Trump addresses graduating students at the University of Alabama
TUSCALOOSA Ala AP President Donald Trump was addressing graduating students at the University of Alabama on Thursday a visit that drew hundreds of protesters to an off-campus rally Trump s remarks in Tuscaloosa are the Republican president s first address to graduates in his second term and come as he has been celebrating the first days of his administration The previously scheduled visit came shortly after he stated a shake-up to his national safeguard crew with Mike Waltz being tapped for United Nations ambassador and Secretary of State Marco Rubio taking over Waltz s national protection adviser role on an interim basis What a nice looking group this is Trump revealed to open his speech There s nowhere I d rather be than Tuscaloosa Alabama where Trump won a commanding of the vote in is where he has staged a number of his trademark large rallies over the past decade It is also where Trump indicated early signs of strength in his first presidential campaign when he began filling stadiums for his rallies While Trump has described the speech as a commencement address it is truly a special event that was created before graduation ceremonies that begin Friday Graduating students have the option of attending the event Former Crimson Tide football coach Nick Saban also spoke regaling the audience with a story about visiting the Oval Office in during Trump s first term Saban mentioned Trump was a gracious host Ahead of the president s arrival cap-and-gown-wearing graduates and their families began filing into the arena where Trump was set to speak Various seemed excited about the prospect of seeing him in person Emily Appel a -year-old advertising major from Norcross Georgia called Trump s appearance at their school a cherry on top of her college years I think it s such an honor no matter who the president is I think this is a huge honor to have the president of the United States speaking to our school Appel explained She called Trump a very influential person and reported she hoped he had a message to share that was positive about us being able to work in the real world and for our future Sophie Best who is graduating with a communications degree noted I don t think that we could have had a greater person come to speak The -year-old from Cartersville Georgia stated she attended Trump s first presidential inauguration in when she was a freshman in high school along with her father who she announced loves Trump I think that no matter what political party or whatever you believe in I think that it s super cool that we get to experience and make history and be a part of this she reported At a park several miles away hundreds of people gathered at a counter rally hosted by College Democrats One-time presidential candidate Beto O Rourke of Texas and former U S Sen Doug Jones the last Democrat to hold statewide office in Alabama addressed the rally called a Tide Against Trump a play on the university s nickname Aidan Meyers a -year-old junior studying biology at the university reported he felt betrayed by the decision to let Trump speak at a graduation-related event I felt betrayed that the university was willing to put up with someone who has made it clear that they hate academia essentially holding funding above universities heads as a bargaining chip unless they bow down to what he wants which is kind of a hallmark sign with fascist regime Meyers commented He explained he also feels betrayed by the administration s stance on science and research A fellowship he was seeking at the National Institutes of Fitness was canceled because of the federal hiring freeze he disclosed O Rourke communicated the rally that Trump was trying to make the students graduation all about him true to form He urged students and others gathered to go out and use their voices to win America back The power of people works in this country even against Donald Trump O Rourke declared Jones recounted the crowd they were there not just as a protest but as a movement You are here currently because you re concerned you re afraid You understand that this country s great democracy is teetering right now with what we re seeing going on the former senator disclosed Ahead of the rally O Rourke praised the students who invited him as inspiring and revealed their efforts in a Republican-dominated state like Alabama are an example for the rest of the country You cannot be too red or too rural or too Republican to be written off right now You also can t be too blue or too liberal to be taken for granted O Rourke informed The Associated Press after arriving in Tuscaloosa You ve got to show up absolutely everywhere We truly are in problem Trump s presence has also drawn criticism from the Alabama NAACP which declared his policies are hurting universities and students particularly students of color Trump s visit to Alabama is his second trip this week He held a rally in Michigan on Tuesday to mark days in office Outside of weekend trips for personal visits the president has not made multiple official trips since taking office on Jan He usually speaks to the society from the impromptu news conferences he holds in the Oval Office and at other events at the White House After his stop in Alabama Trump is scheduled to excursion to Florida for a long weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort Later this month he is scheduled to give the commencement address at the U S Military Academy in West Point New York Associated Press writer Bill Barrow contributed to this account from Atlanta Source
