Administration of Donald J. Trump, 2026
May 11, 2026
The President. Well, thank you very much, everybody. This is an honor. I watched that game. I watched these guys. They can play. They can play. And they were a little underestimated, but I just said, "But not anymore." They're not underestimated anymore. They were incredible talents.
So, today it's my great honor to welcome the 2025 College Football National Champions, the Indiana University Hoosiers.
And I want to say that J.D. is right over here. He likes Indiana. We won Indiana by a lot. [Laughter] It always helps when you win it by a lot. I think we won them all by a lot, if you want know the truth, but they just forgot to put that down. But we won by a lot.
We just had a big victory. We beat seven out of eight candidates that were running against Trump. That was good. And the only reason we lost the other one is they had two people running. They split up that vote. I can't believe I let that happen.
But we're joined today by Vice President J.D. Vance. He's fantastic. J.D., stand up for a second, will you? And his sons Ewan and Vivek, as well as Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. Doug. Great secretary.
We're doing now the reflective pond, and we saved about $600 million or something. It's going to be beautiful. It'll open in about 2 weeks, and it's going to be incredible. They've been trying to get it open for years. They had no idea what they were doing, but we know how to do it, Doug. And it took us 2 weeks versus the projected 4 years. People would not understand it. But you've—doing a fantastic job.
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. Brooke, thank you. Get those prices down. They're coming down. I see prices—we inherited the worst inflation in history. She's getting the prices down big. Thanks, Brooke.
Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, doing a wonderful job. Thank you, Howard. Acting Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling. Thank you, Keith. Good job.
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. Supposed to be the best in the business. Well, you know what? It's—it was—I figured it would triple when we did. We had to make an excursion to the beautiful country of Iran. We didn't want to let them have a nuclear weapon. And we made the right decision, and we've got it pretty good. And those prices are going to come crashing down as soon as that's over. And we'll get—we're taking care of—we're going to take care of business.
Great job. You're doing a great job. Thank you, Chris.
HUD Secretary Scott Turner. A former NFL player, by the way. A great guy.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, one of the most important men anywhere in the world. We need more tariffs, Jamieson. We need more tariffs.
And SBA Administrator, who's fantastic, Kelly Loeffler. Thank you, Kelly.
And I see Kevin over there. I don't know if they have your name down. Can—will you stand up? You were so good on television over the weekend. Thank you. Kevin Hassett. Thank you, Kevin.
Thanks also to Senators Todd Young. Where's Todd? Thank you. Thank you, Todd. You have a great group of people. What a group. This is a big day for Todd and Jim Banks. Jim, stand up. Where are you? Senator Banks, my friend for a long time.
And Representatives Marlin Stutzman, Jim Baird, Rudy Yakym, Erin Houchin, and Nick Begich. Thank you all. Warriors. We also have Mark Messmer, Jefferson Shreve, and Victoria Spartz.
Where—hi, Victoria. Victoria Spartz. She's been very good. On occasion, she gets a little bit bad, a little nasty. [Laughter] But she is good, and she's smart, and she's always with us, right?
Thank you, Victoria. Appreciate it.
Also with us is Speaker of the Indiana House Todd Huston. Thank you, Todd. Thank you, Todd. You guys have been great.
Indiana Senate Majority Floor Leader Chris Garten. These are all people that were with me.
Right, Chris? We don't have any of those insurgents, do we?
Indiana Senate Majority Floor Leader Chris Garten. No, sir.
The President. We had a big day. They don't know what I'm talking about behind me because they're into football, but we had a little insurgency in Indiana that didn't last very long. We had—what a great group of people we have.
We have many of the Republican patriots from the great State of Indiana, including Trevor De Vries, Brian Schmutzler, Blake Fiechter, Tracey Powell, Jeff Ellington, Michelle Davis—who last week had a big primary election.
They've all—are you the people—I love you people. What a—that was carried all over the world. They ran against people that were there for 20, 25 years. And they were—let's see. Yes, I'd say young—certainly young, but they were not expected to win. They were down by 25 or 30 points. We endorsed them, and they won in a landslide. Thank you very much. Congratulations. You'll be there a long time. Thank you very much.
That was a story heard round the political world, wasn't it? Huh? Wow. That's so nice that you're here. Actually, they're my favorite people right now in the audience. I don't care about that Jim Banks. They're my favorite people. Right? [Laughter]
We're also joined by the great Sage Steele, who's a fantastic person and a supporter and a friend of mine. Thank you. Thank you.
And former NFL quarterback Trent Green. Great quarterback. Where's Trent? Hi, Trent.
Great job. That's a good quarterback.
This was a year that will live forever in the hearts of Indiana football fans. It was an exciting year for football, but maybe you're the biggest story. I think, Coach, you're the biggest story.
There's no story like this.
The Hoosiers delivered the program's first-ever undefeated, untied season, and capped it off with their first-ever national title. That's amazing.
Audience members. Hoo Hoo Hoo Hoosiers!
The President. Good job, fellas. A lot of muscle out there. [Laughter]
The National Signing Day—think of this—the press conference in 2023, shortly after joining Indiana, Curt—who is Curt? Curt Cignetti. Where is Curt Cignetti? [Laughter]
Head Coach Curt Cignetti. Right here.
The President. Huh? Oh. [Laughter] Come here. Come here. Curt Cignetti—has turned out to be, I believe—I think he's the coach of the last decade, because he took a team—nobody knew him, nobody knew the team, and he ended up taking this team all the way. People were betting against you all the way, Curt.
He took over in 2023, following a really bleak 3 and 9 season, and immediately set a tone that few people have seen, I think, in the history of college football.
At the National Signing Day press conference in 2023, shortly after joining Indiana, Curt was asked how he communicates his vision to recruits, and he said: "It's pretty simple: I win. I just know how to win."
That's a very cocky guy. I don't like people like that. [Laughter] Huh?
Mr. Cignetti. [Laughter] No. No.
The President. I like this guy. [Laughter]
Just 2 years later, he brought home the national championship. So, you know, when you do that stuff, you have to be able to produce—when you act that way. Muhammad Ali used to get up there and—you know, over the years, I've seen people that did it better than Muhammad Ali. The problem is they couldn't fight properly. They lost. You can't do that and lose, right?
But very special coach, I'll tell you that. I just got to know him a little bit backstage, and he's a winner. Every player on this team shared their coach's winning mindset, and they executed with unbelievable skill. They're skilled people.
This season was also historic because starting quarterback Fernando Mendoza—now, the reason he's not here—he was so nice; he called—because he has—actually, J.D., he's a big fan of ours. You wouldn't believe it, because he didn't show up. [Laughter] I'm not happy. But that's okay. The reason he didn't: because he's at spring training. Right?
Mr. Cignetti. Correct.
The President. And I actually said—[laughter]—"You know, you really—let him. He's got to win." And I think he's going to win pretty early, Coach. Right? You think pretty good?
Mr. Cignetti. Well, time will tell.
The President. He's going to be a good one? [Laughter] "Time will tell." A lot of people said they're going to win, but I think he will.
No, he's been great. And he's at spring training—like, his first day or something. I said, "You better go there."
But he became Indiana's first—otherwise, if I didn't do that, I—believe me, I wouldn't have even talked about him. I would have not—if for—he was not here for other reasons, like he didn't like Trump or he didn't want to come, I wouldn't have even mentioned him. I'd go through the whole—I'd talk about how great—I wouldn't even mention the quarterback's name. [Laughter]
But he's a great guy, actually. And he is actually a big fan of what we're doing for our country. But he became Indiana's first-ever Heisman Trophy winner. Right, Coach?
Mr. Cignetti. Yes, sir.
The President. And Fernando completed 226 of 316 passes—that's good—throwing for 2,980 yards. Let's round it off for 3,000. [Laughter] Okay? I'm going to round that off a little bit, Coach. Three thousand yards. And a Nation-leading 33 touchdowns.
Fernando couldn't be here today because, as I said, he's now a member of the Las Vegas Raiders, and let's see how good a team they have. And I think he's going to do great. He's a winner.
With Fernando's help and a stacked lineup, Indiana utterly dominated in the regular season, winning 10 out of 12 games by double-digit margins. In the first three games, Indiana outscored their opponents—wow—156 to 23. I think they have a good coach. And they closed the regular season by crushing their in-State rival, Purdue—always a good team—56 to 3. That's pretty good. Nice memories, huh?
But things weren't as straightforward in the Big Ten Championship against Ohio State. That was a tough one. Indiana entered the game known for its rock-solid defense—and actually known for college basketball, to be honest with you. [Laughter] And now I think they're going to be known for football.
But they entered the game against Ohio State, and people really—I think they thought of Ohio State as being almost unbeatable, and brought back one of the most explosive offenses in the Nation—Ohio State did. But in the end, the Hoosiers prevailed over the Buckeyes.
Junior linebacker Isaiah Jones—where's Isaiah? How good is he, Coach?
Mr. Cignetti. He can play.
The President. Huh?
I said: "How good is he, Coach?" He said, "He can play." Let me see. He's a good-looking guy. I don't like good-looking people. [Laughter] I don't like good-looking men at all. Believe me. [Laughter]
But he recorded two of Indiana's first of five sacks. Think of that. So, he had five sacks. Wow. Helping the team secure a hard-fought 13 to 10 victory—really, against a great football power. All right? That's a big honor.
Next up was the Rose Bowl, where Indiana delivered a commanding 38 to 3 victory over Alabama. Coach.
Mr. Cignetti. Roll Tide!
The President. You got to be—[laughter]—he said—you got to be kidding. That's right. Over Alabama. That's a big one. After a scoreless first quarter, the Hoosiers broke through and never looked back. Defeating the Crimson Tide is no small feat, and it wouldn't have been possible without starting center Pat Coogan. Where's Pat?
Participant. Not here.
Wide receiver Charlie Becker. He's—he's at the Titans training camp.
Mr. Cignetti. NFL minicamp.
The President. Oh, he's at training camp. Forget this. Forget training camp. [Laughter] But he's a good fan, Coach, right?
Mr. Cignetti. Absolutely.
The President. Okay, good. I'm glad I mentioned—[laughter]—glad I mentioned his name.
That's good. Say hello to him. That's a big deal.
In recognition of his dominant performance, Pat became the first offensive lineman since 1944 to be named the Rose Bowl's most valuable player. Pat is busy today in training camp. That's—that's great. Is he that good?
Mr. Cignetti. Oh, yes.
The President. Is Pat Coogan that good, fellas?
Participants. Yes, sir.
The President. Seriously good, right? [Laughter]
Mr. Cignetti. We got 15 of them in training camp right now.
The President. Wow. That's—is that right?
Mr. Cignetti. Yes.
The President. Wow. Fifteen in training camp. Wow. How many potentials do you have back there? A lot, right?
Mr. Cignetti. Quite a few.
The President. Quite a few potentials.
In the Peach Bowl, Indiana shattered Oregon's confidence. Oh, that was another one. Oregon was supposed to be a hot team. I watched it. I said, "What's going on here?" But they shattered Oregon's confidence right out of the gate when, during the first play of the game, cornerback D'Angelo Ponds—what a good name—intercepted the ball. Where's D'Angelo?
Mr. Cignetti. Training Camp.
Participants. Training Camp.
The President. Oh, I can't believe it. [Laughter] No wonder you won. [Laughter]
Mr. Cignetti. He was a junior.
The President. Huh? Wow. How good? Really good?
Mr. Cignetti. Really good.
The President. Intercepted the ball, ran it back for the game's first touchdown. After securing a commanding 56-to-22 victory, this team was off to the championship.
In the Championship game against Miami, Indiana held a narrow 10-nothing lead at halftime. Controlling the pace, but unable to pull away, the score remained low for most of the game, but everything changed in the fourth quarter. That's true. With under 10 minutes remaining, Indiana faced a critical fourth and five.
No coach in America would've done what this guy did. I said: "This guy is making such a mistake." And he won. [Laughter] That was a hell of a play. You know, that's the kind of play, if they don't do that play—if it doesn't work, that's, like, career threatening, right? [Laughter]
Mr. Cignetti. You got to play to win.
The President. You got to play. It was great.
On Miami's 13-yard line, Fernando took the snap and powered through the defense past the first-down marker before launching himself into the end zone, extending Indiana's lead 24-14.
But Miami wasn't done yet. The Hurricanes took possession and scored, cutting Indiana's lead 24 to 21. Indiana got the ball once more and put 3 more points on the board, pushing the score to 27-21.
I mean, I—you have to see this game. I would say that coach—I know he's got a good reputation. This guy is calling the wrong plays, but he kept winning. He kept—they kept scoring.
They kept doing all this stuff—the things that weren't supposed to happen. You're just lucky you won that game, because if you didn't, they would've said, "This coach is crazy." [Laughter]
With just 51—that's why he is a great coach.
With just 51 seconds left to tie the game and deep within Indiana's territory, Miami's quarterback fired off a 30-yard pass only to be intercepted by junior Jamari Sharpe. Where is Jamari?
Mr. Cignetti. Jamari.
The President. Jamari, come on up. Come here. Look at this guy.
Defensive back Jamari Sharpe. Nice to meet you.
The President. Want to say—go ahead. Tell them how good the coach is.
Mr. Sharpe. Coach Cig is a very good coach, you know? One he first came to Indiana, I didn't know if I was going to stay, but I stayed, and I'm glad I stayed because we won the National Championship.
The President. He doesn't want to leave the stage. Good-looking guy, huh? Thank you very much.
Mr. Sharpe. Thank you.
The President. He didn't want to leave the stage. [Laughter] He's a natural.
So, the Hurricanes are great. The team is so great. Jamari, I want to thank you for getting up and making such a rousing speech. [Laughter]
By the way, a lot of people don't do that. You know, a lot of times I'll do that and they say: "No, I don't want to talk." But he's got a future in a lot of things—probably football, first of all.
From there, the outcome was sealed, and the Hoosiers became national champions. Think of that. Right? I was there. Tell you what: You went through a lot of great teams, when you think, and real football powerhouses over the years. It's—that's pretty intimidating.
Mr. Cignetti. Six top 10 teams.
The President. Oh, yes. They're amazing. Top 10s. This team lifted the Indiana football program from a historic low. It really didn't have a good reputation over there, but it tells you what coaching means too. But your grit and discipline and your belief and your strength of character—the coach is a—I think he's just an incredible—I think it's an incredible story.
When I heard they were coming today, I said: "I got to meet that coach," because he came out of, like, high school, a great high school program, but you made it good. But what you—what you did is something that I don't think anybody has ever really done in college football—college football history.
How is your, Coach—how is your team going to be this year, Coach? What do you think?
Mr. Cignetti. Well, we got a chance. If we commit, and if we have discipline and a great work ethic, and if we can handle success, and we can handle failure, and we're consistent day in, day out, we might have a chance.
The President. How about this guy? Is he central casting or what? He's—I got to watch you. I got to watch you. You're amazing. You have made the fans really proud and inspired millions—all of you: the coach and the players—and reminded everyone that with determination and lots of hard work, anything is possible.
And I said to the coach, you know, we have a very special area. Well, that's very special.
We're building a beautiful ballroom. You can see it's not too small, Coach. We needed—for 150 years, they've wanted a ballroom. We're going to give them the greatest ballroom anywhere in the country. I'm very good at ballrooms. I'm very good at building things.
But I said to the coach: "There's a special place here, and it's called the Oval Office.
Everything sort of begins, ends, and re-begins again." And I said: "If you'd like, Coach, I'll take your entire team back, and we're going to go to the Oval Office, show them the Oval Office, and we're going to give him a very, very special medal." And I said: "So, what do you want to do, Coach?" He said, "We want to go."
Hold it. You guys want to go to the Oval Office?
Participants. Yes!
Participant. Yes, sir.
The President. I had a feeling they were going to say that. I had a feeling.
So, Coach, say a few words. You know, I'm really honored to be with this guy, because he took something from—it's not like he inherited a great program. He inherited something that was less than great, and he made it into something that probably has never been done—at this level, never been done before.
Congratulations, Coach.
Mr. Cignetti. Thank you. Got a lot of Hoosiers in the stands here and behind me. We got to give them one: "One, two, three, Hoo Hoo Hoo Hoosiers." Right?
Audience members. Yes!
Mr. Cignetti. One, two, three. Hoo Hoo Hoo! Hoosiers!
Audience members. Hoosiers!
Mr. Cignetti. You got that?
The President. I like it.
Mr. Cignetti. Okay. Thank you. That's a lot of nice accolades there. Appreciate all that. It all starts with Pam Whitten, our president; Scott Dolson, our athletic director. You got to have a commitment at the top.
The President. Stand up, Pam.
Mr. Cignetti. Without a commitment at the top, nothing is possible.
Okay. 2025 Indiana Hoosiers. All right? You know, '24 was a fluke, right? College football playoffs started out 10 and oh. "You know, they won't be very good." All right. Sixteen and oh, that's the best record in college football since 1894. That's 132 years. That's before the NCAA. So, safe to say, that's the greatest record in college football history.
Beat 6 top 10 teams. All right? And how did we get that done? All right? We had great people on the staff that thought—that thought alike; in the locker room that thought alike. Great leadership, good talent, great character, coachable. Eleven guys doing their job, play in, play out. All right? The sum becomes greater than—the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. And the most consistent day-in and day-out; meeting-in, meeting-out; practice-in, practice-out group I've ever seen in my life.
And when—to me, it's a simple message. All right? Prepare the right way every single day to a high standard, and anything is possible in life. The only limitations are those between your ears, and you can't have any of those either. So, go IU.
Now, it's my pleasure to introduce junior wide receiver Charlie Becker from Nashville, Tennessee, or, as Gus Johnson would say: "Charlie B. from Nashville, Tennessee!"
Mr. Becker. How's it going, everybody? First of all, I just would like to thank—Mr.
President, thank you so much for having us.
The President. Thank you, Charlie. Thank you.
Mr. Becker. This is an honor. I know I speak behalf of my team by saying we're going to remember this for the rest of our lives.
And, secondly, I would just like to thank all the Hoosier fans out there. You know, from the start of the season to the end of the season, you all were there through the highs and the lows, and none of this is possible without you all.
So, thank you guys. And go IU.
Mr. Cignetti. All right. In our appreciation for this great visit today, for President Trump, we have some Hoosier gear, which a couple years ago they were giving away. Now you got to pay a lot of money for this stuff. [Laughter] So, really appreciate this great opportunity and this great day. Thank you very much.
The President. Thank you, Coach. Thank you very much, Coach. [At this point, the President was presented with a team jersey.] Mr. Cignetti. There you go. Forty-seven on the back.
The President. Wow. That's nice.
Mr. Cignetti. I think we got one picture.
The President. I like this guy. [Laughter] That's great, Coach. Thank you. What else do you have over there? How about a helmet? [Laughter]
Mr. Cignetti. All right. All right. We got a—here we go. We got a signed football: "16 and oh. Fast, physical, relentless. Go IU."
The President. Wow.
Mr. Cignetti. Curt Cignetti and players.
[The President was presented with a signed football.]
The President. That's great, Curt. That's beautiful. Wow. Thank you.
Mr. Becker. And we just—[laughter]—we just got an IU helmet also. [Laughter] Here. [The President was presented with a football helmet.]
The President. Thank you very much.
Mr. Cignetti. We'll let you keep the trophy for an NIL contribution.
The President. Wow. I'll do that. [Laughter] That's—I'll do that for NIL. Boy, oh, boy, did the courts screw us up, huh? [Laughter] That's all right. It's—whatever happened, it seems to be working for you, and you're going to—[laughter]—you're going to make it very successful.
You're going to create something very, very successful, I have no doubt.
So, we're going to take the players now to the Oval Office, and they're going to get a little glimpse at some—I think it's the most important piece of real estate anywhere in the world, in terms of—in terms of victory and in terms of winning and in terms of things that are happening.
Things are happening right now. Our country—you know, a little bit like your team, our country, a year and a half ago, was laughed at. We were mocked. And now we're the hottest country anywhere in the world. There's nobody close. We have the greatest military in the world. We're unparalleled. And we're doing a job. We've made America great again.
And this team has got a tremendous future. Don't lose the coach. [Laughter] She said: "We can't lose the coach." He's a piece of work, right? We're not going to lose him.
But I just want to thank everybody. It's a great turnout. It's a great turnout. But, you know, we do this a lot, and there's always spirit for a winning team. We have all the teams come here. But this was one I really looked forward to because the story of Indiana University is a—really, a legendary story. It's a very unusual story.
We have a lot of teams where they win and they keep winning and they keep—they don't know what it is. And you have some that lose and get a little bit lucky. This is a team that came out from, really, a program that was a basketball program, largely, and now it's a great, great football program.
And you're going to have a tremendous year. This is a fantastic group, and I look forward to watching. It's going to be a very interesting—but you're going to have a great year.
And no people like this. There are very few of them. Never bet against a guy like this, I'm telling you. Never bet against a guy like Curt. So, thank you, Curt and Coach, very much. Okay? Thank you very much.
Thank you, everybody. We're going to take them to the Oval Office. Thank you. Let's go, fellas. Come on. Follow—follow us.
NOTE: The President spoke at 4:17 p.m. on the South Lawn at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to National Economic Council Director Kevin A. Hassett; Indiana State senatorial candidates Trevor De Vries, Brian Schmutzler, Blake Fiechter, Tracey Powell, Jeff Ellington, and Michelle Davis; Sage M. Steele, former cohost of ESPN's "SportsCenter" program; and University of Miami Hurricanes quarterback Carson Beck. Mr. Cignetti referred to Fox Sports play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson.
Categories: Addresses and Remarks : 2025 College Football National Champion Indiana University Hoosiers.
Locations: Washington, DC
Names: Baird, James R.; Banks, Jim; Beck, Carson; Becker, Charlie; Begich, Nick; Burgum, Douglas J.; Cignetti, Curt; Coogan, Pat; Davis, Michelle; De Vries, Trevor; Ellington, Jeff; Fiechter, Blake; Garten, Chris; Green, Trent J.; Greer, Jamieson L.; Hassett, Kevin A.; Houchin, Erin; Huston, Todd; Jones, Isaiah; Loeffler, Kelly L.; Lutnick, Howard W.; Mendoza, Fernando; Messmer, Mark; Ponds, D'Angelo; Powell, Tracey; Rollins, Brooke L.; Schmutzler, Brian; Sharpe, Jamari; Shreve, Jefferson; Sonderling, Keith; Spartz, Victoria; Steele, Sage M.; Stutzman, Marlin A.; Turner, E. Scott; Vance, Ewan; Vance, James D. "J.D."; Vance, Vivek; Whitten, Pamela; Wright, Christopher A.; Yakym, Rudy; Young, Todd C.
Subjects: Acting Secretary of Labor; Economic Council, National; Football; Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, renovation efforts; Secretary of Agriculture; Secretary of Commerce; Secretary
of Energy; Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; Secretary of the Interior; Small Business Administration; U.S. Trade Representative; Vice President.
DCPD Number: DCPD202600332.