President Trump lashed out at critics on Saturday as he spoke to graduating students of Virginia's Liberty University in the first commencement address of his presidency. The speech came after perhaps the most tumultuous week since Trump took office, in which he faced a major backlash over his firing of FBI Director James Comey, including suggestions that he was trying to obstruct the agency's investigation into possible Trump campaign links to Russia's interference in the presidential election.
Trump declared: "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 cant get the job done." He continued: "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." He also said that his first months in office have shown him, quote, "the system is broken."
Trump received a warm reception at the Christian university's graduation ceremony, where he mostly stuck to his scripted remarks as he told the graduates to do what they love, never quit, and welcome being called an outsider. He said, "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 . . . because it's the outsiders who change the world and who make a real and lasting difference."
Trump's biggest applause came when he spoke about faith and said, "In America, we don't worship government. We worship God."