Donald Trump addresses graduating students at University of Alabama

President Donald Trump was addressing graduating students at the University of Alabama on Thursday a visit that drew hundreds of protesters to an offcampus rally Trumps remarks in Tuscaloosa are the Republican presidents first address to graduates in his second term and come as he has been celebrating the first 100 days of his administrationThe previously scheduled visit came shortly after he announced a shakeup to his national security team with Mike Waltz being tapped for United Nations ambassador and Secretary of State Marco Rubio taking over Waltzs national security adviser role on an interim basis What a nice looking group this is Trump said to open his speech Theres nowhere Id rather be than TuscaloosaAlabama where Trump won a commanding 64 per cent of the vote in 2024 is where he has staged a number of his trademark large rallies over the past decade It is also where Trump showed 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 actually a special event that was created before graduation ceremonies that begin Friday Graduating students have the option of attending the eventFormer Crimson Tide football coach Nick Saban also spoke regaling the audience with a story about visiting the Oval Office in 2018 during Trumps first term Saban said Trump was a gracious host Ahead of the presidents arrival capandgownwearing graduates and their families began filing into the arena where Trump was set to speak Many seemed excited about the prospect of seeing him in personEmily Appel a 22yearold advertising major from Norcross Georgia called Trumps appearance at their school a cherry on top of her college years I think its such an honour no matter who the president is I think this is a huge honour to have the president of the United States speaking to our school Appel saidShe called Trump a very influential person and said 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 said I dont think that we could have had a greater person come to speakThe 21yearold from Cartersville Georgia said she attended Trumps first presidential inauguration in 2017 when she was a freshman in high school along with her father who she said loves Trump I think that no matter what political party or whatever you believe in I think that its super cool that we get to experience and make history and be a part of this she saidAt a park several miles away hundreds of people gathered at a counter rally hosted by College Democrats Onetime presidential candidate Beto ORourke of Texas and former US Senator Doug Jones the last Democrat to hold statewide office in Alabama addressed the rally called a Tide Against Trump a play on the universitys nicknameAidan Meyers a 21yearold junior studying biology at the university said he felt betrayed by the decision to let Trump speak at a graduationrelated 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 saidHe said he also feels betrayed by the administrations stance on science and research A fellowship he was seeking at the National Institutes of Health was canceled because of the federal hiring freeze he said ORourke told 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 backThe power of people works in this country even against Donald Trump ORourke said Jones told the crowd they were there not just as a protest but as a movement You are here today because youre concerned youre afraid You understand that this countrys great democracy is teetering right now with what were seeing going on the former senator saidAhead of the rally ORourke praised the students who invited him as inspiring and said their efforts in a Republicandominated 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 cant be too blue or too liberal to be taken for granted ORourke told The Associated Press after arriving in Tuscaloosa Youve got to show up absolutely everywhere We truly are in crisisTrumps presence has also drawn criticism from the Alabama NAACP which said his policies are hurting universities and students particularly students of color Trumps visit to Alabama is his second trip this week He held a rally in Michigan on Tuesday to mark 100 days in officeOutside of weekend trips for personal visits the president has not made many official trips since taking office on January 20 He usually speaks to the public from the impromptu news conferences he holds in the Oval Office and at other events at the White HouseAfter his stop in Alabama Trump is scheduled to travel to Florida for a long weekend at his MaraLago resort Later this month he is scheduled to give the commencement address at the US Military Academy in West Point New YorkThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeveratOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params