President Trump To Speak At University of Alabama's Commencement Ceremony

April 22, 2025 - TUSCALOOSA, AL - The arrival of May in Tuscaloosa, Alabama brings with it not only May flowers, but many smiling graduates posing for their graduation pictures in front of the President's Mansion, Denny Chimes, Bryant-Denny Stadium, and other notable landmarks of the University of Alabama. And this year, May will also give the excited graduates a unique experience as it is accompanied by the arrival of the President of The United States to speak for The University of Alabama's graduation ceremony. For President Donald J. Trump announced yesterday evening on his Truth Social page that he has agreed to deliver the Commencement Address this year at two notable institutions of higher learning: West Point and The University of Alabama.

The University of Alabama has around 34,908 full-time students, so the commencement exercises are staggered over multiple days every year. This May, the commencement ceremonies are scheduled for Friday, May 02nd, 2025 through Sunday, May 04th, 2025 at the Coleman Coliseum. Which one of the ceremonies or if all of them will feature The President of The United States as the Commencement speaker has not been announced, as of yet.

While President Donald J. Trump has maintained a regular presence at The University of Alabama via his attendance at home football games in 2019 and in 2024; this May will mark the first time President Trump will deliver the Commencement Address for the Commencement Ceremonies at The University of Alabama. It will herald a first for The University of Alabama as it will be the first time a sitting President of The United States has spoken for its graduation ceremonies. President Ronald Reagan did visit The University of Alabama as a sitting President of the United States for a re-election rally at Coleman Coliseum on October 15th, 1984; but President Trump's Commencement Address will be the first of its kind for The Capstone.

President Trump's Commencement Address at The University of Alabama also comes at a significant time. As the President is facing a lawsuit from what is often considered the pinnacle of higher education in The United States, Harvard University. As the Ivy League University filed suit on Monday against the Trump Administration challenging its decision to cut more than $2 billion in grants to the New England based private institution. Commencement speakers at Harvard University in the past have included the actor, Tom Hanks, the talk show host, Oprah Winfrey, film director Steven Spielberg, the founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, and the King of Spain, Juan Carlos I, among others. But, while several former presidents have spoken at Harvard University, none of the commencement ceremonies at Harvard University have featured a sitting President of The United States as the deliverer of their Commencement Address.