Trump on Alabama: 'From the first day I set my foot on this beautiful soil, I connected'

President Donald Trump told the University of Alabama students Thursday that they are blessed to have lived and studied in “the great state of Alabama.”

Trump gave a commencement address to the class of 2025 at special event that was created before graduation ceremonies, which begin on Friday.

While Trump used some portions of the speech to highlight his successes during the first 100 days of his presidency, he made a generous amount time to praise a state that he says in many ways feels like “home.”

“You know, it’s been such a great state for me,” Trump said. “I feel it’s home. When they said Alabama, I said that has a good ring to me…But for the past four years, you’ve lived in a state known for its fighters, its champions and its warriors, and you’ve lived in the great state of Alabama, one of the greatest of them all. From Huntsville to Birmingham, from Montgomery to Mobile, and from right here in Tuscaloosa to the gleaming shores of the Gulf of America.”

The president said he believes those graduates will always feel a connection to the state, even if they end up traveling and working somewhere else.

“Some of you will leave here today and travel the world, but you will always know that this state, this is really Sweet Home, Alabama, right? That’s always going to be your place,” he exclaimed. “I sort of feel that way myself, because from a political standpoint, it’s just been we connected from day one. From the first day I set my foot on this beautiful soil, I connected with Alabama.”

Trump also praised the values, culture, and people of the state.

“And here in Alabama, we believe that the men and women who built this country are heroes, and that America’s destiny is to be the single greatest nation on the face of the earth, and we’re bringing it back at speed that nobody thought was possible. We believe in freedom and family, God and country. We cherish our Constitution, we revere our Bible, and we salute our great American flag.”

“We honor our police, we respect our veterans, and we always stand for our one and only national anthem. We love our national anthem,” he continued. “We believe in strong parents, strong values, strong communities and very strong borders. And we believe that the United States military is the greatest force for peace and justice the world has ever known. We have a great military. We just had people that didn’t know how to lead it. We believe the South is beautiful. Alabama is great, and America is our home. We believe in the SEC and the USA.”

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee