President Donald Trump on Monday met with Ryder Williams, whose rescue of a 10-year-old from violent waves in Santa Cruz, California, last month garnered national attention.
Williams, who is 16 years old, and the boy he rescued, Nathaniel Rai, joined Trump in the Oval Office, where the president recognized the lifeguard’s heroic actions.
Trump called it “an honor” to host Williams.
“I understand he was a winner right from the time they first saw him as a lifeguard—a lot of training, a lot of work—and he saved this young gentleman,” the president said.
Trump told Rai that the rescue means he is “going to have good luck in life.”
President Donald J. Trump meets with hero-lifeguard Ryder Williams, 16, and Nathaniel Rai, 10, their families, and Santa Cruz officials in the Oval Office, Monday, August, 17, 2026. Williams rescued Rai from rough surf at Seabright State Beach in Santa Cruz, California, on July 25, 2026. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
Video of the rescue shows Williams battling harrowing waves and refusing to let go of Rai despite violent rip currents repeatedly undermining their progress toward shore. However, Williams ultimately succeeded in his effort to save Rai.
Trump called Williams “a real hero” and said “God was watching” Rai.
He also said that young Americans will look up to both Williams and Rai for how they handled the crisis.
“They’re going to look up to Ryder. They’re going to look up to Nathaniel, the way Nathaniel handled it. He was… cool considering the problems…. I was watching… You were very cool, and they’re going to gain respect,” he said.
“I think you know, very importantly, they’re going to gain respect for what these people do, having to do with lifeguards and having to do with safety. This was an unbelievable experience,” he added.
Trump said that Williams demonstrated “tremendous grace” in the face of danger.
When asked what was going through his mind, Williams said he was focusing on employing his training.
“In those dangerous moments that we have, we always try to fall back on our training. We are trained so well by many to handle that situation as best we can. So I really was thinking about how to get the boy out of the water as fast as I can,” he said.
Williams noted that he hopes to be a firefighter one day, and the president quipped, “We’ll give him recommendations.”
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