President Joe Biden joked to Navy midshipmen on Friday that he pursued football and politics over a military career as he warned them the next 10 years will be a ‘decisive decade’ in American history.
‘Things are changing so rapidly that the next 10 years will be the decisive decade of this century. Because they’re going to shape what the world looks like, and the values that will guide it – not just for the immediate future but for generations to come,’ Biden said in his commencement address to the Naval Academy.
Biden, in his remarks, tore into Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jingping. He also paid tribute to the late Senator John McCain, one of the academy’s most famous graduates.
He laid out for the class of 2022 the world they are going into as officers in the United States military.
‘No officer knows the range of challenges they will face when they commission the class of 2022 You are graduating at an inflection point not only in American history, but in world history,’ he said.
He then painted a portrait of the current situation in the world, bringing up references to the war in the Ukraine, the U.S. forces in Europe supporting NATO allies and Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific.
Specifically, he slammed Putin for the ‘brutal, brutal war in Ukraine.’
Biden charged the Russian president with trying to wipe out Ukraine’s culture.
‘Not only is he trying to take over Ukraine, he’s really trying to wipe out the culture and identity of the Ukrainian people – attacking schools, nurseries, hospitals, museums, with no other purpose,’ he said.
He called it a ‘direct assault on a fundamental tenets of rule based international order.’
President Joe Biden joked to Navy midship that he pursued football and politics over a military career as he warned them the next 10 years will be a ‘decisive decade’ in American history
Graduates celebrate during US Naval Academys Class of 2022 graduation and commissioning ceremony
Midshipmen take their oath at the U.S. Naval Academy graduation and commissioning ceremony in Annapolis
President Joe Biden hands out diplomas to graduates
President Biden shakes hands with a graduating Marine
Biden also referenced Chinese aggression, which his administration is trying to counteract. He repeated his call for a ‘free and independent’ Indo-Pacific region.
‘We’re living through a global struggle between autocracies and democracies,’ he said, specifically calling out the president of China.
He said of Xi: ‘When he called me to congratulate me on election night, he said to me was he said many times before. He said democracies cannot be sustained in the 21st century. Autocracies will run the world – why? Things are changing so rapidly. Democracies require consensus and it takes time. And you don’t have the time. He’s wrong.’
But, Biden warned graduates, ‘that’s what you’re graduating into.’
He said the United States’ greatest strength is ‘our unmatched network of global alliances and the strength of our partnerships with since I got elected, I’ve been trying to re establish in detail.’
He told graduates that in their careers they will face a number of responsbilities. Then he pointed out the military officer carrying the ‘football’ – the country’s nuclear codes – as an example. A military official takes the ‘football’ everywhere the president goes.
And he paid tribute to McCain, who graduated from the Naval Academy in 1958 and is buried in its cemetery.
‘He always live by a code, the same code that you all have been taught it’s not just words, it’s real duty, honor, loyalty,’ Biden said of McCain.
A graduate celebrates receiving a diploma
President Joe Biden recognizes Midshipman Sarah Skinner as he speaks during the U.S. Naval Academy’s graduation and commissioning ceremony; Biden congratulated Skinner for receiving a Rhodes Scholarship
With U.S. President Joe Biden and Naval Academy Superintendent Vice Admiral Sean Buck on the screen above, midshipmen salute during the performance of the national anthem
President Joe Biden puts his hand on his heart for the playing of the National Anthem
A midshipman adjusts another midshipman’s uniform as they wait for the U.S. Naval Academy’s graduation and commissioning ceremony to begin
Midship seated at the graduation ceremony
Despite the seriousness of remarks, where he reminded graduates of the responsibilites waiting for them, Biden started off in a jovial tone.
He recalled that in his first Senate race, in 1972, he was running against incumbent Senator J. Caleb Boggs, who had offered him an appointment to the Naval Academy years earlier when he was weighing where to attend college.
Biden ultimately attended the University of Delaware.
‘I didn’t come to the Academy because I wanted to be a football star,’ he told graduates.
And, he noted, during a debate in their campaign, Boggs told him: ‘You know, Joe, if you accepted my appointment of the academy, he said you’d still have one year and three months active duty and I’d have no problems right now.’
Biden won that Senate race, starting his political career.
Biden also referenced his late son Beau, who died of brain cancer in 2015 and served in the Army reserves.
While praising the Navy Academy on its victories against West Point (the Army’s school), Biden joked: ”I hope my son up in heaven doesn’t hear me saying that part.’
Graduates gave Biden a blue and gold jacket with ‘USNA’ on the back and a baseball cap, both of which he donned. Biden also stepped to the front of the stage to show the jacket to the crowd.
Biden will also give another commencement address this weekend – this one on Saturday at the University of Delaware, his alma mater.
This is Biden’s third Commencement Address as president He delivered two last year – to the Coast Guard Academy and SC State University.
Biden spoke at the outdoor ceremony at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium at the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland.
The graduating class was seated in rows of white folding chairs on the stadium grounds facing the stage. The students were a mix of white navy uniforms and Marine dress blues.
Family, friends and other spectators were seated in the stands, which were mostly full.
There are 20,000 attendees, the White House said, including graduates, families graduates, members of United States Navy leadership, members of the administration, and members of Congress.
President Joe Biden walks on stage at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium at the Naval Academy at Anapolis, Maryland
Midshipmen arrive for the U.S. Naval Academy’s graduation and commissioning ceremony
Graduating midship await the start of the ceremony at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium at the Naval Academy at Anapolis, Maryland
The skies were overcast but the rain held off or for the president’s remarks, which were also broadcast on the stadium’s jumbo tron.
Biden walked into the stadium wearing a black face mask. At the start of the ceremony, America the Beautiful played.
The president was formally greeted with a 21-gun salute, which was followed by the playing of the National Anthem. Biden removed his face mask and had his hand on his heart for the song.
He concluded the ceremony by handing out diplomas to the top 100 cadets and then shaking hands with all the other graduates. The president stood on stage for over an hour to shake hands and greet each graduate.
He closed his remarks with this: ‘I can promise you that you all have the tools needed to navigate any waters you encounter. This great Academy has prepared you to face every challenge and overcome any obstacle. You are ready. For my wish to you is fair winds and following seas. Because I know you will remain always faithful. May God protect you all and may he set you on your journey.’
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