{"id":352167,"date":"2020-06-15T16:08:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-15T20:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/?p=352167"},"modified":"2020-06-16T15:54:28","modified_gmt":"2020-06-16T19:54:28","slug":"the-themes-of-the-west-point-speech-can-reignite-the-spirit-of-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2020\/06\/15\/the-themes-of-the-west-point-speech-can-reignite-the-spirit-of-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"The Themes of the West Point Speech Can Reignite the Spirit of 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

RUSH: Now, here\u2019s President Trump. I happened to watch his address to the graduating class at West Point on Saturday morning at 10:45. I almost missed it. I thought these things were done in the afternoon.<\/p>\n

Also, it was the president\u2019s first such appearance, and they tried to say, “That\u2019s uncouth; Trump has no business going to West Point.” Why not? He\u2019s the commander-in-chief. (sputtering) “Well, well, we don\u2019t like Trump. He\u2019s politicizing it, and… and… and… he stands for the flag and we don\u2019t like the flag. This is… This is horrible. We don\u2019t think Trump ought to be there.”<\/p>\n

By the way, I have to give a shout-out to the superintendent of West Point. What a great guy. He spruced Trump and addressed the graduating class of 2020, and I… This is so bad. I\u2019m not getting his name and it\u2019 not coming up in my deep, dark crevices of my enviable memory. Darryl… Darryl… Darryl… I\u2019ll get it in a minute. He\u2019s just the kind of guy you\u2019d like to meet, the kind of guy you\u2019d like to get to know.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Anyway, Trump delivered this speech, and it was fabulous, and it contained themes that I was saying to myself, “These themes, some of these themes need to be voiced in every Trump appearance. Be it a press conference, be it a rally, be it anywhere. When he goes out to visit a company to praise them for what they\u2019ve done to help with the coronavirus, whatever, these themes, these principles need to be constantly mentioned so they become readily identifiable within.”<\/p>\n

These are the things that he did make a huge deal about during the campaign of 2015 and 2016. I\u2019ll give you some examples. We have one, two, three, four audio sound bites, and here we start with the first one…<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: I want to take this opportunity to thank all members of America\u2019s Armed Forces in every branch — active duty, National Guard, and reserve — who stepped forward to help battle the invisible enemy — the new virus that came to our shores from a distant land called China. We will vanquish the virus. We will extinguish this plague. I also want to thank the men and women of our National Guard who respond with precision to so many recent challenges, from hurricanes and natural disasters, to ensuring peace, safety, and the constitutional rule of law on our streets. We thank every citizen who wears a uniform in selfless service to our nation.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

RUSH: So there he is emphasizing the Guard\u2019s role on the war on the virus from China, keeping peace in the streets. Darryl Williams is the name of the superintendent. I don\u2019t remember now his title. Is it…? (interruption) Lieutenant General Darryl Williams. He introduced Trump. He\u2019s the kind of guy you just got the impression that the cadets love this guy.<\/p>\n

They are probably scared to death of him at the same time \u2019cause he\u2019s the authority, and I guaran-damn-tee you they would never push back against this guy. But he was… He just had one of these obviously charismatic smiles and personalities. Here\u2019s the next sound bite from Trump\u2019s speech on Saturday at West Point…<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: The survival of America and the endurance of civilization itself depends on the men and women just like each of you. It depends on people who love their country with all their heart and energy and soul. It depends on citizens who build, sustain, nurture, and defend institutions like this one; that is how societies are made and how progress is advanced. What has historically made America unique is the durability of its institutions against the passions and prejudices of the moment. When times are turbulent, when the road is rough, what matters most is that which is permanent, timeless, enduring, and eternal.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Remains so — and that is so correct. Do you realize how few institutions Americans trust anymore? Do you realize how big a problem that is? Forget pushback. There are Americans who no longer think it\u2019s okay to trust take your pick of a federal agency, State Department, whatever they think the deep state is. The military.<\/p>\n

Even the military, when they make it obviously political, when it becomes abundantly clear that the military has generals in it that hate Trump, what does that do for people\u2019s confidence in the durability and the eternal, long lasting durability of that institution? It is crucial that America hold on. Some people say, “Oh, we need constant change, Rush. We can\u2019t stay mired in the past.” No, no, no. Staying mired in the past is not what I\u2019m talking about.<\/p>\n

When you have venerable institutions which provide public confidence and trust and particularly in the all-important area of defending and protecting the country and the people in it and the Constitution, it is crucial. And I\u2019m telling you that there is a vanishing number of institutions that people hold in respect. The judiciary. How long has that been so politicized? I could go down the list of things. Congress? It is a dwindling number of institutions.<\/p>\n

\"\"Trump is exactly right. When times are turbulent, when the road is rough, what matters most is that which is permanent, timeless, enduring, and eternal. That\u2019s what matters most. You know something else? We don\u2019t have the bite for it, but he talked about the cadets. He told them how special they are. There were 1,107 in the graduating class. And he pointed out they could have gone to any university in this country on scholarship.
\nThey could have gone to the top-notch schools. But what did they do? They chose not West Point. They chose defending their country.<\/p>\n

Big deal to Trump. Patriotism. They chose defending their country. And he made it a point to ask them to stand up and give their families, their parents, their grandparents, their guardians, their fiances thanks throughout all of their lives for supporting them to make the dream of attending West Point and graduating from the place a reality.<\/p>\n

My family has a West Point graduate, my cousin Dan. Proudest day in the family\u2019s life was when Dan was admitted to West Point. He became an immediate star. He ended up being a professor, a law professor there for a while afterwards. And it\u2019s a big, big deal. It is one of the greatest sources of pride to this day for families when their children get into this place. Same thing with the Naval Academy. Same thing with the Air Force Academy. They\u2019re all revered, because they\u2019re all timeless, they\u2019re all eternal.<\/p>\n

Nobody thinks the American military\u2019s gonna lose. Nobody thinks the Navy is gonna get sunk. That\u2019s what I mean by timeless and enduring with constant faith. But it was abundantly clear how rare the opportunity to attend West Point, Naval Academy, Air Force, how rare Trump knows it is, how rare the achievement of lasting and graduating is. And he was abundantly clear in how much he appreciated it, all of them. Got two more bites. Here\u2019s the third one.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: It was this school that gave us the men who fought and won a bloody war to extinguish the evil of slavery within one lifetime of our founding. It was the graduates of West Point — towering figures like MacArthur, Patton, Eisenhower, and Bradley — who led America to victory over the sinister Nazis and imperial fascists 75 years ago. It was under the leadership of West Point graduates, like the legendary General Matthew Ridgway, that the Army was at the forefront of ending the terrible injustice of segregation. It was Army strength that held the line against the brutal opposition and oppression from communism. And it has been thanks to patriots like you that America has climbed to new heights of human achievement and national endeavor.<\/p>\n

RUSH: And it would not be a Trump address, particularly to the U.S. military, without a reference to the American flag.<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: They did it because they believed in the undying principles of our founding. They did it because they cherished their homes, their faith, their family, and their flag. And they did it because when they came to this school, they were taught to hold fast to their love of our country; to cherish our heritage, learn from it, and build upon it. That is what young Americans are taught here at West Point. That is the legacy that you carry forward as second lieutenants in the United States Army, and you must never forget it.<\/p>\n

RUSH: I think that if in every Trump speech, appearance, press conference, it wouldn\u2019t take much, just a reference to some of these enduring values, traditions, institutions, the things that would hearken people back to the campaign of 2015, 2016 for which Trump is singularly identified and attached. Hillary Clinton never said one word approaching any of this during the campaign of 2016. Hillary Clinton was out ripping into the basket of deplorables or what have you.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not called for in Democrat politics to praise the military. You just don\u2019t do that. They don\u2019t criticize the military as much anymore, not nearly as much as they used to, because they think they run it now. When Democrats, when the left takes over an institution, the criticism of it stops, obviously. And they think they run the military now, so there\u2019s not nearly as much institutional criticism. But they still can\u2019t bring themselves to praise it. Not like Trump can.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m telling you, if Trump could trace his way back, “Well, Rush you can\u2019t recreate the past. Trump\u2019s been there four years. You can\u2019t go back to where nobody knew Trump – well, not nobody knew him, but nobody expected him to run, he was fresh, you can\u2019t make somebody fresh that\u2019s been around for four years.” That\u2019s my point. You can reignite the reasons people voted for the guy in the first place, because they are as important today, if not more so, than they were in 2015.<\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: Here is the Trump sound bite from the West Point speech to the graduates in the class of 2020 where he let them know how special he thinks they are.<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT: Every graduate on this field could have gone to virtually any top-ranked university that you wanted. You chose to devote your life to the defense of America. You came to West Point because you know the truth: America is the greatest country in human history, and the United States Military is the greatest force for peace and justice the world has ever known.<\/p>\n