The president's commencement address will precede Alabama's regular degree conferral ceremonies on May 2, 3, and 4, the university said on its website. "The University of Alabama is honored to have been selected as one of the universities President Donald J. Trump will visit to deliver a spring commencement address," the school said in a statement earlier this month. The announcement was met with some opposition from Alabama students and alumni who organized protests and a petition against Trump's speech, Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported. UA President Stuart Bell and former UA football coach Nick Saban are also expected to speak at the Thursday, May 1 event.
President Donald Trump will travel to heavily Republican Alabama on Thursday to speak to graduating students at the University of Alabama, where he is expected to draw some protesters despite enjoying a deep well of support in the state. Trump’s evening remarks in Tuscaloosa will be the Republican president’s first address to graduates in his second term and will come as he has been celebrating the first 100 days of his administration. The White House did not offer any details about Trump’s planned message. Alabama, where Trump won a commanding 64% of the vote in 2024, is where he has staged a number of his trademark large rallies over the past decade.
President Donald Trump is expected to arrive in Tuscaloosa aboard Air Force One this evening to speak at an event kicking off the University of Alabama’s 2025 spring commencement. “I have agreed to do the Commencement Address at two really GREAT places, the University of Alabama and, WEST POINT. Stay tuned for times and dates!!! DJT,” Trump posted on social media last week. John Wahl, chairman of the state political party, said that Trump officials reached out to university officials about the possibility of him taking part in the commencement ceremony “as it was one of the places he specifically wanted to visit.” The visit comes as Trump caps off the first 100 days of his second term in the White House.
