--- title: Barack Obama at West Point: Commencement Address Transcript description: Read Barack Obama's commencement speech at West Point in 2014. canonical: https://time.com/4341783/obamas-commencement-transcript-speech-west-point-2014/ author: Barack Obama article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-02T18:33:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T17:41:17.829Z article:section: Politics og:title: Read President Obama's Commencement Address at West Point in 2014 og:description: "America’s support for democracy and human rights goes beyond idealism — it is a matter of national security" og:url: https://time.com/4341783/obamas-commencement-transcript-speech-west-point-2014/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltabb91635591b0d86/698893ef524fc0331edf8129/obama-west-point-2014.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4896 og:image:height: 2754 og:image:alt: West Point Graduation 2014 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Read President Obama's Commencement Address at West Point in 2014 twitter:description: "America’s support for democracy and human rights goes beyond idealism — it is a matter of national security" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltabb91635591b0d86/698893ef524fc0331edf8129/obama-west-point-2014.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Read President Obama's Commencement Address at West Point in 2014 > Sponsored content. 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It covers the reporting, scoops and conversations shaping AI and the decisions facing leaders. #### Where can I get reported AI news rather than commentary? In the Loop is TIME's AI newsletter, built on original reporting and access to the people building and governing AI. It publishes Tuesdays and Fridays and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes TIME's In the Loop? Harry Booth, a tech reporter at TIME, writes In the Loop. #### Is In the Loop free? Yes. In the Loop is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-loop-2026q3/newsletters?i=203112b4-9f81-479a-ab0b-6a9cf9e3a6b0&cr=time-nl-loop-2026q3-v1)  by [Barack Obama](https://time.com/author/barack-obama/)  ## Barack Obama Jun 2, 2016 6:33 PM UTC  President Barack Obama attends the West Point Graduation on May 28, 2014 in West Point, New York. President Barack Obama attends the West Point Graduation on May 28, 2014 in West Point, New York. Steve Sands—WireImage/Getty Images  by [Barack Obama](https://time.com/author/barack-obama/)  ## Barack Obama Jun 2, 2016 6:33 PM UTC Here are the [full remarks](https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/05/28/remarks-president-united-states-military-academy-commencement-ceremony) from Obama’s speech at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York in 2014. --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4341783/obamas-commencement-transcript-speech-west-point-2014/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4341783/obamas-commencement-transcript-speech-west-point-2014/"},"headline":"Read President Obama's Commencement Address at West Point in 2014","datePublished":"2016-06-02T18:33:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:41:17.829Z","description":"\"America’s support for democracy and human rights goes beyond idealism — it is a matter of national security\"","url":"https://time.com/4341783/obamas-commencement-transcript-speech-west-point-2014/","keywords":["Barack Obama","White House","transcripts"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltabb91635591b0d86/698893ef524fc0331edf8129/obama-west-point-2014.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Barack Obama","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/barack-obama/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltabb91635591b0d86/698893ef524fc0331edf8129/obama-west-point-2014.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"West Point Graduation 2014","caption":"West Point Graduation 2014","creditText":"Steve Sands—WireImage/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4341783/obamas-commencement-transcript-speech-west-point-2014/","name":"Read President Obama's Commencement Address at West Point in 2014"}}]}] ```