's successful that doesn't love what he or she does.
29:28That's way, really, like, work isn't work.
29:33It's fun.
29:34It's — I find it fun.
29:35I work all the time, and I find it fun.
29:37If I didn't find it fun, I wouldn't be successful, whether it was real estate or in showbiz.
29:42I had a lot of different careers, but I loved real estate so much, and I was very successful
29:48at real estate because I loved it.
29:50I learned a lot from my father because I watched him work.
29:53He worked seven — he was a workaholic.
29:54He worked.
29:55He loved to work.
29:56He's a good man.
29:57He was a tough guy.
29:58Tough as hell, actually.
29:59Now that I think back, I don't know if you could even get away with that nowadays.
30:04He was tough, but he was a good man, I'll tell you.
30:07And he worked seven days a week.
30:08He worked Saturdays, Sundays.
30:11It didn't matter.
30:12And I learned, by watching him, he loved his life.
30:14He loved what he was doing.
30:15He had a great long-term marriage, a long, long — many, many, many years.
30:20He beat me on that one.
30:22Now, mine are very successful, but they haven't lasted quite as long.
30:27It was close to — it was close to 70 years.
30:30That was a long time.
30:31I said, Pop, you beat me on that one.
30:33But you know what I learned from him?
30:35That he just — he loved life, and all he did was work.
30:38I see people that don't work hard, and they're miserable.
30:41So go out and find — but he loved what he was doing.
30:45And you have to find something that you love.
30:47And you have to follow your own instincts.
30:49Listen to your parents.
30:50They're very wise.
30:51But you have to follow your instincts and your heart, your soul.
30:56And you want to be the very, very best you can be.
30:58Treat every day like a home game against Auburn.
31:02Fight like hell and enjoy doing it.
31:05And your coach can tell you all about that.
31:08The third thing is to think big.
31:10You know, you're going to do something, you might as well think big,
31:13because it's just as tough.
31:14You can think small.
31:16I know a lot of people, they thought small.
31:18They're very smart.
31:19I know others that weren't nearly as smart,
31:21but they had a better picture of the big picture,
31:24because it's just as hard to solve a small problem as a big problem,
31:28and it's just as much energy and everything else,
31:31except the result is going to be a smaller one.
31:33So, love what you do, but think big if it's possible.
31:37Now, if it's not possible, that's okay, too.
31:40You do something, you have to do something that you love.
31:42You will have all the same headaches and challenges,
31:46all the same delays and setbacks,
31:48so you might as well do something that's just amazing.
31:51America doesn't aim small.
31:52Alabama doesn't aim small, and neither do you.
31:55So, think big when possible.
31:57Think big.
31:58Fourth is work hard.
32:02Work hard.
32:04Never, ever stop.
32:06An example is a great athlete, actually.
32:09Gary Player, golfer.
32:10Great, great golfer.
32:13He wasn't as big as other men.
32:15He was actually on the small side.
32:17Don't tell him that, a friend of mine.
32:20Don't tell him that, because he doesn't understand that.
32:24But he worked very, very hard.
32:25He made up for it.
32:26He never stopped.
32:27He won 168 golf tournaments.
32:29Think of that, 100.
32:31I said, Gary, you're winning like every weekend.
32:33Do you ever choke or anything?
32:35I don't know what choke means.
32:37And he made a statement years ago that I read,
32:41and I thought it was sort of an incredible statement.
32:43He said, it's funny.
32:44The harder I work, the luckier I get.
32:47Right?
32:48Think of that.
32:48The harder I work, the luckier I get.
32:51So, you really have to work hard,
32:53and you're going to be successful,
32:54because you have the talent to get into this school.
32:57It's not easy.
32:58To get through it is even more difficult.
33:01You have a lot of talent.
33:03Fifth is don't lose your momentum.
33:07Just — you just want to keep it going.
33:09And you have to know if you are losing it,
33:11you have to know when you're losing it.
33:12So, maybe you stop, and maybe it's time to stop.
33:15Listen to the feedback.
33:17Think through your plan very carefully, and keep moving fast.
33:22The word momentum is very important.
33:24I mean, I'll just tell you a little story
33:25about a great real estate developer named William Levitt.
33:29He built Levittown.
33:30Some of you might live in a Levittown.
33:31He was the biggest developer in the whole country
33:33in the 1940s and so.
33:36And he built these jobs.
33:37He started with one house, then two houses,
33:40then 20 houses, then thousands and thousands of houses.
33:45And a company, Gulf and Western, came along, and they said,
33:49we're going to make you an offer to buy your company.
33:52And they offered him a lot of money — a lot of money.
33:55More money than he ever thought he could make.
33:57And he retired — lost his momentum.
34:00He retired, and he led a beautiful life.
34:04He had a wife, I must tell you.
34:06It was his second wife.
34:07It was a trophy wife.
34:08What can I say?
34:10I don't like telling you everything,
34:11but we're all friends, right?
34:13Can we talk?
34:14We're all friends.
34:15He had a trophy wife.
34:17And he lived a different life.
34:18He moved to the south of France.
34:20But he lived — it was a life of tremendous luxury.
34:24He had so many millions of dollars,
34:26he was given a fortune for the company.
34:28And 10 years went by, and then 15 years went by,
34:31and he got a call from this big conglomerate, Gulf and Western,
34:35and they said, we're not doing well with the purchase.
34:38Because he used to pick up every nail, every piece of sawdust,
34:43every piece of wood, every chip, everything, and he'd sell it.
34:46He'd make a couple of bucks.
34:47Everything was perfect.
34:49They can't do that.
34:50You know, these big companies, they don't do that.
34:52You see it a lot when an entrepreneur sells to a big company,
34:55and then he ends up buying the company back for peanuts later on.
34:58Happens a lot.
35:00But he was the best at what he did.
35:02But 15 years went by, and he was so excited,
35:05and they sold him back, his company.
35:08And he started — and he was going to tear apart the world
35:11because he got bored with a life of luxury.
35:14And he started building and building and building.
35:20And the markets turned on him.
35:22And he went bad.
35:23He lost everything, and he went bankrupt.
35:25Absolutely bankrupt.
35:27And it was a sad story to read.
35:29It was such an amazing story because he was so rich.
35:31But he paid them, and he bought it for the right price.
35:33Bought it low, but he went wild.
35:36But he lost his momentum.
35:38He wasn't good at it anymore.
35:40And he was at a party on Fifth Avenue.
35:43I'll never forget.
35:44And it was a party of a very, very powerful man
35:47who was having the party in a magnificent apartment
35:50overlooking the park.
35:52And I walked in, and there were 50 or so people.
35:55I recognized most of them.
35:56All the biggest business people in the world, actually.
35:59Very glamorous. I was doing well.
36:01I was young, and I was doing well.
36:03And I was invited to parties like that.
36:05And I looked in the corner, and there was Mr. William Levitt
36:08sitting all by himself on a chair, looking very glum.
36:13Nobody was talking to him.
36:14Because you'll find that when you're not successful,
36:16you lose a lot of friends.
36:17It's not a good situation.
36:20But there was nobody talking to him.
36:21But I wanted to talk to him because I was
36:23in the real estate business, and he was.
36:25And most of these people were in different businesses.
36:28And I went over and talked to him.
36:29And I said, how are you, Mr. Levitt?
36:32He goes, Donald?
36:35He knew who I was.
36:36Not well.
36:37I'm not well.
36:38I said, so can you come back?
36:42He said, no, son.
36:44I lost my momentum.
36:46I shouldn't have done it.
36:47I lost my momentum.
36:49And I never forgot that expression.
36:51He lost his momentum.
36:52If he would have kept going, instead of selling and relaxing
36:56and going into a different life, he probably would have
37:00been three times bigger than he was.
37:02But he lost his momentum.
37:04And you have to know when it's your time.
37:06I mean, there'll be a time when you do lose.
37:08You see it with fighters.
37:09You see it with a lot of people.
37:10They have a great record, and they retire.
37:13And then, four years later, they say, I'm going back.
37:16I can beat that guy.
37:17And they get knocked to hell.
37:18And it's not good.
37:20It's not good.
37:21So, he lost his momentum.
37:24You have to know when your momentum time is up.
37:26I call it momentum time.
37:29But follow your momentum.
37:32Very important word.
37:33You don't hear it from too many, but I've seen it.
37:35I've seen it a lot.
37:37Number six, if you want to change the world,
37:39you have to have the courage to be an outsider.
37:41In other words, you have to take certain risks
37:44and do things a little bit differently.
37:46Otherwise, if that weren't the case,
37:47everybody would be successful.
37:49It doesn't work that way.
37:51Progress never comes from those satisfied with the
37:54failures of a broken system.
37:56It comes from those who want to fix the broken system.
37:59And you'll make the bigger money.
38:01You'll make them more success by acting that way.
38:05The other way may be more secure, but if you want to go to the top,
38:10you're just never going to do it unless you break the system.
38:12Change is never easy.
38:14And the closer you get to success, the more ferociously those
38:18with a vested interest in the past will resist you.
38:21They want to resist.
38:23So I just say, trust me on that because I know you really do.
38:27You have to break the system a little bit and follow your own instincts.
38:32But if your vision is right, nothing will hold you down.
38:36Nothing.
38:37You have to have the right vision.
38:39If you look at some of these Internet people, I know so many of them.
38:42Elon is so terrific.
38:44But I know now all of them.
38:46You know, they all hated me in my first term.
38:49And now they're kissing my ass.
38:50You know?
38:51Do you understand?
38:52It's true.
38:53All of them.
38:55It's true.
39:01It's amazing.
39:03It's nicer this way.
39:05Now, in the first, you know, they didn't know what happened because I won an election that,
39:10you know, there was never a businessman that won a presidential election.
39:15Out of 100 percent, 8 percent were generals and 92 percent were politicians.
39:22Not even admirals.
39:23Not even — just generals.
39:25There were eight generals.
39:26General Washington.
39:27General Grant.
39:29Generals.
39:29General Eisenhower.
39:31But 8 percent were generals and 92 percent were politicians.
39:37And when I ran, everyone said, well, you can't win me.
39:40He's a businessman.
39:40That's not going to work.
39:41And, you know — but you have a natural instinct for things.
39:44I guess I had a natural instinct.
39:46I said to somebody, was I a better businessman or a politician?
39:50And they said, well, there are a lot of guys that made a lot of money.
39:54But there's only one guy that became president that was a businessman.
39:57So I guess you're a better politician.
39:59But I don't think of myself as a politician.
40:01And I think of myself as a businessman.
40:03And I'm proud of that.
40:04And I've applied business instinct.
40:07And that's why I think you're seeing us doing so well.
40:14So number seven is to trust your instincts.
40:17Common sense.
40:18You can go very far in life with common sense.
40:21And I applied that to politics because some of these things — like they had open borders.
40:26Let everybody in the whole world flow into our country.
40:29That's not common sense.
40:30They had transgender for everybody.
40:33We ended that, if you noticed, okay?
40:35But they had transgender for everybody.
40:38They said — I said, this is not working.
40:44This is not going to work.
40:45As I said before, you know, so simple — men playing in women's sports.
40:51Did you ever see some of the records?
40:53Did you ever see some of these boxing matches?
40:55You know, we have to protect — these women are great athletes.
40:58But we have to protect — if you looked at the Olympics, where they had transitioned
41:03people going into the boxing, where the women had boxing, and they had a great champion,
41:08a female boxer — I mean, after one punch, you walked back to the corner and said,
41:13I can't get hit like that.
41:14I've never been hit like that before.
41:16You look at all the volleyball players that have been hurt so badly with balls that
41:20are hit at levels that they've never seen before.
41:22But the greatest is, like, weightlifting.
41:25You ever see the weightlifting?
41:27Where they have a record that wasn't broken in 18 years?
41:31And they have — should I imitate it?
41:33My wife gets very upset when I do this.
41:35She said, it's — darling, it's not presidential.
41:38I said, yeah, but people like it.
41:41Should I do it or not?
41:44All right.
41:46I'm in trouble when I get home, but that's okay.
41:48What the hell?
41:49I've been in lots of trouble before.
41:51But, no, you look at the weightlifting.
41:54We're 18 years.
41:55It stands.
41:56And they have this young woman, and her parents are right where you are in the front
42:00row, and they're so proud of her, and it's like 209 pounds, and she's going to lift that.
42:06The record stood for 18 — think of it — 18 years.
42:10And they put an eighth of an ounce here, and an eighth of an ounce here.
42:14A little tiny, little bit.
42:16And she's going to do it.
42:18Mom, I love you.
42:19I'm going to do it for you, Mom.
42:21And she goes — and she goes — and she gets it.
42:25Mom, I'm going to do it, Mom.
42:29And she goes — can't do it.
42:33And then a guy comes along, or a gal, or whatever.
42:38A transitioned person comes along.
42:44And he was a failed weightlifter as a man.
42:47But he comes along — 206 pounds.
42:51They put the little thing on, and he goes — boom, boom.
42:56And breaks a record, like, by 119 pounds.
43:01That's not right.
43:03The other one is the swimming.
43:05You've heard me talk about it.
43:06Great swimmers.
43:07And, you know, they rose to the top — women swimmers.
43:11And they grew up together.
43:13And they're Olympic-class swimmers, and they're qualifying for some big tournament.
43:19And now the race is getting ready to start, the big race.
43:21And they — one young lady, she was going to set the record.
43:25She fought all her life to set the record.
43:28She has to win it by one — one-ninth of a second.
43:31Think of that — one-ninth.
43:33I don't like those odds — one-ninth of a second.
43:36Right?
43:37But she looks to the left, and she sees all the friends that she grew up with.
43:40Down in California, from all over the country.
43:42They're all the best swimmers.
43:44And then she looks to the right, and she sees the same thing.
43:47But there's a person next door who's a giant.
43:50And she looks, and she goes, oh, my God, who is that?
43:54I have — I don't recognize that person.
43:56And that was a person that transitioned.
43:59And he had the wingspan of Wilt the Stilt Chamberlain, if anybody knows him.
44:04And as you know what happened, she was very, very badly injured in that meet,
44:12because he went by her so fast that she was wind-burned.
44:17They had to take her out.
44:18She got serious wind-burned.
44:20He flew back and forth and back and forth, and she didn't know what,
44:24but she got the hell knocked out of her.
44:26Knowing that, I'm only kidding.
44:28She wasn't wind-burned.
44:29She was just beaten by a lot.
44:32Well, the race — did you see the race where they had the best female runners,
44:36and they had a guy who was a decent runner, a long-distance race?
44:40And he won by five hours and 19 seconds.
44:43You know, normally you win by, like, 12 seconds, two seconds, a quarter of a second.
44:47He won by five hours and 19 seconds!
44:50It's crazy.
44:52And, you know, honestly, it's demeaning for women.
44:54Very demeaning.
44:55These are great athletes.
44:56It's very demeaning.
44:57And we're going to protect women.
44:59We're going to protect women.
45:00We're going to protect everybody.
45:02So now that I'm in trouble with my wife, I'm going to blame the University of Alabama
45:14for asking me to go through with that stuff.
45:16But it's pretty descriptive, isn't it, really?
45:19It helps when you know that borders are not racist.
45:24Speech is not violence.
45:26America is good.
45:27Terrorists are bad.
45:29Men can never become women.
45:31Police are not criminals.
45:33And criminals are not victims.
45:36Eighth, everybody should believe —
45:43Thank you very much.
45:45Everybody should believe in the American Dream.
45:49It's real, it's there, and it's right before you.
45:52We're coming back to the American Dream.
45:53Ninth, think of yourself as a winner.
46:05The power of positive thinking.
46:07Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, from many years ago,
46:10wrote a book, The Power of Positive Thinking.
46:13And there is a lot to it —
46:15the power of positive thinking.
46:17Don't consider yourself a victim.
46:19Consider yourself a winner.
46:21In recent years, too many of our young people
46:24have really been taught to think of themselves as victims
46:28and blame people and be angry.
46:30Don't be angry.
46:31But in America, we reject that idea that anyone is born a victim.
46:36Our heroes are the ones who take charge of their own destiny,
46:40make their own luck, and determine their own fate,
46:44despite the odds.
46:45Despite all odds, that's what happens.
46:47They take — really, they're given a little chance,
46:50in many cases, very little chance of success,
46:52and they become the most successful people in the world.
46:55Whether you were born rich or poor, black or white,
46:58male or female in America, anyone can be a winner.
47:02And our whole country will be cheering you on,
47:05and I'll be at the front of the line cheering you on,
47:07especially because you come from this incredible university.
47:17And next is to be an original.
47:20The all-time greats were people who had the confidence
47:23to be a little different.
47:25Teddy Roosevelt, Douglas MacArthur, George Patton,
47:29Amelia Earhart, Annie Oakley, Muhammad Ali,
47:32and so many others, so many others, far too many to name,
47:35lived their lives with pride, personality, and flair.
47:39God only created one of you.
47:41Remember that God created one of you.
47:44You're all different.
47:45Some are close, but nobody is the same.
47:48You're one of a kind.
47:50So don't try to be someone else.
47:52Just be yourself.
47:54And finally, and most importantly, never, ever give up.
47:57Never give up.
48:06Never give up.
48:09And I've learned anything in life, and it's so true.
48:13One of the most important things you can learn.
48:15If you just went a little bit longer,
48:17if you just held out a little bit longer,
48:19you would have been successful.
48:21The stories of that are legend.
48:25But I've learned that perseverance is everything,
48:27so whatever happens, no matter where you are in life,
48:30stay optimistic and just keep pushing forward.
48:33Just don't stop.
48:35Never, ever give up.
48:37Victory is right around the corner.
48:39I've watched Coach Saban win games that really were virtually over.
48:43You've seen it.
48:44You've been in the stands.
48:45He won a couple of games.
48:46I said, Coach, you got lucky as hell.
48:49He said, I didn't get lucky.
48:50I'm a talented guy.
48:53You know, those little touchdowns that come out of nothing.
48:56He's amazing.
48:58But he's a guy that doesn't quit
49:00and doesn't know what the word quit even means.
49:02He couldn't define it.
49:04He took victory out of the jaws of defeat,
49:06and you can do that, too, at every stage in my career.
49:09My enemies, of which there were many and probably are right now.
49:13I can think of a couple of people that don't like me too much right now.
49:17But they said that they have to do everything they can to keep me from winning,
49:24to keep me from making it.
49:25And I'm representing you, so I have to make it.
49:28I have big shoulders, but these are big shoulders.
49:31I have to win for you.
49:32I'm not winning for myself.
49:33I'm winning for you.
49:34Do you remember when they said that Donald Trump will never become President of the United States?
49:39Remember Barack Hussein Obama said that?
49:41Barack Hussein Obama.
49:42Donald Trump will never be President.
49:45Like 50 other politicians said that.
49:47Where are they now?
49:48Oh, let me see.
49:49Oh, there they are.
49:50Where are they now?
49:52But here I am standing before you as the 45th and 47th President.
50:06You heard that a lot.
50:08But against all odds, I did great in 2016.
50:112016, how great was that?
50:13And then I did much better in 2020.
50:17Sorry, the election was rigged.
50:19I probably, but it was a rigged election.
50:21And then in 2024, I made it too big to rig.
50:26I said, we got to do this again.
50:27We got to do this again.
50:30We made it too big to rig.
50:32We made it.
50:36That was a great expression.
50:37I said, you got to go and vote.
50:39Even though I was leading big in the polls, I said, it doesn't matter.
50:42You got to make it too big to rig.
50:43And they did.
50:44They went out and they voted and voted and voted.
50:46We won the whole thing.
50:48And it was so good.
50:49And it's such a great mandate for our country.
50:51That's the important thing.
50:53So never let anyone tell you that something is impossible.
50:56Ever, ever, ever.
50:59In America, the impossible is what we all do best.
51:06There is nothing you cannot do if you are willing to fight for it.
51:10You got to fight, fight, fight.
51:12Oh, I've heard that expression.
51:14It's funny.
51:19That's not here.
51:22That's not here.
51:23Actually, most of what I've said tonight is not on the teleprompter.
51:27That's all right.
51:28Isn't it nice to have a president that doesn't need a teleprompter and can sort of have a little
51:35fun because I feel that this is home.
51:37You know, it's been such a great state for me.
51:39I feel it's home.
51:40When they said Alabama, I said, that has a good ring to me.
51:44But it's something nice about somebody that doesn't need a teleprompter, isn't it?
51:49But for the past four years, you've lived in a state known for its fighters, its champions,
51:55and its warriors.
51:56You've lived in the great state of Alabama, one of the greatest of them all, from Huntsville
52:01to Birmingham, from Montgomery to Mobile, and from right here in Tuscaloosa.
52:15To the gleaming shores of the Gulf of America.
52:27That's a nice thing.
52:30Everybody loves it.
52:31I wouldn't say Mexico is thrilled, but you can't have them all.
52:34They're not thrilled.
52:36You continue the legacy of Alabama legends who blazed the trails, won the games, tilled
52:42the fields, forged the seals, built the ships, and gave us the victories that built America
52:49and changed the world.
52:50The entire world was changed by our victories.
52:53This is the state that gave us the might of the Iron City, the power of the Saturn V rocket,
53:01and the roaring engines of Talladega.
53:04Talladega.
53:05We love Talladega.
53:07We love Talladega.
53:09This is the state that gave us nothing but victory, the state of some of the greatest heroes
53:15in history, like Willie Mays, Jesse Owens, Joe Lewis, your coach Nick Saban, Hank Williams,
53:24and many others.
53:26Some of you will leave here today and travel the world, but you will always know that this
53:32state, as this is really sweet home Alabama, right?
53:35It's always going to be your place.
53:38I sort of feel that way myself, because from a political standpoint, it's just been,
53:43we connected from day one.
53:45From the first day I set my foot on this beautiful soil, I connected with Alabama.
53:50And here in Alabama, we believe that the men and women who built this country are heroes,
53:55and that America's destiny is to be the single greatest nation on the face of the earth.
54:00And we're bringing it back at a speed that nobody thought was possible.
54:05We believe in freedom and family, God and country.
54:09We cherish our Constitution.
54:11We revere our Bible.
54:13And we salute our great American flag.
54:17We honor our police.
54:26We respect our veterans.
54:28And we always stand for our one and only national anthem.
54:34We love our national anthem.
54:38We believe in strong parents, strong values, strong communities, and very strong borders.
54:47And we believe that the United States military is the greatest force for peace and justice the world has ever known.
54:56We have a great military.
54:57We just had people that didn't know how to lead it.
55:00We believe the South is beautiful, Alabama is great, and America is our home.
55:06We believe in the SEC and the USA.
55:09Graduates of the Alabama Class of 2025, standing here before you in this magnificent arena,
55:24it is clear to see the next chapter of the American story will not be written by the Harvard Crimson.
55:32It will be written by you, the Crimson Tide.
55:36That's true.
55:37That's true.
55:38That's true.
55:39That's true.
55:40That's true.
55:49I thought that was rather clever.
55:54If you look at what's going on, you know, they get their $5 billion a year.
56:00That is not going to be so forthcoming.
56:03Now, can you — wasn't that a clever one, though, huh?
56:06Who would think of that?
56:08Because this is Alabama, and at Alabama, you fight, fight, fight, and you win, win, win.
56:15That's what you know how to do.
56:17Congratulations to you all.
56:20Congratulations to this great class of champions.
56:23God bless you, and God bless America.
56:27Thank you all very much.
56:47If you look pasteties, and a scooks will go on out right.
56:50That's great.
57:12I think that's great.
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