Vice President Mike Pence praised West Point’s 985 graduating cadets – along with his boss – at their commencement ceremony Saturday.

“This is a class full of amazing Americans,” he said. “You are, as the president likes to say, the best of the best.”

Pence also gave a shout-out to President Trump, who was in Tokyo on a state visit.

“Your commander in chief will always have your back,” he said. “President Donald Trump is the best friend the men and women of our armed forces will ever have.”

Pence noted that the Class of 2019 is the most diverse ever, with 34 black female cadets, 88 Latino members and 223 women, the largest number since the first female cadets graduated in 1980.