World News | Trump Will Address Graduating Students at University of Alabama
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. President Donald Trump will travel to heavily Republican Alabama on Thursday to speak to graduating students at the University of Alabama, where he is expected to draw some protesters despite enjoying a deep well of support in the state.
Tuscaloosa (US), May 2 (AP) President Donald Trump will travel to heavily Republican Alabama on Thursday to speak to graduating students at the University of Alabama, where he is expected to draw some protesters despite enjoying a deep well of support in the state.
Trump's evening remarks in Tuscaloosa will be the Republican president's first address to graduates in his second term and will come as he has been celebrating the first 100 days of his administration.
The White House did not offer any details about Trump's planned message.
Alabama, where Trump won a commanding 64 per cent of the vote in 2024, is where he has staged a number of his trademark large rallies over the past decade. It also is where Trump showed early signs of strength in his first presidential campaign when he began filling stadiums for his rallies.
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While the White House has described Trump's speech as a commencement address, it is actually a special event that was created before graduation ceremonies that begin Friday. Graduating students have the option of attending the event, but it is not required.
Former Crimson Tide football coach Nick Saban is also speaking at the event.
“As President Trump marks 100 days in office, there is no better place for him to celebrate all the winning than in Tuscaloosa, Alabama,” said Governor Kay Ivey, a Republican.
Trump's presence has drawn criticism from the Alabama NAACP and the University of Alabama College Democrats.
College Democrats are countering with their own rally calling it "Tide Against Trump” — a play on the university's nickname. The event will feature onetime presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke of Texas and former US Senator Doug Jones, the last Democrat to hold statewide office in Alabama.
O'Rourke praised the students who invited him as “inspiring” and said their efforts in a Republican-dominated state like Alabama are an example for the rest of the country.
“You cannot be too red or too rural or too Republican to be written off right now. You also can't be too blue or too liberal to be taken for granted,” O'Rourke told The Associated Press after arriving in Tuscaloosa. “You've got to show up absolutely everywhere. We truly are in crisis.”
The former congressman and failed presidential candidate also noted Alabama's history of civil rights and social justice protests against the policies of the conservative majority.
“You go back 60 years ago in Alabama history, it's John Lewis in March of 1965 leading that march that ends up, with the help of a Texan, LBJ, creating the first truly multiracial democracy in American history,” O'Rourke said. “That democracy is under attack right now. So we are invoking Alabama and American history right now and reminding people that the power ... is with the people.”
The NAACP said Trump's policies are hurting universities and students, particularly students of color.
"The decision for students of color, and really all students, should be to skip his speech and spend that time reflecting on how to make America a more inclusive nation,” said Benard Simelton, president of the Alabama NAACP.
Trump's visit to Alabama is his second trip this week. He held a rally in Michigan on Tuesday to mark 100 days in office.
Outside of weekend trips for personal visits, the president has not made many official trips since taking office on Jan. 20. He usually speaks to the public from the impromptu news conferences he holds in the Oval Office and at other events at the White House.
After his stop in Alabama, Trump is scheduled to travel to Florida for a long weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
Next month, he is scheduled to give the commencement address at the US Military Academy in West Point, New York. (AP)
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