TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) 鈥 President Donald Trump offered some encouraging words and advice for graduating students at the University of Alabama on Thursday in a speech interspersed with complaints about his critics, accusations that judges were 鈥渋nterfering鈥 with his agenda and attacks on his predecessor, Joe Biden.
The Republican鈥檚 jolting speech was standard fare for Trump and well-received by the crowd in deep-red Alabama, which backed him in all three of his presidential runs.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e the first graduating class of the golden age of America,鈥 the president told the graduates.
But he quickly launched into a campaign-style diatribe, saying that the U.S. was being 鈥渞ipped off鈥 before he took office and that the last four years, when he was out of power, 鈥渨ere not good for our country.鈥
鈥淏ut don鈥檛 let that scare you,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t was an aberration.鈥
Trump has a long history of injecting such rhetoric into his remarks at venues where traditional political talk was seen as unseemly.
On his first full day in office in 2017, he used a speech at a memorial for fallen CIA agents to complain about journalists and defend the size of his crowd at the inauguration. Later that year, he drew backlash for talking about politics at a Boy Scouts jamboree. And earlier this year, he delivered a grievance-filled speech at the Justice Department where he threatened to 鈥渆xpose鈥 his enemies.
On Thursday night, after talking up his tariff plans, sharing his successes from his first 100 days in office and bashing the media, he returned to words of encouragement.
鈥淣ow is the time to work harder than you鈥檝e ever worked before,鈥 he said. 鈥淔ind your limits and then smash through everything.鈥
While Trump has described the speech as a commencement address, it is actually a special event that was created before graduation ceremonies that begin Friday. Graduating students had the option of attending the event.
Former Crimson Tide football coach Nick Saban also spoke, regaling the audience with a story about visiting the Oval Office in 2018 during Trump's first term. Saban said Trump was a gracious host.
Ahead of Trump's arrival, Emily Appel, a 22-year-old advertising major from Norcross, Georgia, called Trump's appearance at her school 鈥渁 cherry on top鈥 of her college years.
She called Trump a 鈥渧ery influential person鈥 and said she hoped he had a message to share that was "positive about us being able to work in the real world and for our future.鈥
Sophie Best, who is graduating with a communications degree, said, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that we could have had a greater person come to speak."
The 21-year-old from Cartersville, Georgia, said she attended Trump's first presidential inauguration in 2017 when she was a freshman in high school, along with her father, who she said loves Trump.
鈥淚 think that no matter what political party or whatever you believe in, I think that it鈥檚 super cool that we get to experience and make history and be a part of this,鈥 she said.
At a park a mile away, hundreds of people gathered at a counter-rally hosted by College Democrats. One-time presidential candidate Beto O鈥橰ourke of Texas and former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, the last Democrat to hold statewide office in Alabama, addressed the attendees at their event, called a 鈥淭ide Against Trump鈥 鈥 a play on the university鈥檚 nickname.
Aidan Meyers, a 21-year-old junior studying biology at the university, said he was upset by the decision to let Trump speak at a graduation-related event.
鈥淚 felt betrayed that the university was willing to put up with someone who has made it clear that they hate academia, essentially holding funding above universities' heads as a bargaining chip, unless they bow down to what he wants, which is kind of a hallmark sign with fascist regime,鈥 Meyers said.
O'Rourke told the rally that Trump was trying to make the students鈥 graduation 鈥渁ll about him, true to form.鈥 He urged students and others gathered to go out and use their voices to 鈥渨in America back.鈥
鈥淭he power of people works in this country, even against Donald Trump,鈥 O鈥橰ourke said.
Jones told the crowd they were there 鈥渘ot just as a protest, but as a movement.鈥
鈥淵ou are here today because you鈥檙e concerned, you鈥檙e afraid. You understand that this country鈥檚 great democracy is teetering right now with what we鈥檙e seeing going on,鈥 the former senator said.
Trump鈥檚 presence also drew criticism from the Alabama NAACP, which said his policies are hurting universities and students, particularly students of color.
After his stop in Alabama, Trump is scheduled to travel to Florida for a long weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
Later this month, he is scheduled to give the commencement address at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York.
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Associated Press writer Bill Barrow contributed to this report from Atlanta.
