President Donald Trump couldn’t resist hijacking his own commencement speech Wednesday at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy to complain about how he’s been treated in the wake of the various scandals that have rocked the White House over the past two weeks.
“Look at the way I’ve been treated lately,” he griped, to laughter from the crowd. “Especially by the media. No politician in history, and I say this with great surety, has been treated worse or more unfairly.”
The commencement remarks were Trump’s first public comments since the New York Times reported Tuesday that he asked then-FBI Director James Comey to shut down his bureau’s investigation into Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, a request that Comey documented in a memo. The President, usually quick to weigh in on such reports on Twitter, fell silent and has not tweeted in almost a day.
Trump on Wednesday advised cadets that over the course of their lives, they will need to “fight, fight, fight.”
“Over the course of your life, you will find that things are not always fair. You will find that things happen to you that you do not deserve and that are not always warranted,” he said, possibly in reference to bombshell reports that he disclosed highly classified information to top Russian diplomats and asked Comey to quash the investigation into Flynn.
Trump also pumped up his own presidency so far, crowing that he has “accomplished a tremendous amount in a very short time.”
He drew a parallel between the cadets’ commencement ceremony and his first international trip since taking office, which is scheduled to begin on Friday.
“As you leave this academy to embark on your exciting new voyage,” Trump said, “I am heading on a very crucial journey, as well. In a few days, I will make my first trip abroad as President.”
He ended his remarks by thanking cadets and congratulating them.
“Things will work out just fine,” Trump said. “Great honor. Good luck. Enjoy your life.”
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This post has been updated.
