Donald Trump addresses graduating students at University of Alabama

Pic/AFP

President Donald Trump was addressing graduating students at the University of Alabama on Thursday, a visit that drew hundreds of protesters to an off-campus rally. Trump's remarks in Tuscaloosa are the Republican president's first address to graduates in his second term and come as he has been celebrating the first 100 days of his administration.

The previously scheduled visit came shortly after he announced a shake-up to his national security team, with Mike Waltz being tapped for United Nations ambassador and Secretary of State Marco Rubio taking over Waltz's national security adviser role on an interim basis. 'What a nice looking group this is,' Trump said to open his speech. 'There's nowhere I'd rather be than Tuscaloosa.'

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 is also where Trump showed early signs of strength in his first presidential campaign when he began filling stadiums for his rallies. While Trump has described the 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.

Former Crimson Tide football coach Nick Saban also spoke, regaling the audience with a story about visiting the Oval Office in 2018 during Trump's first term. Saban said Trump was a gracious host. Ahead of the president's arrival, cap-and-gown-wearing graduates and their families began filing into the arena where Trump was set to speak. Many seemed excited about the prospect of seeing him in person.

Emily Appel, a 22-year-old advertising major from Norcross, Georgia, called Trump's appearance at their school 'a cherry on top' of her college years. 'I think it's such an honour, no matter who the president is. I think this is a huge honour to have the president of the United States speaking to our school," Appel said.

She called Trump a 'very influential person' and said she hoped he had a message to share that was "positive about us being able to work in the real world and for our future.' Sophie Best, who is graduating with a communications degree, said, 'I don't think that we could have had a greater person come to speak."

The 21-year-old from Cartersville, Georgia, said she attended Trump's first presidential inauguration in 2017 when she was a freshman in high school, along with her father, who she said loves Trump. 'I think that no matter what political party or whatever you believe in, I think that it's super cool that we get to experience and make history and be a part of this,' she said.

At a park several miles away, hundreds of people gathered at a counter rally hosted by College Democrats. One-time presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke of Texas and former US Senator Doug Jones, the last Democrat to hold statewide office in Alabama, addressed the rally, called a 'Tide Against Trump' ' a play on the university's nickname.

Aidan Meyers, a 21-year-old junior studying biology at the university, said he felt betrayed by the decision to let Trump speak at a graduation-related event. 'I felt betrayed that the university was willing to put up with someone who has made it clear that they hate academia, essentially holding funding above universities' heads as a bargaining chip, unless they bow down to what he wants, which is kind of a hallmark sign with fascist regime,' Meyers said.

He said he also feels betrayed by the administration's stance on science and research. A fellowship he was seeking at the National Institutes of Health was canceled because of the federal hiring freeze, he said. O'Rourke told the rally that Trump was trying to make the students' graduation 'all about him, true to form.' He urged students and others gathered to go out and use their voices to 'win America back.'

'The power of people works in this country, even against Donald Trump,' O'Rourke said. Jones told the crowd they were there 'not just as a protest, but as a movement.' 'You are here today because you're concerned, you're afraid. You understand that this country's great democracy is teetering right now with what we're seeing going on,' the former senator said.

Ahead of the rally, 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.'

Trump's presence has also drawn criticism from the Alabama NAACP, which said his policies are hurting universities and students, particularly students of color. 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 January 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. Later this month, he is scheduled to give the commencement address at the US Military Academy in West Point, New York.

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