President Donald Trump announced Monday that he will give the commencement address at The University of Alabama this year.
“I have agreed to do the Commencement Address at two really GREAT places, the University of Alabama and, WEST POINT,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “Stay tuned for times and dates!!!”
The University did not respond to multiple requests to confirm the announcement in time for publication.
UA spring commencement is set to be held May 2-4 across eight ceremonies at Coleman Coliseum. All ceremonies are usually free to attend and open to the public, though it is unclear if that will change if Trump gives the commencement address. Trump did not clarify which ceremonies he will speak at.
The University has rarely had unaffiliated speakers for commencement addresses in recent years after James T. Stephens, former EBSCO president of the board, was booed off stage during his speech in 2007.
Republican politicians said the commencement address is a positive opportunity for students.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey called the address a “historic occasion” for UA graduates and their families in a statement on social media Tuesday, thanking the president. “What an incredible opportunity to hear from the President of the United States!” she said.
Republican Sen. Katie Britt said in a statement released Tuesday that she was “thrilled” to hear that Trump will give the commencement address.
“It is a tremendous honor for the university and for this year’s graduating class to welcome a sitting President to campus—a first in the nearly 200-year history of the University of Alabama,” Britt said. “As an alumna, I am especially proud to see my alma mater chosen for such a historic occasion.”
The address comes as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the Trump administration recently detained UA Iranian doctoral student Alireza Doroudi. The Department of Homeland Security alleged in a statement without providing evidence that Doroudi posed “significant national security concerns.”
Trump has attended several Alabama football games in the past, including the Georgia game at home in Tuscaloosa in September 2024 as a presidential candidate. During his first term, he also attended the national championship game in 2018 between the Bulldogs and the Crimson Tide, as well as Alabama’s home loss to LSU in 2019.
The Republican Party also hosted the fourth Republican presidential primary debate of the 2024 election cycle at the University for the first time ever in December 2023. At the debate, University President Stuart Bell emphasized that the institution “cannot and does not endorse any candidate or position.”
Update: University confirms commencement address in campus-wide email sent at 1:44 p.m.
The University emailed students Tuesday afternoon confirming that Trump will give a commencement address. Instead of giving the address at one of the planned eight commencement ceremonies from May 2-4, Trump will instead give it at a separate commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 1.
“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 University said in the email. “This optional ticketed event will be held the evening of Thursday, May 1, at Coleman Coliseum and will be open to all spring 2025 graduates.”
The event will be open to all spring 2025 graduates in addition to the college-specific commencement ceremonies.
“Campus logistics and security measures are being carefully coordinated, and ticketing information for graduates and other event details will be communicated in the coming days,” the University said.
Update: University provides comment.
Alex House, associate director of communications for the University, reiterated in an email statement much of what was sent to students in an email Tuesday afternoon.
“We look forward to celebrating our graduates throughout commencement weekend as we confer degrees to thousands of hardworking students who will go on to make a positive impact in the workforce and in communities across Alabama, our nation and the world,” House said.
Update: UA College Democrats releases statement.
The UA College Democrats posted a statement to social media Tuesday afternoon saying it was “shocked and disgusted” to learn that Trump would be delivering a commencement address and that the “insult will not go unanswered.” UACD said it and its partners are “actively mobilizing” and hope to provide updates in the coming days.
The group said Trump’s attendance at the Alabama-Georgia game in September turned the game into a “political slideshow.”
“We cannot allow this to happen with our commencement ceremonies,” the group said.
UACD also referenced recent actions by the administration targeting universities.
“The Trump administration kidnapped one of our Ph. D. students for no reason a few weeks ago and is holding him without bond at an ICE black site in Louisiana. There is no greater insult than this,” the statement said. “Given that the White House has pulled federal funding from colleges and universities across our country, we understand if the Bell administration may be stuck between a rock and a hard place. We simply don’t want UA to be turned into a backdrop for MAGA propaganda.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
