President Trump Speech to FBI National Academy Graduates
Millennial1
2017-12-18
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FBI National Academy
Quantico, Virginia
10:35 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Wow. (Applause.) Thank you very much, everybody. That’s a lot of years since the last President, and we’ll be back. (Laughter.) And thank you to Attorney General Sessions; thank you, Director Wray; Assistant Director Resch for hosting me here at the FBI National Academy to address our wonderful local police and sheriffs from all over America. A very special honor.
And it’s an honor to stand here today with the incredible men and women of law enforcement. Thank you. (Applause.)
We’re here to celebrate your graduation from the National Academy at Quantico. For over 80 years, this rigorous and world-renowned program has trained America’s most dedicated local law enforcement officers from all across the country. So respected. Let me begin by saying to each member of the graduating class: Congratulations.
You left home for 11 weeks to enroll in this program because you love your jobs, you love your communities, and you love your country.
Earlier this week, you completed the harrowing 6-mile “Yellow Brick Road.” Just signed that beautiful brick (Laughter.) I just signed that brick — designed for the Marines to push even the toughest to their limit.
You endured muddy waters, barbed-wire fences, icy creeks, steep hills, and so much more, knowing that your elite training will help save lives. The training you received at Quantico will give you that extra edge you need to defuse a threat, to disarm a criminal, and to deliver a child safely to her mother’s arms.
I am here not only to congratulate you, but to honor you for your courage and for your devotion. And I want you to know that with me as your President, America’s police will have a true friend and loyal champion in the White House — more loyal than anyone else can be, I tell you. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you.
I also want to take a moment to speak to all of the law enforcement families here today. You make tremendous sacrifices. American families can sleep soundly at night because of the burden that you carry for all of us. So on behalf of all Americans, to every law enforcement family here today, and all across the nation: Thank you, thank you, thank you very much. (Applause.)
And you do that under the most difficult conditions. You very rarely get the recognition you deserve, I can tell you that. But your families know what you deserve, and ultimately, that’s the most important thing, isn’t it?
It’s not a news story when our officers save a life, rescue a family, or stop a crime. It’s just another day on the job. Yet, no matter the circumstances, you serve tirelessly, selflessly, and heroically. You do it because you really believe in doing your duty and doing it properly.
Being a police officer is not just a career, it’s a calling. And I’ve seen it. I have so many friends that are police officers — so many people in the FBI. These are great, great people. These are really heroes for all of us. So thank you very much. (Applause.) And as we, as a country, must do a better job showing our police officers the respect and gratitude that you have earned. And we will do that.
So when you return home to your local precincts, I want you to deliver a message to your fellow officers: The President of the United States has your back 100 percent. (Applause.) I will fight for you, and I will never, ever let you down — ever. Now, more than ever, we must support the men and women in blue.
In the last two years, America has seen a tragic rise in violent crime. In 2015 and 2016, we witnessed the steepest two-year consecutive increase in murders in nearly half a century.
And you look at what’s going on in Chicago. What the hell is going on in Chicago? (Laughter.) What the hell is happening there? (Applause.) For the second year in a row, a person was shot in Chicago every three hours. You don’t think these people in this room can stop that? They’d stop that. They’d stop it.
And just north of our nation’s capital, in Baltimore, on average, someone was murdered nearly every day of this year.
Police departments are overstretched, they’re underfunded, and they’re totally underappreciated — except by me. (Applause.) Instead of holding up our police as the role models and mentors they are, they have been subjected to malicious attacks on their character and integrity. This anti-police sentiment is wrong, and it’s dangerous, and we will not stand for it.
rest of transcript: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-fbi-national-academy-graduation-ceremony/
Quantico, Virginia
10:35 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Wow. (Applause.) Thank you very much, everybody. That’s a lot of years since the last President, and we’ll be back. (Laughter.) And thank you to Attorney General Sessions; thank you, Director Wray; Assistant Director Resch for hosting me here at the FBI National Academy to address our wonderful local police and sheriffs from all over America. A very special honor.
And it’s an honor to stand here today with the incredible men and women of law enforcement. Thank you. (Applause.)
We’re here to celebrate your graduation from the National Academy at Quantico. For over 80 years, this rigorous and world-renowned program has trained America’s most dedicated local law enforcement officers from all across the country. So respected. Let me begin by saying to each member of the graduating class: Congratulations.
You left home for 11 weeks to enroll in this program because you love your jobs, you love your communities, and you love your country.
Earlier this week, you completed the harrowing 6-mile “Yellow Brick Road.” Just signed that beautiful brick (Laughter.) I just signed that brick — designed for the Marines to push even the toughest to their limit.
You endured muddy waters, barbed-wire fences, icy creeks, steep hills, and so much more, knowing that your elite training will help save lives. The training you received at Quantico will give you that extra edge you need to defuse a threat, to disarm a criminal, and to deliver a child safely to her mother’s arms.
I am here not only to congratulate you, but to honor you for your courage and for your devotion. And I want you to know that with me as your President, America’s police will have a true friend and loyal champion in the White House — more loyal than anyone else can be, I tell you. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you.
I also want to take a moment to speak to all of the law enforcement families here today. You make tremendous sacrifices. American families can sleep soundly at night because of the burden that you carry for all of us. So on behalf of all Americans, to every law enforcement family here today, and all across the nation: Thank you, thank you, thank you very much. (Applause.)
And you do that under the most difficult conditions. You very rarely get the recognition you deserve, I can tell you that. But your families know what you deserve, and ultimately, that’s the most important thing, isn’t it?
It’s not a news story when our officers save a life, rescue a family, or stop a crime. It’s just another day on the job. Yet, no matter the circumstances, you serve tirelessly, selflessly, and heroically. You do it because you really believe in doing your duty and doing it properly.
Being a police officer is not just a career, it’s a calling. And I’ve seen it. I have so many friends that are police officers — so many people in the FBI. These are great, great people. These are really heroes for all of us. So thank you very much. (Applause.) And as we, as a country, must do a better job showing our police officers the respect and gratitude that you have earned. And we will do that.
So when you return home to your local precincts, I want you to deliver a message to your fellow officers: The President of the United States has your back 100 percent. (Applause.) I will fight for you, and I will never, ever let you down — ever. Now, more than ever, we must support the men and women in blue.
In the last two years, America has seen a tragic rise in violent crime. In 2015 and 2016, we witnessed the steepest two-year consecutive increase in murders in nearly half a century.
And you look at what’s going on in Chicago. What the hell is going on in Chicago? (Laughter.) What the hell is happening there? (Applause.) For the second year in a row, a person was shot in Chicago every three hours. You don’t think these people in this room can stop that? They’d stop that. They’d stop it.
And just north of our nation’s capital, in Baltimore, on average, someone was murdered nearly every day of this year.
Police departments are overstretched, they’re underfunded, and they’re totally underappreciated — except by me. (Applause.) Instead of holding up our police as the role models and mentors they are, they have been subjected to malicious attacks on their character and integrity. This anti-police sentiment is wrong, and it’s dangerous, and we will not stand for it.
rest of transcript: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-fbi-national-academy-graduation-ceremony/
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