President Donald Trump, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York: “You have come from the farms and the cities, from states big and small, and from every race, religion, color and creed. But when you entered these grounds, you became part of one team and one family, proudly serving one great American nation. … To the 1,107 who today become the newest officers in the most exceptional Army ever to take the field of battle, I am here to offer America’s salute. Thank you for answering your nation’s call. … Congratulations.”
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley, National Defense University: “I am outraged by the senseless and brutal killing of George Floyd. … Racism and discrimination, structural preferences, patterns of mistreatment, unspoken and unconscious bias have no place in America. And they have no place in our armed forces. … As senior leaders, everything you do will be closely watched, and I am not immune. As many of you saw the result of the photograph of me at Lafayette Square … that sparked a national debate about the role of the military in civil society. I should not have been there. My presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics. As a commissioned uniformed officer, it was a mistake that I’ve learned from, and I sincerely hope we all can learn from it. … We who wear the cloth of our nation come from the people of our nation. And we must hold dear the principle of an apolitical military that is so deeply rooted in the very essence of our republic.”
Former first lady Michelle Obama,YouTube: “Over these past couple of months, our foundation has been shaken — not just by a pandemic that stole too many of our loved ones, upended our daily lives and sent tens of millions into unemployment — but also by the rumbling of the age-old fault lines that our country was built on, the lines of race and power that are now once again so nakedly exposed for all of us to grapple with. … It’s up to you to couple every protest with plans and policies, with organizing and mobilizing and voting. … Graduates, anger is a powerful force. It can be a useful force, but left on its own it will only corrode and destroy and sow chaos on the inside and out.”