On May 17, President Donald J. Trump appeared at the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. 

He was there go give the commencement remarks to a graduating class of Coast Guard cadets. 

The Coast Guard Academy website explains what it seeks in candidates: “The Coast Guard needs officers who are intellectually curious, who seek continuous improvement, and who are committed to service above self. At the Academy, our academic programs provide the intellectual foundation for developing officers with these qualities.” 

It also spells out what the Academy offers: “The Coast Guard Academy is ranked among the nation’s top undergraduate colleges. Our academic program, which awards a Bachelor of Science and a commission as an Ensign in the U.S. Coast Guard, must be completed in four years.

“It is designed to provide a superb academic foundation in a military environment. The result: future leaders of America.”

The Academy’s core requirements could not be more at odds with the realities of Donald Trump’s life:

• “Intellectually curious”–Trump’s attention span is notoriously short, limited to about four minutes on a topic.  And he regularly confines his “writings” to the 140-character count on Twitter.
• “Who seek continuous improvement”–asked on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” who he consults about foreign policy, Trump replied; “I’m speaking with myself, number one, because I have a very good brain and I’ve said a lot of things.”
• “Committed to service above self”–Trump dodged the draft during the Vietnam war by getting five deferments. As a Presidential candidate, he said of Arizona U.S. Senator John McCain, who spent seven years as a Vietnam POW: “He’s not a war hero.  He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”

Trump’s official reason for appearing at the Academy was to pay tribute to the 195 cadets graduating that day.

Coast Guard Academy graduating students celebrate

And, momentarily, he did: “These fine young cadets are about to take their rightful place on the front line of defense for the United States of America.

“Cadets, you deserve not only the congratulations, but the gratitude of each and every American. And we all salute you, a proud nation.” 

But, being Trump, he couldn’t praise others without also praising himself: “I won’t talk about how much I saved you on the F-35 fighter jet. I won’t even talk about it. Or how much we’re about to save you on the Gerald Ford, the aircraft carrier….

“I’ve accomplished a tremendous amount in a very short time as president….”

Donald Trump 

Then he went on to pay further tribute to himself: “Jobs are pouring back into our country; a brand-new Supreme Court justice, who’s going to be fantastic for 45 years; a historic investment in our military; border crossings….”

Finally, he reached the climax of his address: “Now, I want to take this opportunity to give you some advice. Over the course of your life, you will find that things are not always fair.

“You will find that things happen to you that you do not deserve and that are not always warranted. But you have to put your head down and fight, fight, fight. Never, ever, ever give up. Things will work out just fine.

“Look at the way I’ve been treated lately, especially by the media. No politician in history–and I say this with great surety–has been treated worse or more unfairly. You can’t let them get you down. You can’t let the critics and the naysayers get in the way of your dreams.”

Trump was referring to the avalanche of criticism he had received for:

• His May 9 firing of FBI Director James Comey. Comey had refused to pledge his personal loyalty to Trump. And he had recently asked the Justice Department to fund an expanded FBI investigation into contacts between Trump’s 2016 Presidential campaign and Russian Intelligence agents; 
• His meeting, the very next day in the Oval Office, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. During that meeting he gave the Russians sensitive Intelligence on ISIS that had been supplied by Israel; and
• On May 12, Trump tweeted a threat to the fired FBI director: “James Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press.”
  

James Comey

Kislyak is reportedly a top recruiter for Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence agency. He has been closely linked with Jeff Sessions, now Attorney General, and fired National Security Adviser Mike Flynn. A third Kislyak contact: Carter Page.

All three served as members of Trump’s Presidential campaign.

“I guess that’s why I won–thank you. I guess that’s why we won,” continued Trump.

“Adversity makes you stronger. Don’t give in, don’t back down, and never stop doing what you know is right. Nothing worth doing ever, ever, ever came easy, and the more righteous your fight, the more opposition that you will face.” 

Trump, who has never shown a sense of irony, unintentionally displayed one now. 

His self-tribute could have served as an epitaph for James Comey–a former United States Attorney, Deputy Attorney General and seventh director of the FBI.