President Donald Trump spoke at the University of Alabama on Thursday night ahead of their official commencement ceremonies starting Friday, and urged students not to consider themselves a “victim” in their futures, noting that far too many young people think that way.
The special address to graduates also included remarks from the university’s president, Stuart R. Bell, and former Alabama Crimson Tide head football coach, Nick Saban. Trump touted success during his first 100 days as president, and took a few opportunities to jab at his political opponents as well.
But Trump’s message was largely focused on the graduating class, which he acknowledged as “the first graduating class of the Golden Age of America.”
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Graduating students listen to U.S. President Donald Trump deliver remarks at the Coleman Coliseum at the University of Alabama on May 01, 2025, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Trump’s remarks come the day before official commencement ceremonies. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“Don’t consider yourself a victim. Consider yourself a winner. In recent years, too many of our young people have really been taught to think of themselves as victims and blame people and be angry. Don’t be angry,” Trump said. “In America, we reject that idea that anyone is born a victim. Our heroes are the ones who take charge of their own destiny, make their own luck, and determine their own fate despite the odds, despite all odds.”
Trump shared a range of other advice with the graduating class in addition to touting his political agenda. In between slamming federal judges for blocking him from doing his job and questioning Democrats’ defiance of his directives to keep men out of women’s sports, Trump urged students to beat the odds – hearkening back to his November election victory – and preserver through difficult challenges.
“Graduates of the Alabama class of…
