ENGLISH SPEECH DONALD TRUMP Never Ever Give Up English Subtitles
Thank you very much, everybody.
And congratulations to the class of 2017.
That’s some achievement.
This is your day and you’ve earned every
minute of it.
And I’m thrilled to be back at Liberty University.
I’ve been here, this is now my third time.
And we love setting records, right?
We always set records.
We have to set records, we have no choice.
It’s been a little over a year since I’ve
spoken on your beautiful campus and so much
has changed.
Right here, the class of 2017, dressed in
cap and gown, graduating to a totally brilliant
future.
And here I am standing before you as president
of the United States.
So I’m guessing there are some people here
today who thought that either one of those
things, either one, would really require major
help from God.
Do we agree?
And we got it.
But here we are celebrating together on this
very joyous occasion.
And there is no place in the world I’d rather
be to give my first commencement address as
president than here with my wonderful friends
at Liberty University.
And I accepted this invitation a long time
ago.
I said to Jerry that I’d be there, and when
I say something I mean it.
I want to thank President Jerry Falwell and
his incredible wife, Becky — stand up, Becky
— for their kind words, their steadfast
support, and their really wonderful friendship.
Let me also extend our appreciation to the
entire Falwell family, Trey, Sarah, Wesley,
Laura and Caroline.
Thank you for everything you do to make this
university so exceptional, one of the truly
great, great schools.
Most importantly to our new graduates, each
of you should take immense pride in what you
have achieved.
There’s another group of amazing people
we want to celebrate today and they are the
ones who have made this journey possible for
you.
And you know who that is?
Nobody, you forgot already.
You’re going to go out, you’re going to
do whatever you’re going to do, some are
going to make a lot of money, some are going
to be even happier doing other things.
They’re your parents and your grandparents,
don’t forget them.
You haven’t forgotten yet, have you?
Never, ever forget them, they’re great.
And especially this weekend, let’s make
sure we give a really extra special thanks
to the moms.
Don’t forget our moms, because graduates,
today is your day.
Today is your day.
But in all of this excitement don’t forget
that tomorrow is Mother’s Day, right?
I had a great mother, she’s looking down
now, but I had a great mother.
I always loved Mother’s Day.
We’re also deeply honored to be joined by
some of the nearly 6,000 service members,
military veterans and military spouses who
are receiving their diplomas today.
Will you please stand?
Please stand.
Wow, that’s great.
Thank you very much, great job.
We’re profoundly grateful to every single
one of you who sacrifice to keep us safe and
protect God’s precious gift of freedom.
It is truly a testament to this university
and to the values that you embrace that your
graduating class includes so many patriots
who have served our country in uniform.
Thank you very much.
To the class of 2017, today you end one chapter,
but you are about to begin the greatest adventure
of your life.
Just think for a moment of how blessed you
are to be here today at this great, great
university, living in this amazing country,
surrounded by people who you love and care
about so much.
Then ask yourself, with all of those blessings
and all of the blessings that you’ve been
given, what will you give back to this country
and indeed to the world?
What imprint will you leave in the sands of
history?
What will future Americans say we did in our
brief time right here on earth?
Did we take risks?
Did we dare to defy expectations?
Did we challenge accepted wisdom and take
on established systems?
I think I did, but we all did and we’re
all doing it.
Or did we just go along with convention, swim
downstream so easily with the current and
just give in because it was the easy way,
it was the traditional way or it was the accepted
way?
Remember this, nothing worth doing ever, ever,
ever came easy.
Following your convictions means you must
be willing to face criticism from those who
lack the same courage to do what is right.
And they know what is right, but they don’t
have the courage or the guts or the stamina
to take it and to do it.
It’s called the road less traveled.
I know that each of you will be a warrior
for the truth, will be a warrior for our country
and for your family.
I know that each of you will do what is right,
not what is the easy way, and that you will
be true to yourself and your country and your
beliefs.
In my short time in Washington I’ve seen
firsthand how the system is broken.
A small group of failed voices who think they
know everything and understand everyone want
to tell everybody else how to live and what
to do and how to think.
But you aren’t going to let other people
tell you what you believe, especially when
you know that you’re right.
And those of you graduating here today, who
have given half-a- million hours of charity
last year alone, unbelievable amount of work
and charity, and few universities or colleges
can claim anything even close, we don’t
need a lecture from Washington on how to lead
our lives.
I’m standing here looking at the next generation
of American leaders.
There may very well be a president or two
in our midst.
Anybody think they’re going to be president?
Raise your hand.
In your hearts are inscribed the values of
service, sacrifice and devotion.
Now you must go forth into the world and turn
your hopes and dreams into action.
America has always been the land of dreams
because America is a nation of true believers.
When the pilgrims landed at Plymouth they
prayed.
When the Founders wrote the Declaration of
Independence, they invoked our creator four
times, because in America we don’t worship
government, we worship God.
That is why our elected officials put their
hands on the Bible and say, “so help me
God” as they take the oath of office.
It is why our currency proudly declares, “in
God we trust.”
And it’s why we proudly proclaim that we
are one nation under God, every time we say
the Pledge of Allegiance.
The story of America is the story of an adventure
that began with deep faith, big dreams and
humble beginnings.
That is also the story of Liberty University.
When I think about the visionary founder of
this great institution, Reverend Jerry Falwell
Senior, I can only imagine how excited he
would be if he could see all of this and all
of you today, and how proud he would be of
his son and of his family.
In just two days we will mark the 10th anniversary
of Reverend Falwell’s passing.
And I used to love watching him on television,
hearing him preach.
He was a very special man.
He would be so proud, not just at what you’ve
achieved, but of the young men and women of
character that you’ve all become.
And, Jerry, I know your dad is looking down
on you right now and he is proud, he is very
proud.
So congratulations on a great job, Jerry.
Reverend Falwell’s life is a testament to
the power of faith to change the world.
The inspiring legacy that we see all around
us in this great stadium — this is a beautiful
stadium and it is packed.
I’m so happy about that.
I said, how are you going to fill up a place
like that?
It is packed, Jerry.
In this beautiful campus and in your smiling
faces, but it all began with a vision.
That vision was of a world-class university
for evangelical Christians.
And I want to thank you because, boy, did
you come out and vote, those of you that are
old enough, in other words your parents.
Boy, oh, boy, you voted, you voted.
No doubt many people told him his vision wasn’t
possible, and I am sure they continued to
say that so long after he started, at the
beginning with just 154 students.
But the fact is, no one has ever achieved
anything significant without a chorus of critics
standing on the sidelines explaining why it
can’t be done.
Nothing is easier or more pathetic than being
a critic, because they’re people that can’t
get the job done.
But the future belongs to the dreamers, not
to the critics.
The future belongs to the people who follow
their heart no matter what the critics say,
because they truly believe in their vision.
At Liberty, your leaders knew from the very
beginning that a strong athletic program would
help this campus grow so that this school
might transform more lives.
That is why a crucial part of Reverend Falwell’s
vision for making Liberty a world-class institution
was having a world-class football team, much
like the great teams of Notre Dame, great
school, great place.
In fact, Vice President Mike Pence is there
today doing a fabulous job, as he always does.
A few years ago, The New York Times even wrote
a story on the great ambitions of the Liberty
Flames.
That story prompted a longtime president of
another school to write a letter to Jerry.
It’s a letter that Reverend Falwell would
have been very, very pleased to read.
Jerry tells me that letter now hangs in the
wall in the boardroom of your great university.
It came from the late Father Theodore Hesper,
who was the beloved president of the University
of Notre Dame 35 years ago.
Like this school’s founder, he was a truly
kindhearted man of very, very deep faith.
In the letter, Father Hesper recalled that
Notre Dame’s own meteoric rise from a small
Midwestern school to a national football powerhouse.
And then he wrote something so amazing and
generous.
He wrote, “I think you are on that same
trajectory now and I want to wish you all
the best and encourage you from the starting
and from being able to start very small and
arriving in the big time.”
Thanks to hard work, great faith and incredible
devotion those dreams have come true.
As of February of this year, the Liberty Flames
are playing in the FBS, the highest level
of competition in NCAA football.
Don’t clap, that could be tough.
Don’t clap.
That could be tough.
I’m a little worried.
I don’t want to look at some of those scores
here.
Jerry, you sure you know what you’re doing
here?
Those other players are big and fast and strong
but I have a feeling you’re going to do
very well, right?
From the most humble roots, you’ve become
a powerhouse in both education and sports.
And just wait until the world hears the football
teams you’ll be playing on your schedule
starting next season.
President Falwell gave me a list of some of
those schools, the ones you’re going to
be playing 2018.
Would you like me to read the names?
Just came out, would you like to hear them?
I’m a little bit concerned.
UMass, Virginia, Auburn…
Jerry, are you sure you know what you’re
doing?
Jerry, Auburn?
I don’t know about that, James.
This could be trouble, Jerry.
Rutgers, Old Dominion, Brigham Young, Army.
I might be at that game, who am I supposed
to root for?
Tell me.
I don’t know.
That’s a tough one, Jerry.
I don’t know, Jerry, I’m going to have
to think about that one, Jerry.
Buffalo, Troy, Virginia Tech.
Oh no, Jerry, Ole Miss and Wake Forest, those
are really top schools.
Maybe in four or five years I’ll come to
a game, right?
You’ll build it up.
Well, good luck.
The success of your athletic program arriving
on the big stage should be a reminder to every
new graduate of just what you can achieve
when you start small, pursue a big vision
and never, ever quit.
You never quit.
If I give you one message to hold in your
hearts today, it’s this: Never, ever give
up.
There will be times in your life you’ll
want to quit, you’ll want to go home, you’ll
want to go home perhaps to that wonderful
mother that’s sitting back there watching
you and say, “Mom, I can’t do it.
I can’t do it.”
Just never quit.
Go back home and tell mom, dad, I can do it,
I can do it.
I will do it.
You’re going to be successful.
I’ve seen so many brilliant people, they
gave up in life.
They were totally brilliant, they were top
of their class, they were the best students,
they were the best of everything.
They gave up.
I’ve seen others who really didn’t have
that talent or that ability and they’re
among the most successful people today in
the world because they never quit and they
never gave up.
So just remember that, never stop fighting
for what you believe in and for the people
who care about you.
Carry yourself with dignity and pride.
Demand the best from yourself and be totally
unafraid to challenge entrenched interests
and failed power structures.
Does that sound familiar, by the way?
The more people tell you it’s not possible,
that it can’t be done, the more you should
be absolutely determined to prove them wrong.
Treat the word “impossible” as nothing
more than motivation.
Relish the opportunity to be an outsider.
Embrace that label.
Being an outsider is fine, embrace the label,
because it’s the outsiders who change the
world and who make a real and lasting difference.
The more that a broken system tells you that
you’re wrong, the more certain you should
be that you must keep pushing ahead, you must
keep pushing forward.
And always have the courage to be yourself.
Most importantly, you have to do what you
love.
You have to do what you love.
I’ve seen so many people, they’re forced
through lots of reasons, sometimes including
family, to go down a path that they don’t
want to go down, to go down a path that leads
them to something that they don’t love,
that they don’t enjoy.
You have to do what you love or you most likely
won’t be very successful at it.
So do what you love.
I want to recognize a friend who is here with
us today, who can serve as an inspiration
to us all, someone who doesn’t know the
meaning of the word “quit.”
Real champion, a true, true champion, both
on the field, off the field.
He’s a Hall of Fame quarterback for the
Buffalo Bills, really a good friend of mine,
an amazing guy, Jim Kelly.
Where is Jim?
He’s here some place.
Where is Jim?
Stand up, Jim.
What a great man.
Jim Kelly, he was tough.
Jim, do you have any idea how much money you’d
be making today?
They’d hit Jim, it was like tackling a linebacker.
They’d hit Jim, four guys, five guys that
weighed 320, and he’d just keep going down
the field.
He was much more than a quarterback.
He had tremendous heart and he knew how to
win.
Jim is tough, and his toughest fight of all
was that he beat cancer, not once, but twice.
And I saw him and his incredible wife as they
were in a very low moment, Jill, very, very
low moment.
And it was amazing the way they fought.
It didn’t look good.
I would have said maybe, maybe it’s not
going to happen.
But there was always that hope because of
Jim and Jim’s heart.
But I want to just say it’s great to have
you here today, Jim, and these people are
big, big fans.
And if you can get a young version of Jim
Kelly, you’ll be beating a lot of teams,
Jerry.
So interestingly, though, I said I wonder
what Jim’s doing here?
His daughter, Erin, crosses the goal line
to you and today with you.
So, Erin, stand up.
Where are you, Erin?
Where is Erin?
Congratulations, Erin.
Congratulations.
Graduating from Liberty.
Great choice, thank you.
Liberty University is a place where they really
have true champions and you have a simple
creed that you live by, to be, really, champions
for Christ.
Whether you’re called to be a missionary
overseas, to shepherd a church or to be a
leader in your community, you are a living
witness of the gospel message, of faith, hope
and love.
And I must tell you, I am so proud as your
president to have helped you along over the
past short period of time.
I said I was going to do it, and Jerry, I
did it.
And a lot of people are very happy with what’s
taken place, especially last week.
We did some very important signings, right
James?
Very important signings.
America is better when people put their faith
into action.
As long as I am your president, no one is
ever going to stop you from practicing your
faith or from preaching what’s in your heart.
We will always stand up for the right of all
Americans to pray to God and to follow his
teachings.
America is beginning a new chapter.
Today, each of you begins a new chapter as
well.
When your story goes from here, it will be
defined by your vision, your perseverance
and your grit.
That’s a word Jim Kelly knows very well,
your grit.
In this, I’m reminded of another man you
know very well and who has joined us here
today.
His name is George Rogers, Liberty University
CFO and vice president for a quarter of a
century.
During World War II, George spent three-and-a-half
years as a prisoner of war.
He saw many of his fellow soldiers die during
the Bataan death march.
He was the victim of starvation and torture
as a prisoner of war.
When he was finally set free he weighed just
85 pounds and was told he would not live past
the age of 40.
Today, George is 98 years old.
Great.
That’s so great, George.
If anyone ever had reason to quit, to give
in to the bitterness and anger that we all
face at some point, to lose hope in God’s
vision for his life, it was indeed George
Rogers.
But that’s not what he did.
He stood up for his country, he stood up for
his community.
He stood up for his family and he defended
civilization against a tide of barbarity,
the kind of barbarity we’re seeing today
and we’ve been witnessing over the last
number of years.
And I just want to tell you, as your president,
we are doing very, very well in countering
it, so you just hang in there.
Things are going along very, very well.
You’ll be hearing a lot about it next week
from our generals.
Things are going along very, very well.
Through it all, he kept his faith in God,
even in the darkest depths of despair.
Like so many others of his generation, George
came home to a nation full of optimism and
pride and began to live out the American dream.
He started a family, he discovered God’s
plan for him and pursued that vision with
all his might, pouring his passion into a
tiny college in a place called Lynchburg,
Virginia.
Did you ever hear of that?
Lynchburg?
We love it.
Do you like it?
We like it, right?
I flew over it a little while ago.
It’s amazing, actually.
What started as a dream with a few good friends
he helped shepherd into the largest Christian
university in the world.
Just look at this amazing, soaring, growing
campus.
And I’ve been watching it grow because I’ve
been a friend of Liberty for a long time,
now, Jerry.
It’s been a long time.
Thanks in great part George’s financial
stewardship, hundreds of thousands of young
hearts and souls have been enriched at Liberty
and inspired by the spirit of God.
George, we thank you and we salute you.
And you just stay healthy for a long time,
George, thank you.
Now it falls on the shoulders of each of you
here today to protect the freedom that patriots
like George earned with their incredible sacrifice.
Fortunately, you have been equipped with the
tools from your time right here on this campus
to make the right decisions and to serve God,
family and country.
As you build good lives, you will also be
rebuilding our nation.
You’ll be leaders in your communities, stewards
of great institutions and defenders of liberty.
And you will be great mothers and fathers
and grandmothers and grandfathers, loving
friends and loving family members.
You will build a future where we have the
courage to chase our dreams no matter what
the cynics and the doubters have to say.
You will have the confidence to speak the
hopes in your hearts and to express the love
that stirs your souls.
And you will have the faith to replace a broken
establishment with a government that serves
and protects the people.
We must always remember that we share one
home and one glorious destiny, whether we
are brown, black or white.
We all bleed the same red blood of patriots.
We all salute the same great American flag.
And we are all made by the same almighty God.
As long as
you remember what you have learned here at
Liberty, as long as you have pride in your
beliefs, courage in your convictions and faith
in your God, then you will not fail.
And as long as America remains true to its
values, loyal to its citizens and devoted
to its creator, then our best days are yet
to come.
I can promise you that.
This has been an exceptional morning.
It’s been a great honor for me and I want
to thank you, the students.
I also want to thank you, the family, for
getting them there.
And I want to thank and congratulate Liberty.
May God bless the class of 2017.
May god bless the United States of America.
May God bless all of you here today.
Thank you very much, thank you.
Thank you.
Thanks.