President Trump on Saturday condemned “critics” during his commencement speech at Liberty University, appearing to draw parallels between the founding of the evangelical school and his campaign for president.
“No one has ever achieved anything significant without a chorus of critics explaining why it can’t be done,” Trump said at the ceremony in Lynchburg, Va., where he received an honorary law degree. “Nothing is easier or more pathetic than being a critic. There are people who can’t get the job done, but the future belongs for the dreamers, not the critics, the people who follow their heart no matter what the critics say.”
President Trump Commencement Address at @LibertyU: "Nothing is easier or more pathetic than being a critic." #LUGrad pic.twitter.com/4nn6ULJf9L— CSPAN (@cspan) May 13, 2017
Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty, was a supporter of Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign. He also praised Trump in 2012 as someone who had “single-handedly forced President Obama to release his birth certificate.”
His father, Jerry Falwell Sr., founded the university. Trump described the founding, like that of America, as being one of “deep faith, big dreams and humble beginnings.” He also vowed that as long as he was president, “nobody is going to stop you from practicing your faith or preaching what is in your heart.”
Trump drew jeers from critics when he spoke at Liberty University in 2016 because he referred to the New Testament book “Second Corinthians” as “Two Corinthians.”
