In a moment that not only earned Donald Trump praise but teared up the internet, the United States President made 13-year-old Devarjaye ‘DJ’ Daniel the youngest US Secret Service Officer, leaving the teen battling cancer stumped.
Daniel, who has a rare form of brain and spinal cancer, was present at Capitol Hill where Trump was addressing the joint session of Congress on Tuesday.
Praising the teenager, Trump spoke about his dream to become a police officer and how he had defeated the terminal illness.
“He has always dreamed of becoming a police officer,” Trump explained. “But in 2018, DJ was diagnosed with brain cancer. The doctors gave him five months at most to live. That was more than six years ago. Since that time, DJ and his dad have been on a quest to make his dream come true,” the President said. He added: “DJ has been sworn in as an honorary law officer actually a number of times. The police love him, the police departments love him.”
As the US President revealed his cards in a grand gesture, cameras panned to a shocked DJ, who was accompanied by his father, and was presented the honorary badge by US Secret Service Director Sean Curran.
DJ, who hails from Texas, is on a quest to be sworn into as many law-enforcement agencies as possible. In February 2022, the teen was sworn in as an honorary officer of the Rice University Police Department. In December 2024, he became an honorary Jasper police officer and received a key to the city.
According to a Rice University press release, DJ’s mission is twofold: to increase awareness of childhood cancer and to honour the legacy of Abigail Arias, a seven-year-old girl who was sworn in as an honorary officer of the Freeport Police Department before she died of lung cancer in 2019.
Though DJ initially set out to be sworn in by 100 law-enforcement agencies, by 2022, as his story received more public support, he had become an honorary member of 230 agencies.
