COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) – Vice President Kamala Harris will speak Thursday at the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation ceremony in Colorado, her first speech at the ceremony that launches cadets into the Air Force or Space Force with pomp and fanfare and the roar of fighter jets.
President Joe Biden spoke last year to graduates, who will become second lieutenants, thanking them for choosing “service over self,” and noting the challenges ahead for the country and the world, from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to America’s rivalry with China. After greeting the graduates with gun salutes and handshakes, the president walked onto the stage and later said he tripped over a sandbag. He was unharmed.
Harris will speak at the Falcon Stadium, which seats more than 46,000 people, during an election year as details of a debate between Harris and Donald Trump’s yet-to-be-chosen running mate are being negotiated.
Commencement in Colorado Springs, Colorado, about an hour’s drive south of Denver, will end with graduates throwing their caps in the air as the world-famous US Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, the Thunderbirds, fly by.
Former Vice President Mike Pence spoke at the ceremony in 2020, when the event was scaled back to account for the COVID-19 pandemic.
