(NewsNation) — President Trump, marking the first 100 days of his second term this week, encouraged the University of Alabama’s Class of 2025 to enjoy the “golden age” he’s setting up for them through his administration’s policies.
“I think you have a chance to be the greatest generation in the history of our country because we’re turning it around and you happen to be available,” Trump told an appreciative crowd Thursday evening at the Coleman Coliseum.
Trump, in an hourlong commencement address laced with politics, encouraged the thousands of graduates to excel in their respective fields. He touted his administration’s immigration crackdown, controls on transgender athletes and the controversial tariffs he has imposed on foreign imports.
“It’s making us very rich,” Trump said of the tariffs, “and you’ll be seeing the results pretty soon, sooner than most people think.”
Trump, who praised Alabama’s winning Crimson Tide football dynasty, was playing to a state where he took a commanding 64% of the vote in 2024. Former football coach Nick Saban joked that it was a tough job introducing the president.
“I feel like I’m the warmup band for the Rolling Stones and the first song they’re going to play is ‘Start Me Up,'” he said.
Though billed as a commencement address, Thursday’s assembly keynoted by Trump was actually a special event that was created before graduation ceremonies that begin Friday. Attendance for graduating students was optional.
It wasn’t all harmony. Trump’s visit to the University of Alabama drew hundreds of protesters to an off-campus rally. 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, appeared at the “Tide Against Trump” event — a play on the university’s nickname.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
