Administration of Donald J. Trump, 2026
March 20, 2026
The President. Thank you very much. Please. Thank you.
U.S. Military Operations in Iran
I want to begin by just saying we're doing extremely well in Iran. The difference between them and us is they had a navy 2 weeks ago. They have no navy anymore. It's all at the bottom of the sea. Fifty-eighty ships knocked down in 2 days. And we have the greatest Navy anywhere in the world. It's not even close.
So—but we are doing really well. We're not going to let them have nuclear weapons.
Because if they had them, they'd use them, and we're not going to let that happen. Should have been done a long time ago by other Presidents.
Presenting the Commander in Chief's Trophy to the United States Naval Academy Midshipmen
So it's an honor to be here. This is fun. And these are great athletes standing behind me.
Great coaches, general managers, great people, and a great Superintendent.
Hello, Superintendent. [Laughter]
U.S. Naval Academy Superintendent Lieutenant General Michael Borgschulte, USMC. Thank you, sir.
The President. We only put our finest as the Superintendents for these great schools because we don't want to have somebody that they don't look up to. We take our best, and—they're really amazing.
For the second year in a row, it's my great honor to officially present the Commander in Chief's Trophy to the one and only Navy Midshipmen football team. With 11 wins and 2 losses playing the best teams in football—
It used to—I used to always think of the military services—they played like a little step below. It's not true. [Laughter] They played a—big teams, and they beat them—these players achieved one of the most impressive seasons in Navy football history and any football history, frankly. And I just want to congratulate the Midshipmen. I met them backstage, and they're great.
Thank you. Congratulations, everybody.
You know, when I mentioned the—the navy that we just destroyed, I said, "Are they good ships?" "Yes, they're great ships." Then I said: "Why didn't we save them? We could've used them ourselves." [Laughter] They said, "The difference was they didn't—they didn't know how to use them." Right, General? They didn't know how to use them. They had no idea.
But I want to recognize Navy Athletic Director Michael Kelly, who has just done an incredible job. Thank you very much.
He looks like a Kelly. [Laughter] He's—definitely a Kelly.
Along with Head Coach Brian Newberry—a fantastic coach—Brian—who's off to the second-best start for any football coach in school history. What's second? Who's first? [Laughter] That's pretty good. That must have been a Roger Staubach year, maybe, or something, huh?
Because I tell you what, I got to watch Roger Staubach, and he was—something. He was, like, I have to say—I've said it and some people were insulted by it—but it was like a man playing with children. He would single handedly win those games. It was incredible.
Thanks as well to your Superintendent, Lieutenant General Michael Borgschulte, who is an accomplished Navy linebacker, a very good one back in the day.
We're also pleased to be joined by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Now, I don't know if Pete's here because I actually told him—he had an option: Be in the Sit Room—you know, the famous Situation—or be up here. And if it's okay, I told him—but I think he has his two very beautiful sons up here—they're the best—Boone and Jackson. Are you two guys—well, I told you father, "Just be in this Situation Room." [Laughter] We're okay with that, right? I think so. Right, Coach? Coach, I think you're okay.
So, Boone and Jackson, someday you'll be on this team maybe, right? Would you be on Navy, Army, Air Force? Which one? Take Navy. Just say Navy. Okay? [Laughter] I don't want to get them in trouble.
And your father's doing a fantastic job.
And also, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staffs, Dan Caine. So Dan is unbelievable.
And I picked him for a reason, because I was told it would take 5 years to beat ISIS by our television generals. You know, the big difference between generals, just like there is between coaches and everything else. They said, "Sir, 5 years." And I went to Iraq because I didn't understand why 5 years.
And I met this general, and his name was Dan Caine. I said, "What's your name?" He said, "Razin, sir." I said: "Really? Razin. What is that? 'Razin.'" "Oh, it's just my nickname, sir." "What's your last name?" "Caine." I said: "Your name is 'Razin' Caine? I love you. You are the guy I'm looking for." [Laughter] And it turned out to be right.
So they told me it was going to take 4 to 5 years to knock out ISIS. And now I'm in Iraq. I come down. I meet him, some other generals. He was a boss. And I said, "How long would it take for you to knock out ISIS?" He said, "Four weeks, sir." I said: "Four weeks? They tell me 4 years, maybe 5."
He said: "Well, whatever they want, sir. They're the boss. I'm just here. But you can do it in 4 weeks, sir, and you'll have time left over." I said, "You've got to be kidding."
And he explained, and we went through a whole big thing. I won't—well, nobody in this room would be bored by it. [Laughter] Actually, you'd like the—every word—I'll tell you every word of it.
But bottom line, I said, "Let me go back." But as I'm leaving, they—actually, it was very interesting. I'm walking down the stairs. Long flight. I had to turn off the lights after spending trillions of dollars. You had to turn the lights off in the plane because you didn't want to be spotted by the enemy. This was something.
So we land. And he said, "Sir, would you like to rest for a while before we have a meeting?" I said: "I don't have to rest. My name's not Biden. I don't want to"—[laughter]—"I'm not resting."
And we had great meetings. And then, I got back on the plane. I said to him: "So, General, you say 4 weeks. You mean that, right?" "Four weeks, sir, and you'll have time left over." He said, "I'll call you on Monday when I get back." And I called him. I said, "You still feel that way, General?" He said, "Yes, sir."
And I let him do it. He did it in less than 4 weeks. He defeated ISIS. It was amazing. What a difference. You know, I always say, "What a difference the President makes."
The border. They said, "It can't be done without Congress. It will take years." We did it in about 3 weeks. We have a border that's now—9 months in a row, nobody's come into our country illegally. I'm not even sure if that could be right. But the Democrats keep the stats.
So they say—I mean, they have zero people came in through our border. You see it, right? And I said, "The President makes a big difference." Well, the generals make a big difference too.
But I told him—I said, "Dan [Pete; White House correction], if you don't mind, stay in the Situation Room, and you watch all those attacks that we're hitting those guys with." And they don't know what's happening. The—their navy's gone. Their air force is gone. Their anti-aircraft is all gone. It's all gone. Their radar is all gone. Their leaders are all gone. The next set of leaders are all gone. And the next set of leaders are mostly gone. And now nobody wants to be a leader over there anymore.
We're having a hard time. We want to talk to them, and there's nobody to talk to. We have nobody to talk to. And you know what? We like it that way.
And we have many other distinguished members of the United States military, but I want to tell you, Hegseth is doing a great job and "Razin" Caine is doing a great job, as good as anybody has ever seen.
Don't forget, we had Venezuela. That was the beginning, where people started to see the talent. I built—I rebuilt the military—and built it, frankly—including Space Force. But I rebuilt the military in my first term. I didn't think I'd be using it this much, but I'm glad I rebuilt it because we can't let these lunatics have nuclear weapons, because they were going to use them. They'd use them fast.
One of the ways you know that is, when this whole thing started, they started shooting missiles all over the Middle East at countries that were basically not involved, because they wanted to take over the Middle East. And if they had a nuclear weapon, they would have used it. The only question would have been the first hour or the first day. That's the only question.
They would have used it. And if they can use a nuclear weapon, the world would have been in big trouble. We had to stop it. Should have been done long ago.
I also want to thank FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, perhaps the most powerful man in this room. You are doing some job. He's trying to keep the fake news—he's trying to make the fake news real and respected again, which is not an easy job, but you're doing a really amazing job. First time that's happened in 25 years. So I congratulate you. And everybody in the room—everybody in this whole country is watching what you're doing, and we appreciate it.
When a man can get elected in a landslide, winning every—think of it—seven swing States. Win them all. We win the popular vote. We win the Electoral College by a tremendous amount. We win the counties by 82 or 84 percent. And I got no good press. Think of it.
Only one thing—that only means one thing: These people are not respected. They're just not respected. And we have to have a press that's respected.
On you—when you can win an election where they say that I got 94 percent bad press—think of it. The other side got 94 percent good press. When they can 94 percent, and you win in a landslide, that means the press is not respected. People have no confidence in it.
So you're doing a fantastic job.
Senators Todd Young and Dan Sullivan, great Senators, wherever you may be. You're here someplace. Where are you? Hello, fellas. Good Senators. Great guys.
And Representatives Ronny Jackson, White House doctor—he was—he served three Presidents. He said—he had Barack Hussein Obama. Have you heard of Barack Hussein Obama? You had Obama. I don't even want to talk about Biden, but we—he said—and you had Bush. You had "Young Bush," I call him. Young Bush. I was not a fan, but that's all right.
But they asked—the press asked him, "Who was the healthiest of the three, Doc Ronny?" Stand up, Doc Ronny. This is a big deal. Took a lot of heat for this. They said—no—most guys would say, "Well, we don't want to talk about that."
They said, "Who's the healthiest of the three?" He said, "President Donald J. Trump, by far.
If he didn't eat junk food, he'd live to 200 years old," he said. [Laughter]
And I love this guy. And he then left, and he ran—he was an admiral. And he then left, and he was a White House doctor—a very respected one. He saved a lot of lives. He was a great doctor. People don't realize that.
And he then left, and he said, "Sir, I'd like to run for Congress." I said: "You've never done it before. You won't be able to pull it off." In a very, very all-Trump district. There were 28 people running. A man was retiring who's been there for years.
And I said: "Ron, I don't know. It's going to be tough, but we'll try it." Right? And we got him in. He blew them away. There was one man that was favored. He was a RINO. He was favored to win easily. And we wiped him out. Right, Ron? And he's been a Congressman. He's one of the most popular people in Congress.
But I don't care about that. I just care that he was my doctor and he said I'm the healthiest human being he's ever—[laughter].
Ronny, am I healthier than there guys back here?
Representative Ronny L. Jackson. Yes, sir.
The President. Oh, thank you. [Laughter] All right. See? This is why I like him. [Laughter] Also, with Ronny is Derrick Van Orden—a fantastic guy—and members of the Naval
Academy's Board of Visitors, Sean Spicer, who's gone on to great things, and Walt Nauta. Walt. Where's Walt? Walt's become a very famous guy. He works with me, and he does a great job.
Great, loyal, incredible person. And Sean Spicer—where's Sean? Where's Sean? Great job. And he's got a very successful television career going.
What the hell do I get out of it? [Laughter] Well, you know what I get? Nice statements.
That's what I get out it, right?
U.S. Naval Academy Board of Visitors member Sean M. Spicer. Yes, sir. A hundred percent.
The President. It's great. You've done great. Thank you very much. Congratulations.
Those are really the people that were—are very much in charge of making everything work at the Academy. And the other academy—separately—separate groups—a very important position.
For the Navy Midshipmen, 2025 was truly a season for the ages. You didn't just win the Commander in Chief's Trophy. You made history as one of the greatest teams to ever wear the proud uniform of Navy football. Some uniform.
The teams have gotten so good in the schools that I was able to get—and we're pushing it very hard to make it permanent—a military academy deferment policy. So—because you have some people here. You know, when I went on the field and I threw up a coin, I'm standing next to these guys—they were monsters. I said, "Look at the size of these guys." I thought they were
supposed to be smaller. I thought you had—I thought you had sort of restrictions on size, you know? [Laughter] We got rid of that, because some of these guys were extremely large. [Laughter]
And I—you know, and I—we have the NFL teams here also when—whoever wins the Super Bowl, they come. Baseball teams. We had the Dodgers. We have them all. But I saw the size of these guys, so I got used to it. And I said, "These guys are as big as the NFL."
And at one of the visits a while ago—first term—they asked me—they said: "Sir, we have a hard time recruiting because a player, if he's really good, he can't do the 4 or 5 years in the military service. Could you ask—we'd like to do a military academy deferment policy."
I immediately knew what he meant, and we got it done. And it allows you to defer your service until after your career. So, if you go in the NFL for 10 years—so now everyone wants to join.
So do I get credit for this successful team, then? [Laughter] Huh?
Superintendent Borgschulte. Absolutely.
The President. The Superintendent's going to say yes. I don't know about the coach. I don't know about Kelly. [Laughter]
But the coach, I think, is—it made your life a little bit easier. It was tough. It was tough for the teams when they used to have to play guys that were twice their size, right? So they did good. They had better heart. They have the best heart in the business, but size does matter.
And so what we did is, we got that so you have a deferment, so a lot of people are able to join now and they do their service later. They're great patriots, but that would be a lot to ask, and I think it's helped your teams really compete at the highest, highest level.
The team was led by your incredible senior class, and that includes the cocaptain and star quarterback Blake Horvath, who is fantastic. Where are you, Blake? [Inaudible] you are a player.
Quarterback Blake Horvath. Thank you, sir.
The President. I was at the game. I was at that game. He's a player. You have a good everything. You can run it, you can throw it. What do you think, NFL material?
Participants. Yes, sir.
The President. You have no choice. You have to say that. [Laughter]
Thank you. Stay up here, if you want. Look at this guy—he walks up. [Laughter] Most of them just stay there and just—you know, they don't want to—very good. That's—look at him. I can't get rid of them. [Laughter] I can't get—stay there. Stay there, if you want. Come on, stay there. He's the quarterback. What the hell? [Laughter]
But he ends his college career as one of the most accurate Navy quarterbacks of all time with an astounding almost 60-percent completion rate, second only to the man we just spoke about, Roger Staubach, who was unbelievable. He was unbelievable. He served 5 years, and then he came in and he was—came in at, like, 27 or something, and he was phenomenal as an NFL player.
Likewise, senior wide receiver Eli Heidenreich scorched opposing defenses all year long—they've been writing about him, a lot of stories—setting a school record for receiving touchdowns. He's—and you do need a quarterback for that. Where is—where's Eli? Where's Eli? Come here, Eli. Get over here. Look at the size of this guy.
Wide receiver Eli Heidenreich. Thank you, sir.
The President. They're all saying, "He's got NFL." [Laughter] Pretty good. I see by the size of those hands, you have no trouble catching that ball, huh?
Mr. Heidenreich. Yes, sir. [Laughter]
The President. Come here. Great. Beautiful.
Mr. Heidenreich. Thank you.
The President. And we're going to bring them down to the Oval Office. None—nobody else.
We don't have room for none of—none of all these big shots that we have here. None of the Senators, none of all these people. We're going to bring them down. We're giving them a special medal, a beautiful medal, a very expensive medal that if I see it on eBay tonight, I'll be extremely upset. [Laughter] All right? So we're going to all march down there later.
Congratulations. Thank you very much.
Mr. Heidenreich. Thank you, sir.
The President. That's great. Very nice that you say that. The whole team is pointing at you.
Are you looking to go NFL if you can?
Mr. Heidenreich. Yes, sir. I'm hoping to.
The President. Okay. Good, good. That's great. I'll bet you make it.
So we have Eli and—setting all the school records for receiving touchdowns, earning a spot at the NFL Combine and cementing himself as, without a doubt, the greatest wide receiver in Navy history. That is not bad.
Did you do the Combine?
Mr. Heidenreich. Yes, sir.
The President. How did you find it? Were you impressed by the athletes?
Mr. Heidenreich. I was. Yes, sir.
The President. Were you as good as them?
Mr. Heidenreich. I like to think so, yes, sir.
The President. Were you better? They're all saying—they like you. [Laughter] They're all saying, "He's better."
Good. I can see it. We're going to watch. Okay? We're watching all you guys.
And let's not forget one of the strongest athletes the Navy has ever seen—oh, this is the guy I want to meet—[Laughter]—who was named a first team All-American—you can't do better than that—on five different organizations. So five groups named him first team All-American. Senior lineman and cocaptain Landon Robinson. Where's Landon? Where is he?
Defensive lineman Landon Robinson. Right here, sir.
Participants. Landy!
The President. It's like—his arms are like steel. I just hurt my hand. [Laughter] I hit his muscle. It's like steel, man. [Laughter] We're not messing. You think I could take him in a fight?
Participants. Yes, sir. [Laughter]
Mr. Robinson. Thank you, sir.
The President. It's like Ronny.
Thank you. Congratulations.
Mr. Robinson. Thank you so much.
The President. That's fantastic.
So listen to this about Landon. With a 665-pound squat and a 465-pound bench press—what about women playing in men's sports? [Laughter] Think we could have a woman take your position? Is there a woman out there? I don't think so.
You know, we're trying to end that: No men—think of it—no men in women's sports.
Maybe I'll put Landon in women's sports for a little while. [Laughter] How ridiculous. I mean, you know, they say, "That's an 80/20 issue." No, no. That's a 99-percent issue.
It's amazing. Thank goodness the Democrats keep pushing these things: open borders, transgender for everybody, and they want to have men play in women's sports.
So Landon has some really big records, and he's so strong that the team had to special order a longer barbell. I see. Because the barbell would break. That's crazy. [Laughter]
Is he the strongest one on the team, guys? Is everyone—huh?
Participants. Yes, sir.
The President. No doubt, with all you big, strong guys. Look at this guy at the end. What do you think? Landon? [Laughter] Look at that. He's a big guy. Huh?
Mr. Robinson. Yes, sir.
The President. So thank you very much. We have a lot of fun at these things. I hope you know. I love sports, and I love athletics, and I love competition. I love competition, and these guys are champions.
But perhaps no single player better represents the heart and soul of this team than your 5 foot 9, 174—I love those guys—[laughter]—those guys that are a little smaller than you're supposed to be, but they have a bigger heart than everybody on the team, right? And the other team too—174-pound playmaker who delivered key knockouts and blocks on opponents almost twice his size, senior Brandon Chatman. Brandon plays selfless, relentless football. I got this from his coach.
As he likes to say, quote—here's a quote, "The way I look at it, the fight's not over until I win." [Laughter] That's a great—that's it, right? Just keep going. And that's really the spirit of the Navy and our great sailors.
Where are you, Brandon?
Wide receiver Brandon Chatman. Yes, sir.
The President. They love him. Boy, I'll tell you, you don't have—you don't have players like that, you don't win. You just can't win. You need people like Brandon, and they all have that big heart.
It's very tough. When you get into that elite group, when you beat those schools that are big and powerful, it's a pretty amazing thing.
This group of winners opposed and—opened the 2025 season with seven straight victories, including a thrilling win over one of your top rivals—it's always tough, too—Air Force. Coach, Air Force is always tough. What is that? I mean, I—they're always tough. You beat them, but they always seem to have a good—they have a good record.
Head coach Brian Newberry. They do.
The President. And they always seem to do well. Right? But no problem with this team.
Right?
What was the score you won by, Coach? Did you—was it a close game or not that close?
Mr. Newberry. It was. I think we won by three.
The President. Won by three? You won a couple of close ones.
Mr. Newberry. We did.
The President. But you won.
Mr. Newberry. Yes, sir.
The President. Doesn't really matter, as long as you win right?
Mr. Newberry. That's right. Yes, sir.
The President. So that's great, Coach. But as every Navy football player knows, you don't make it to the White House unless you also triumph over Army on that second Saturday of December, which is the whole deal.
I was at that game. It was amazing. It was an amazing game. The spirit—and I have to say, they introduced Trump—the place went crazy. [Laughter] There were no, like—"Let's give a little 'boo.'" What—there wasn't a boo in the house. Even the fake news couldn't say—I've gone to games where I've got—I would say I got 97 percent, but there might be one person—"boo, boo." They cover that person. They interview that person. That person becomes a star. But they couldn't find any person at that game. That was some game. It was some scene.
In the historic 126th Army-Navy football game—and again, something I really enjoyed. I love being there. I'll be there—Coach, I'll be there. You've got to be back, Coach. We can't ever lose you. You'll be back, right?
Mr. Newberry. [Inaudible]
The President. You'd better be back.
Mr. Newberry. Well, I hope——
The President. Do whatever you—do whatever you do, Kelly. Get him signed, right?
U.S. Naval Academy Athletic Director Michael Kelly. Yes, sir.
The President. Speaking of that—and you get him signed, right? [Laughter]
But you battled back from a two-score deficit to draw within 6 points in the fourth quarter. I was there. It was looking not great. [Laughter] It was not looking—fellas, you know, I can't say I was rooting for you, but I—did want to see—that Commander in Chief deal is a big deal, right? And it only happens if you win, and it wasn't looking great.
With time slipping away, Navy mounted one final drive, and you marched downfield, nearing the goal line after running back Alex Tecza broke loose into the secondary—which was amazing—for a huge 24-yard gain.
Okay, where's Alex? Where's Alex? I saw Alex before.
Running back Alex Tecza. Thank you.
The President. [Inaudible]
Mr. Tecza. Thank you.
The President. They were all going: "Oh, thank goodness. Thank goodness." That was fantastic.
Mr. Tecza. Thank you, sir.
The President. I watched that, because it was not looking good.
Mr. Tecza. It wasn't. Well——
The President. After you did that, the momentum shifted. Right, Coach?
Mr. Tecza. Yes, sir.
The President. And the coach was saying, "I think—I don't know, I've got a problem." And then he did that. We all felt good. That's great.
Mr. Tecza. Thank you, sir.
The President. Congratulations. That's beautiful. That's amazing.
So Alex did his job, and he did a fantastic job. But every football player knows—every single one of them—that you don't have heart, you don't have that—you can have all the strength—like Brandon, you can have all the strength you want, but if you don't have heart—that's exactly what Alex showed. And he's another one that's known for that.
Then, three times, the formidable Army defense held the line—and they really held it—making it fourth-and-goal, Midshipmen. So it's time to do or die. Right, Coach?
And with 6 minutes and 37 seconds left on the clock, other teams might have kicked an easy field goal, but that's not this coach.
Coach, did you have a call? Did you call up the Superintendent and talk to him—like, "What do I do?" Or did you did you just say, "Let's go for it." I think you said "go."
Mr. Newberry. [Inaudible]
The President. I think you just go for it. Right, Coach?
But not this team with this coach. With the Commander in Chief's Trophy on the line—which is a big deal—Blake dropped back in the pocket, surveyed the field, delivered a strike across the middle to Eli for a touchdown and secured victory over Army in one of the most iconic moments in Navy football history. I wouldn't say in Army football history. I guess—[laughter]—it was iconic also, but not quite in the same manner. But I watched that. That was incredible.
The annual Army-Navy game is truly one of the most special occasions in all of sports. But in recent years, the college football playoff expansion has encroached on this sacred 4-hour time slot traditionally reserved for Army-Navy.
So what did I do? I went out—I don't know if I could have pulled it off. I have much more power in my second term, don't you think? What do you think? Wouldn't you say, Brendan?
Much more power. First term, I don't know if I could have gotten away with this.
But what did I do? I went out and said: "I will—I'm going to sign an Executive order to ensure that the second Saturday in December is preserved exclusively—nobody's playing football—not Ohio State against Notre Dame, not LSU against Alabama. Nobody's going to play football for 4 hours during that very special time of the year in December. It's preserved forever for the Army-Navy game."
Now, if you don't want to watch football, you don't have to, but if you want to watch football, you're only watching one game. You're not watching 19 different games. All of them, in many ways, big.
So, Coach, that puts a little pressure because the whole world's going to be watching. [Laughter] So nobody else is going to be allowed—of course, we'll probably get sued at some point. We always get sued. But we win those suits, and we'll win this one.
The only game that's going to be played—so we preserve that time, no matter who it is.
You're playing the Army-Navy game. It keeps it special. We like it, right? Are you okay with it, huh?
And just simply, we don't want other college football games over, you know—playing over us. And frankly, I'd always watch the Army-Navy game anyway. But you don't know. You get some of these games—they're pretty tough. They're pretty good, and they're pretty tough. And they'll be able to play, but they'll play after 7 o'clock, I think. We brought it all the way up to seven o'clock. So that should give you plenty of time, even if you have a little overtime stuff.
So it's great. It's just an honor to do because it's such an important tradition of our country.
It's beyond football actually. It's a tradition of our country.
In two short months, the 28 seniors on this team will be commissioned as officers in the greatest military the world has ever seen. We have the greatest military in the world—the strongest, the greatest.
And we're proving that, when you can take Venezuela in a matter of minutes, put somebody on a helicopter that was well-guarded with thousands of people with iron doors. Those doors were like plastic.
The United States Navy, the Marines—the whole military does—may—we have the greatest in the world. I was so proud of what I did.
And I always loved Space Force because that was my baby. We—that has never happened. That hasn't happened in 81 years—a new force. And it hadn't happened. And I think we all agree that Space Force has become—you think, right?—very important—very important to the success that we're having even now.
Over the past few weeks, the world has seen the true strength and might of our sailors and aviators as they have fought in one of the most complex and successful military operations of all time against the Iranian regime. And it's amazing.
It's not—I don't want to get too crazy here. Not a contest. It's not even a contest. They do whatever they want. They can't—they are—they had a lot of great equipment—Russian equipment, Chinese equipment. A lot of—they had plenty of money. That equipment was useless against us. Useless.
No force on Earth can beat the American sailors or the American military. We're the strongest in the world by far.
To those standing behind me who will soon be joining these missions, I say, "Sail fast, stay strong, and go Navy."
And I just want to congratulate again this incredible team on this—the win of this trophy. It's not often that this trophy gets presented. You have to have a very special year to get it.
And I'm going to sign the Executive order right now and then invite Coach Newberry up to say a few words and talk about what a great team and what great individuals they are.
So, Coach, I'll sign, and then you take over. Okay?
Mr. Newberry. Sounds good.
The President. Thank you very much.
This is not an autopen. [Laughter] Can you imagine taking it and saying, "Would you please have this signed?" Somehow, I don't know how they got by that, but it didn't work. Let's go.
[The President signed an Executive order titled, "Preserving America's Game."]
All right. It's a good one. [Laughter] We rate them. That's close to a 10, maybe a 10. See, fellas? And you can see it first. That's pretty good, right?
Participant. Yes, sir.
The President. What I'll do is, I'll give these out also. We'll just—we'll pass them around. If you're didn't get them down at the office.
[The President distributed some signing pens.] You're going to—[inaudible].
Coach, take over. Thank you very much.
Mr. Newberry. Thank you very much.
Good morning. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you for signing that Executive order—protecting the sanctity of the Army-Navy game. It's a game with a soul, and it deserves to be protected. Thank you very much.
Thank you to you and your staff, your gracious hospitality, and for making today's ceremony possible. And thank you to the distinguished guests and everyone in attendance for being here to recognize this team and this exceptional group of young men.
On behalf of our players; our staff and their families; our Superintendent, General Michael Borgschulte; and our Athletic Director, Michael Kelly, it is truly an honor to be here.
We're grateful and humbled to be back again. As I shared last year, it's been our goal to return to this stage many times during your tenure, Mr. President. There's no higher honor in our program than standing here representing the Naval Academy, the entire brigade of midshipmen, the brotherhood, and all the men and women who serve and have served in our Navy and Marine Corps.
These young men understand that wearing the Navy uniform comes with a responsibility greater than football. Each day they strive to live up to the core values of honor, courage, and commitment, and the standards of those who came before them—leaders of character who have gone on to serve our country with distinction.
What they accomplished this season is a direct result of that ethos and mindset. The players here onstage and to my left in the audience are some of the very best our country has to offer.
In just a little over 2 months, these 28 seniors standing behind me will graduate and commission as officers in our Navy and Marine Corps under your command, Mr. President. They will do so with character, discipline, and the values that define this institution.
I also want to recognize our fellow service academies: the United States Army and the United States Air Force. The rivalry we share is among the greatest traditions in college football, but it is grounded in deep and enduring respect because we know that one day many of these young men may stand shoulder to shoulder in defense of our Nation.
The Commander in Chief's Trophy represents the commitment, discipline, teamwork that define the future leaders and war-fighters of our Armed Forces. Every day, our players balance
the demands of Division I athletics with a responsibility of preparing to serve as officers. That challenge forges the character this trophy represents. In our view, it is the most meaningful and honorable trophy in all of college sports.
To our families, alumni, and the countless people who support the Naval Academy, thank you. Your belief in these young men and what this institution stands for makes moments like this possible and special.
Mr. President, thank you for hosting us today and for your continued support of the men and women who serve our great country.
At this time, I'd like to bring our two captains, Landon Robinson and Blake Horvath, up to present you with a couple of gifts.
The President. Great. Thank you.
Mr. Newberry. Thank you.
[The President was presented with a football and football helmet.] The President. Would you like to say a few words?
Mr. Horvath. For sure. For sure. [Laughter] Well, first, Mr. President, it's just an honor to be here.
The President. This football is—this is very heavy. [Laughter]
Mr. Horvath. I know.
The President. You need a strong neck.
Mr. Horvath. Like you said—well, you're the healthiest guy here, so you got a neck to do it.
Yes, sir. [Laughter]
So just want to say thank you so much for having us here. Absolute honor.
And last year, I—was hesitant to say it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience, right? Because I knew we'd be back this year. So I'm glad I can now say it's a twice-in-a-lifetime experience. [Laughter]
And just couldn't have done it without our whole team here. Right? Our support staff, from the strength and the trainers, to all these guys, and all the guys who are still at school right now in class. Thanks to all them and just for everybody for supporting us.
And you know, "Go Navy, beat everybody."
Mr. Robinson. Absolutely. You know, first off, thank you, Mr. President, for the opportunity to be here. Blake said it—said most of it, but I'm just so thankful to all my teammates and all my coaches for all the hard work they've put in.
It's very hard to go 11 and 2 in a season, but I couldn't be more proud to play for Navy football, and I couldn't be more proud to represent the United States Naval Academy.
So "Go Navy, beat Army" forever.
The President. So we're going to go to the Oval. Okay?
Superintendent Borgschulte. Oh, we'd love that.
The President. We're going to go—we're going to see you at the Oval Office. Now, anybody does not want to go to the Oval, please raise your hand. Okay. [Laughter] I'll see you in the Oval.
Mr. Robinson. All right. Thank you, sir.
The President. I had a feeling you were going to do that. Thank you. See you in a couple of minutes. Okay?
Mr. Robinson. Thank you, sir. Mr. Horvath. Thank you, sir. Mr. Robinson. Yes, sir.
The President. Where we have something for you. Thank you, everybody, very much. Thank you.
NOTE: The President spoke at 10:53 a.m. in the East Room at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to Roger Staubach, former quarterback, U.S. Naval Academy football team and National Football League's Dallas Cowboys; former Rep. William M. "Mac" Thornberry; former Texas Republican congressional candidate Josh Winegarner; Rep. Derrick F. Van Orden; and White House Director of Oval Office Operations Waltine T. Nauta, in his capacity as a member of the U.S. Naval Academy Board of Visitors. He also referred to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist organization.
Categories: Addresses and Remarks : Commander in Chief's Trophy, presentation to U.S. Naval Academy Midshipmen.
Locations: Washington, DC.
Names: Biden, Joseph R., Jr.; Boone, Jackson; Borgschulte, Michael; Bush, George W.; Caine, J. Daniel; Carr, Brendan; Chatman, Brandon; Hegseth, Boone; Hegseth, Peter B.; Heidenreich, Eli; Horvath, Blake; Jackson, Ronny L.; Kelly, Michael; Nauta, Waltine T.; Newberry, Brian; Obama, Barack; Robinson, Landon; Spicer, Sean M.; Staubach, Roger; Sullivan, Daniel S.; Tecza, Alex; Thornberry, William M. "Mac"; Van Orden, Derrick F.; Winegarner, Josh; Young, Todd C.
Subjects: 2024 Presidential election; Border security; Federal Communications Commission; Football; Iran, nuclear weapons development; Iran, U.S. military operations; Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist organization; Joint Chiefs of Staff; Maryland, U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis; Secretary of War; U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD; U.S. servicemembers, service and dedication; Venezuela, U.S. military capture and exfiltration of President Maduro.
DCPD Number: DCPD202600190.