Biden Alludes to Trump at West Point Graduation

President Biden praised the new graduates of the US Military Academy as "guardians of American democracy" on Saturday in a commencement address that clearly referred to Donald Trump without naming him. The president reminded the cadets that their oath is to "not a political party, not to a president, but to the Constitution of the United States of America, against all enemies, foreign and domestic." And he brought up an open letter signed by alumni that was addressed to the class of 2020 before Trump gave his commencement address, the Washington Post reports.

That letter told graduates they've pledged to serve "no monarch; no government; no political party; no tyrant." Biden said Saturday: "Remember what over 1,000 graduates of West Point wrote to the class of 2020 four years ago. The oath you've taken here 'has no expiration date,' they said." In a 22-minute speech at an outdoor stadium, the president also spoke about challenges around the world, per Politico, including the fighting in Ukraine and Gaza. Biden repeated his assurance that Americans won't be deployed to Ukraine to defend it against Russia's invasion but added, "We will not walk away." (More President Biden stories.)