Fact Check: Did Donald Trump leave West Point graduation ceremony early to play golf?

WEST POINT, NEW YORK: President Donald Trump delivered the commencement address to the 2025 graduating class of the US Military Academy in West Point on May 24. The POTUS urged graduates to savor the moment, but warned against complacency during his speech. 

Recently, a rumor circulated online claiming that Trump departed early without honoring a tradition of staying during the diploma ceremony, as a video showed him golfing the same day at his Bedminster club. But is there any truth to this? Let's find out below.

Claim: Donald Trump left West Point graduation early without honoring diploma ceremony tradition to play golf

Many online users shared a rumor claiming that after Donald Trump's May 24 commencement address at the US Military Academy at West Point, he left early without honoring a tradition of staying to honor graduates during the diploma ceremony.

Moreover, a short video shared claimed to show the POTUS shortly thereafter golfing on the same day at his Bedminster club.

A Bluesky user posted a video with the caption, "Trump told West Point cadets at their graduation that he wouldn't be able to shake their hands, a tradition among US presidents, because he had urgent matters to deal with on China and Russia. This was him 'dealing' with China and Russia moments later. He went golfing."

Similarly, an X user wrote, "Trump told cadets at West Point that he had to leave right away (and not stay to salute each one and shake their hands, as is customary, as Biden did last year) because he had to deal with China and Russia. Here he is dealing with China and Russia."

The rumor was also shared across different social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Threads, and TikTok.

Fact Check: The claims about Donald Trump are a mixture of true and undetermined information

The claims that Donald Trump left the West Point graduation early without honoring the diploma ceremony tradition and played golf are partly true and partly unconfirmed, Snopes reported.

During his address, Trump honored the service and sacrifice of the graduating cadets but left the West Point graduation early—after his speech and before the diploma ceremony, according to the fact-checking outlet.

In this way, he broke a tradition honored each year by recent former US Presidents such as Joe Biden, Trump during his first term, Barack Obama, and George W Bush.

Trump did not specifically mention not planning to shake hands with the cadets, but said, "I'm going back now to deal with Russia, to deal with China."

Moreover, a White House spokesperson labeled the rumor as "a non-story" in an email to Snopes, and alleged without providing evidence that Trump shook "hundreds" of hands before his speech.

Meanwhile, it remains unclear whether the president played golf later that day or if the widely shared video of him riding in a golf cart shows him playing golf immediately after his speech upon arriving at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey.

Donald Trump's commencement address at West Point Military Academy

Donald Trump used his military commencement address on May 24 to congratulate the cadets at West Point for their achievements and take credit for the United States' military power, according to CBS News.

Trump said, "You will become officers in the greatest and most powerful Army the world has ever known. "And I know because I rebuilt the Army and I rebuilt the military, and we rebuilt it like nobody had ever rebuilt it before."

The POTUS also talked about the shift in US foreign policy and military intervention.

He said, "For at least two decades, political leaders from both parties have dragged our military into missions", and accused leaders in the past of sending soldiers into "nation-building crusades to nations that wanted to do nothing with us."

"It was never meant to be. It wasn't meant to be," he added.

During his speech, Trump touted that critical race theory would no longer be taught at military academies.

"We're getting rid of the distractions, and we're focusing our military on its core mission, crushing America's adversaries, killing America's enemies, and defending our great American flag like it has never been defended before," the POTUS said.