Trump's Ego Takes Over UAB Commencement Speech & Makes It All About Him (Sorry, Grads)

Uh oh... Donald Trump's age is showing. The president seemingly forgot where he was while making the 2025 commencement address at the University of Alabama's graduation ceremony. From all the political pontifications, Trump must have thought it was November 2024, and he was pleading his case at a campaign rally. Between cliché advice, like "don't try to be someone else" and "never give up," Trump couldn't help but use the podium to push his political agenda, reminding a crowd of near college graduates at the Coleman Coliseum about issues like immigration, the price of eggs, and transgender rights.

His first remarks were no less ego-stroking than the rest of his address. He began by complimenting the Crimson Tide's athleticism before quickly shifting the conversation to his presidential win. "Today, it's my pleasure to return to this campus as the first president ever to deliver the keynote commencement address to this truly great American university," he said, ushering in the first compliment to himself. The rest weren't as subtle: "I love this place. Maybe it's because I won Alabama [in the presidential race] by 45 points. Could that be the reason?" The crowd seemed fairly receptive, cheering and yelling as Trump waxed on about his own victory — it's almost like this day wasn't to celebrate another huge achievement.

One thing about Donald Trump is that the Republican politician will occasionally get lost in his own words and accidentally reveal a little more than he should. During his Alabama commencement address, Trump discussed the issue of transgender athletes before asking the crowd if he should go through with imitating a weightlifter. "My wife gets very upset when I do this," he said. "She says, 'Darling, it's not presidential,' I say, 'Yeah, but people like it.'"

It's not the first time Melania Trump has criticized her husband for his lack of stage etiquette. She once told him that his dance moves were unpresidential — and we can assume there's more on that laundry list. Even so, Trump still mocked a transgender weightlifter, acting out what he thinks a competition would look like based on supposed performance discrepancies. "Alright, I'm in trouble when I get home, but that's okay. What the hell, I've been in lots of trouble before," the president said of his wife's disapproval. After all their PDA in Rome after Pope Francis' funeral, this could be the straw that breaks the camel's back.