May 31, 2019

From 'mein Mädchen' to 'leader of the free world,' Angela Merkel is winding down her political career

By Julianne Smith

President Donald Trump was the 2019 commencement speaker at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Thursday.

“In all things and ways, we are putting America first, and it’s about time,” Trump told the graduating class of just under1,000 cadets. “And we are restoring the fundamental principle that our first obligation and highest loyalty is to the American citizen. No longer will we sacrifice America’s interests to any foreign power. We don’t do that anymore.”

Across the country at Harvard University, new graduates heard a very different message on commencement day.

“Changes for the better are possible if we tackle them together,” Germany's Angela Merkel told the graduating seniors in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “If we want to go it alone, we could not achieve much. More than ever, our way of thinking and our actions have to be multilateral rather than unilateral.”

Listen to Julianne Smith's full conversation on PRI's The World.

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