FIRST: Kamala Harris makes historic commencement address at West Point
Vice President Kamala Harris made history yet again on Saturday when she became the first woman to deliver the commencement address at West Point.
Saturday marked the Vice President’s first visit to the prestigious military academy. Last year, VP Harris addressed graduates at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut.
Commencement speakers at all U.S. military academies are usually delivered by the President, Vice President, or a high-ranking military official.
Until Harris’ election, that meant the speakers have always been men.
The Vice President used the historic moment to both praise the 950 graduating cadets as well as prepare them for the “unsettled world” they were about to enter as commissioned Army 2nd Lieutenants.
“The world has drastically changed,” VP Harris told the graduates and their families.
Referring to the COVID-19 pandemic that took millions of lives as well as the increasingly volatile global politics in Europe and Asia, the VP made it clear she understood what the graduates were facing:
“It is clear you graduate into an increasingly unsettled world where long-standing principles are at risk.”
VP Harris also touched on the importance of diversity while appearing at an institution founded in 1802 which didn’t admit its first woman until 1976.
Currently, about one-quarter of the student body at West Point are women — and only a few dozen graduates each year are Black women, like the Vice President.
Joined by Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth, the first woman to hold the Army’s top civilian post, VP Harris spoke to the importance of American institutions reflecting the country’s diversity.
Kamala Harris doesn’t get enough recognition for the great work she’s doing, because the GOP keeps distracting the MSM with TFG BS.
Give me this Black Excellence as an incredibly meaningful role model standing before the future of our military — and therefore, our national security — any day.
Also, she’s got a saber now, so just don’t mess with my Veep.
This is Historic. Here are a couple of photos of Madam Vice President Kamala Harris, First woman to deliver Commencement speech at West Point in 2023. pic.twitter.com/HZ5fJp3aZU
— silverprincess💛 (@marsha_vivinate) May 27, 2023
MVP Harris is the first woman to give a commencement address at West Point. pic.twitter.com/1ihUVHSawe
— Renee (@PettyLupone) May 27, 2023
i come from a long line of @westpoint_USMA graduates. to see my forever boss, vice president @KamalaHarris, at the podium this morning as the first woman to give a commencement address at the academy is really something else. pic.twitter.com/pfT5dWJIEw
— Shelby Cole (@shelbylcole) May 27, 2023
.@VP Harris also handed out diplomas to cadets during the 2023 graduation ceremony at @WestPoint_USMA.
📸: Kena Betancur / Spencer Platt pic.twitter.com/LYsx7BT5Np
— best of kamala harris (@archivekamala) May 27, 2023
Watch the Vice President’s historic appearance at West Point, below.
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