--- title: Donald Trump Bashed the FBI, Then Praised It an Hour Later description: The relationship between Donald Trump and the Federal Bureau of Investigation continues to get more interesting. canonical: https://time.com/5066264/donald-trump-fbi-quantico-speech/ author: Nash Jenkins article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-12-15T16:40:40.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T23:32:32.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump Bashed the FBI Again. An Hour Later, He Praised Its Agents as 'Heroes' og:description: He said people were "very angry," then called agents "great, great people." og:url: https://time.com/5066264/donald-trump-fbi-quantico-speech/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf8ecbb6cba72b880/6988f538e76ad259ba630525/gettyimages-893549924.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3648 og:image:height: 2052 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-TRUMP og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump Bashed the FBI Again. An Hour Later, He Praised Its Agents as 'Heroes' twitter:description: He said people were "very angry," then called agents "great, great people." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf8ecbb6cba72b880/6988f538e76ad259ba630525/gettyimages-893549924.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Bashed the FBI Again. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=a812d49c-ea00-46eb-af6f-7d1e2480314b&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: 'We'll See What Happens.' President Trump Won't Rule Out Michael Flynn Pardon [Watch (HLS stream): 'We'll See What Happens.' President Trump Won't Rule Out Michael Flynn Pardon](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/E7wKdHJ1.m3u8) (0:48)  _Published 2017-12-15. President Trump refused to rule out a pardon for former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn Friday._ by [Nash Jenkins](https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Updated: Dec 12, 2023 11:32 PM UTCPublished: Dec 15, 2017 4:40 PM UTC  US President Donald Trump speaks at the FBI National Academy graduation ceremony on December 15, 2017 in Quantico, Virginia. US President Donald Trump speaks at the FBI National Academy graduation ceremony on December 15, 2017 in Quantico, Virginia. Nicholas Kamm—AFP/Getty Images by [Nash Jenkins](https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Updated: Dec 12, 2023 11:32 PM UTCPublished: Dec 15, 2017 4:40 PM UTC President Trump praised FBI agents as “great people” and “heroes for all of us” at a graduation less than an hour after criticizing the agency to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House. In a speech to the FBI National Academy’s graduating class, Trump argued that America should do more to protect and respect law enforcement officials, even calling for the death penalty for people who harm them. “Being a police officer is not just a career, it’s a calling,” he said. “And I’ve seen it. I have so many friends who are police officers, so many people in the FBI. These are great people. These are really heroes for all of us.” Just before heading over to give the speech, Trump [spoke to reporters](http://time.com/5066130/donald-trump-michael-flynn-pardon/) at the White House, saying that he was not yet ready to talk about pardoning former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, who [pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI](http://time.com/5045693/michael-flynn-guilty-plea-courtroom/), and criticizing the agency. “Let’s see, I can say this: When you look at what’s gone on with the FBI and the Justice Department, people are very, very angry,” he said. Earlier in the week, Trump tweeted that the agency’s reputation was “in tatters.” > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/937305615218696193) In the past, Trump has repeatedly said that the FBI flubbed its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s [private email server](http://time.com/5008708/donald-trump-twitter-hillary-clinton-dnc/) and other controversies involving the former Secretary of State and presidential candidate. His supporters have also pointed to [text messages sent by two senior FBI officials](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/12/us/fbi-trump-russia.html?%5Fr=0) who investigated the Trump campaign in which they describe the prospect of him winning as “terrifying.” But Trump had nothing but praise in his speech to graduates. “You very rarely you get the recognition you deserve,” he told the agents at Quantico. “We as a country must do a better job showing our police officers the respect and gratitude you deserve.” ## Transcript And I'm going today on behalf of the FBI, their new building. Everybody, not me, when everybody the level of anger at what they've been witnessing with respect to the FBI is certainly very sad. I wanna talk about pardons for Michael Flynn yet. We'll see what happens. 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