Trump hails ‘durability of institutions’ at West Point military academy

Donald Trump used a speech to the graduating class of West Point to offer reassuring words to the US military.

Acknowledging a “turbulent” moment for the US, Donald Trump used a speech to the graduating class of West Point to offer reassuring words to the military.

The US President also thanked the National Guard for keeping the streets safe and noting some of the racial injustices that stain the nation’s history.

“What has historically made America unique is the durability of its institutions against the passions and prejudices of the moment,” Mr Trump said at the US Military Academy before graduating army cadets on Saturday (Sunday AEST).

“When times are turbulent, when the road is rough, what matters most is that which is permanent, timeless, enduring and eternal. As commander-in-chief, I never forget for one instant the immense sacrifices we ask of those who wear this nation’s uniform.”

The President directly thanked the National Guard, which has come under criticism during its deployment amid protests in many cities prompted by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis May 25. He said the guard responded “with precision to so many challenges from … natural disasters to ensuring peace, safety and the constitutional rule of law on our streets.”

During a national moment of reckoning over race relations, following the killing of Floyd, buried in Houston last week, Mr Trump also noted the war to “extinguish the evil of slavery” and said the “army was at the forefront of ending the terrible injustice of segregation,” mentioning general Matthew Ridgway who is credited with laying the groundwork in the 1950s for beginning racial integration of the force.

Mr Trump recognised an African-American cadet, Christopher Morgan, who died last year in a training accident at West Point and whose seat was vacant. He has faced criticism for his response to the racial strife roiling the country, as well as his aggressive response to the protests. He has expressed sorrow over Floyd’s death and spoken to his family.

The President has laid out some broad policies for dealing with racial inequities but has focused most of his public remarks on the need for “law and order”.

Mr Trump told cadets they were entering service at a crucial moment in history as the administration is working to restore the role of the US soldier to its “fundamental principles” and ending what he called “the era of endless wars”. “In its place is a renewed, clear-eyed focus on defending America’s vital interests,” he said .

“It is not the duty of US troops to solve ancient conflicts in faraway lands that many people have never even heard of; we are not the policemen of the world.”

Mr Trump has pushed the Pentagon to bring troops back from Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, but with limited success as military leaders push for more time to end the conflicts under more stable conditions. The White House signed a deal this month that would cut the number of troops assigned to Germany from about 50,000 to about 25,000.

He has clashed with military chiefs about his handling of the Floyd protests, and over their suggestions that bases honouring Confederate officers be renamed.

On Thursday, General Mark Milley, America’s highest ranking military officer, said he was wrong to have appeared with Mr Trump at a photo session near the White House that was held after federal law enforcement and National Guardsmen forcibly cleared the area of peaceful protesters.

General Milley and Defence Secretary Mark Esper opposed a proposal by Mr Trump to invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act to send federal active-duty military troops into US cities during the protests.

The Wall Street Journal