WASHINGTON — A teenage lifeguard and the boy he rescued off the coast of California were reunited Monday at the White House as President Donald Trump honored both as heroes.
“What you did was incredible, and everybody saw it,” Trump told the boys, referring to a viral video of the July rescue in Santa Cruz. “When I first saw it, I said, ‘roll that back, I want to see that again.’”
Seated alongside 16-year-old lifeguard Ryder Williams and 10-year-old Nathaniel Rai, Trump marveled at how each of them stayed cool in the dramatic ocean rescue in Santa Cruz in July. The boys' families joined the Oval Office reunion, along with lifeguard Aaron Bohnen, who aided in the rescue.
Online videos of the rescue have been viewed millions of times worldwide. The footage shows Williams clutching Nathaniel as heavy waves repeatedly smash into them. At one point, the boys disappear underwater for several seconds before emerging from the surf, Williams continuing to haul Nathaniel toward the shore.
Trump hailed Williams as a “real hero.” He told Nathaniel that “God was watching you.” Trump and Williams sat in chairs in front of the Oval Office fireplace, while Nathaniel and others sat alongside on a pair of couches.
Asked about the moment, Williams credited those who trained him how to snap into action.
“In those dangerous moments that we have, we always try to fall back on our training,” he said. “I really was thinking about how to get the boy out of the water as fast as I can.”
Wearing a black uniform with a California State Parks lifeguard patch, Williams said he hopes to train as a paramedic and become a firefighter.
Nathaniel, sitting next to his father and sister, nodded along as Trump described the rescue.
“Your father is the happiest man in the world,” Trump told him, adding that the boy deserved respect for how he faced the emergency. “The way Nathaniel handled it was — he was cool, considering the problems.”
Trump invited them to see the Lincoln Bedroom at the White House. When Williams mentioned his aspiration to become a firefighter, the president said he may be getting “some good recommendations.”
“He’s a real hero,” Trump said. “I don’t know if I’d do it. I wouldn’t probably. You’re lucky I wasn’t on the service that day.”
As the video drew attention online last month, Trump joined many who shared it. Posting the video on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the boys deserved to be honored.
“We’re going to bring this heroic young man, and his family, into the White House with, perhaps, the boy he saved, to give him a High Civilian Honor,” Trump wrote on July 28.
In a previous Associated Press interview, Williams described seeing Nathaniel lose his footing in shallow water at Seabright Beach. The water was too rough to get a rescue tube around Nathaniel, who went unconscious. They endured a series of pounding waves before Bohnen, the other lifeguard, helped them get ashore.
In the Oval Office, Trump remarked on Williams’ “tremendous grace” in the moment.
“It’s so amazing to see this happen, to see it before your eyes,” Trump said. “I’ve seen rescues before. I’ve never seen anything quite like this.”
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