Trump Addresses West Point Graduation, In First Large Audience Event Since Pandemic

Many precautions were taken for the West Point ceremony: all cadets socially distanced during the ceremony and all were coronavirus-tested and separated into groups of 250 to live, work and eat together for a two-week quarantine leading up to the graduation address, reports CNN.

The graduates wore face coverings as they march onto the field, and will render a salute about 15 feet in front of where the president will be standing, instead of being handed a diploma; friends and family are barred from attending and will watch online instead.

Trump mentioned coronavirus in his speech, which he said “came from a distant land called China”: “We will vanquish the virus,” he added.

The president has begun to attend more in-person gatherings after months of being restricted; he surprised some in April, during the height of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. when he indicated he would attend a graduation ceremony despite the pandemic.  

He has elicited controversy over beginning to hold rallies despite the risks of coronavirus spread associated with large groups: for an upcoming rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma (which Trump rescheduled late Friday night because of criticism the rally coincided with Juneteenth, a holiday that celebrates the end of slavery in the U.S.), the Trump campaign is including a disclaimer in its registration form that states that there’s “an inherent risk of COVID-19 exposure.”

The speech also comes as several top generals have broken with the president in recent days: Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark A. Milley said Thursday he “should not” have been at the president’s St. John’s church photo op and Defense Secretary Mark Esper said last week he was opposed to sending active-duty soldiers into American cities.

CNN reports that Milley and Esper are not expected to attend the ceremony, and that the two were never planning to make an appearance.