President Donald Trump’s remarks at the National Teacher of the Year event Wednesday took an unusual turn, morphing into a discussion about who has cried in the Oval Office and including a casual mention of First Lady Melania Trump’s birthday.

Trump recognized 55 teachers from across the country at the event, which was held at the White House on Wednesday. Among them was Sydney Chaffee, a ninth-grade teacher at Codman Academy Charter School in Dorchester, who was named the 2017 National Teacher of the Year after winning the award at the state level.

The president offered Chaffee some brief words of congratulations for her “tremendous achievement,” before changing the subject to his wife, Melania.


“I know Melania has been working with you now for quite a while. She is a tremendous fan of wonderful teachers,” Trump said. “But she’s worked very hard and we’re having some special times here. This is Melania’s birthday and you were very nice to sing happy birthday, even though we’re celebrating you.”

Then, when one teacher began to cry, Trump launched into a recount of his experiences with others who shed tears in the Oval Office.

“I mean, I once had here like the biggest, from the biggest companies. And they walk into the Oval Office and they start crying,” Trump said. “I said, I promise I won’t say to your various stockholders that you cried. But I have seen people cry that you’d never believe.”

Read Trump’s full speech, as transcribed by White House staff, below.