President Donald Trump proclaimed Wednesday that graduating Coast Guard Academy cadets will enter the service in a “golden age” of America, projecting confidence at a time when the country is reckoning with an unpopular war.
Trump received a warm reception on a blistering hot day as he made his way onto Cadet Memorial Field, despite the presence of a few hundred protesters gathered nearby, outside of the New London campus. He was greeted with a 21-gun salute before delivering the keynote address at the Academy’s 145th commencement.
The nearly hour-long speech to cadets and their families weaved between praise and admiration for the class of 2026 and his common refrains about a once-beleaguered country that has made a rebound.
“I hate to say it, but I will,” Trump said. “A year ago … the last administration, we were a dead country, now we’re the hottest country in the world.”
“Our morale is back, confidence is back. America is back, bigger and better and stronger than ever before,” he added later. “We went very sadly, of course, for years Washington, D.C., was run by foolish politicians.”
He cited his recent trip to China, the successful raid that captured Venezuela’s president and the ongoing war with Iran that has stretched into its third month. But he mused about the latter with some uncertainty about the next steps.
“Do we go and finish it up, or are they going to be signing a document?” Trump wondered aloud about the prospects of a deal with Iran to end the hostilities, which began in late February with a joint strike with Israel. “We’ll see what happens.”
The ongoing war with Iran has contributed to the president’s sinking approval rating months out from a critical midterm election where a shift in the balance of power in Congress could threaten his agenda for his remaining time in office. The war has led to a spike in gas prices, bred uncertainty in the Middle East and disappointed his base that was promised the end to “forever wars” during his campaign for president.
Trump spoke from the podium with the presidential seal surrounded by protective barriers. Security has ramped up for events after a few assassination attempts. Trump was ushered off stage last month after a gunman ran through security and tried to reach the ballroom at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies like immigration enforcement and disaster relief, has been through a period of upheaval in recent months and through a few government shutdowns.
Before Trump delivered the keynote address, Coast Guard officials praised the president, particularly over the end of the most recent shutdown, which left DHS without funding for a record-long period of time. They also noted the millions of dollars in funding they received to boost the military, athletics and academics through Republicans’ “big beautiful bill” that passed last year.
“We will not forget what you did sir,” Commandant Kevin Lunday said, referencing funding for DHS to end the agency’s shutdown. Lunday replaced Linda Fagan after she was abruptly fired last year, a day after Trump’s inauguration.
The president heaped praise on the graduating cadets who were about to become commissioned officers. He invited a number of them on stage who excelled in academics, fitness and athletics and had friendly exchanges.
“You are America’s first responders,” Trump said, praising the Coast Guard for its past response to hurricanes in Texas during his first term. “You will always put America first. We haven’t done that in a long time. The whole world is saying they put America first. We help others too, but we put America first.”
Trump’s speech was heavy on his signature quips, snide remarks and gripes. He took aim at the media, particularly over criticism he says he received that tariff is his favorite word.
While talking about delivering new icebreakers for the Coast Guard in a few years to modernize and boost its fleet, the two-term president quipped about a third term, something he hints at every so often that amuses his allies and concerns his detractors.
“I’ll be here in ’28,” Trump said. “I may be here in ’32, too.”
Light on the politics
Politics intruded lightly on the ceremony, mostly reflected in Gov. Ned Lamont declining a White House invitation and the Republican gubernatorial nominee, state Sen. Ryan Fazio of Greenwich, managing to get seats in the bleachers for himself and his fiancée, Amy Orser.
Trump was warmly received as he made his entrance from behind bleachers in the north end zone and walked to the stage erected on the 50-yard line. His more political lines — pronouncing America “dead” prior to his return to the White House — drew polite applause. Many in the audience did not applaud. One man yelled, “You go!”
Fazio neither sought a meeting with the president, nor was he offered one. A photo with the president during a Republican primary would have been invaluable, and Fazio had reached out to the White House for a potential endorsement prior to him locking up the GOP nomination. Prior to becoming a gubernatorial candidate, Fazio declined to say how he voted for president. He now volunteers he voted for Trump all three times.
Was it fair to say he no longer was seeking an endorsement or campaign appearance from the president?
“I’m focused on Connecticut voters, and, you know, I appreciate the support of anyone, any of our leaders in any party, in order to win statewide in Connecticut,” he said.
Lamont, who faces a primary challenge from the left, saw no advantage in greeting a president who has sued his administration, most recently challenging a new law asserting an ability by the state to oversee use of force by federal immigration agents.
As Lamont told the Connecticut Mirror Monday, “I’m just gonna be sitting there for an hour hearing him lie about the war in Iran, and probably take pot shots at Connecticut. I go to the Coast Guard graduations a lot, but this year, I’m gonna take a pass.”
Fazio faulted the governor for his absence
“This is about celebrating our Coast Guard cadets, who are willing to sacrifice their own personal safety and lives for the rest of us,” Fazio said. “Being that it’s in Connecticut, I think it would have have been appropriate for the highest-ranking member of our state government to be present.”
The commencement speech by Trump was his second at the service academy on the Thames River in New London. The president last addressed Coast Guard cadets at their graduation in 2017, during his first term in office.
The midday heat was brutal. EMTs periodically tended to spectators in the bleachers. Fazio’s fiancée, Orser, was among those who required medical attention. Fazio said later she recovered once taken to the shade and given a chance to hydrate.
Protesters gather nearby
Before Trump’s arrival at Cadet Memorial Field in the late morning, protestors gathered in McKinley Park in New London, chanting and carrying signs in protest of Trump. Police estimated the crowd at between 200 and 300 people.
Protestors carried signs referencing everything from immigration enforcement (“Put ICE in your drink, not on our streets”) to war (“Stop Bombing”) to transgender issues.
Dave Grainger, an 80-year-old from New London, stood alongside a giant sign reading “Please Refuse Unlawful Orders.” Grainger, who said he served 13 months in Vietnam, criticized the U.S. strikes on Venezuelan boats and the war in Iran. He compared the actions in Iran to Vietnam or Afghanistan.
“ [It’s] an unending war in the Middle East that seems to be stalled, and the killing goes on,” said Grainger.
Grainger said he was calling on the Coast Guard to reject “unlawful orders” from the president.
Rick Gaumer, a 77-year-old from Norwich, said he had been a member of the War Resisters League for nearly half a century. He said that his father had served in the Army Air Corps during World War II and that he suffered from frequent illnesses in the years after his service.
“I hope that the Coast Guard is going to be doing what it should be doing, which is protecting the coastline and helping sailors and the like who get in trouble,” he said.
Ronna Suller, a 76-year-old from New London holding a banner that read “Nuclear Weapons are Illegal,” said she was concerned about both the threat of nuclear weapons, the actions of the U.S. and Israel in the Middle East and the lack of care for the earth, air and water.
“I don’t know which will take us down, or if just everything working in tandem is just getting us closer and closer to a breaking point,” she said. “And I have kids and I have grandkids, so I might not see it, but I think they might be in for hard times.”
Jessie Henderson, a 26-year-old New London resident who identifies as non-binary, said they had many friends who had medically transitioned to a different gender and that they saw how difficult things had been for them in the current political environment.
“Unfortunately, a lot of our healthcare system is being attacked right now, and all that does is hurt not just trans adults but trans youth especially,” Henderson said. “As a human population, we should not be dictating the rights of other humans, especially because we’re not here to hurt anybody. We just want to be able to live as our most authentic selves.”
A handful of counter-protestors also attended in support of Trump.
Keegan Ruiz, 39, said he supported the deportation of illegal immigrants who had committed crimes. He also said that he felt Trump had improved things for Christians — he said that when he converted to Christianity, he’d felt like family members and friends had made incorrect assumptions about his beliefs or “written him off.”
Ruiz said he did agree with some things that the majority of protestors were saying — like the idea that America shouldn’t have kings. He said this was his first time attending a protest, and that he wanted to have conversations with people, although he hadn’t had much success.
“Nobody actually wants to talk to me. They just want to shut me up,” Ruiz said. “I’m here just because I want to talk to people, and at least try to engage in some civil conversation or civil debate.”
The Coast Guard has seen some disruptions over the past year and a half. On top of the shutdowns that colored much of the past seven months, Trump’s return to the White House brought major change to the military and the Coast Guard itself, including the firing of Fagan, the shuttering of DEI-related programs and a transgender troop ban.
Kristi Noem, the former secretary of DHS, was fired in March over her handling of the administration’s immigration crackdown and personal matters that gave way to unflattering attention and headlines. Markwayne Mullin, a U.S. senator from Oklahoma, was installed as her successor. He also spoke at Wednesday’s commencement to introduce the president.
Alex Matthiessen, a 65-year-old who attended last year’s protest at McKinley Park when Noem spoke at the Coast Guard Academy graduation, said she felt the situation in the U.S. had gotten worse in the intervening year. She mentioned rising food prices, high gas prices and corruption in the White House.
“It’s very overwhelming for people,” Matthiessen said. “I mean, this [protest] is such a small thing, you know? It’s all we can do right now. And trying to work on the elections in the fall. That’s what we can do.”