Donald Trump, in his first commencement speech as the United States President, encouraged graduating seniors at Liberty University to draw lessons from his example as a political outsider, telling them to embrace criticism.
Trump urged the graduates to "embrace the label" of being an outsider and to not "swim downstream so easily with the current."
"No one has ever achieved anything significant without a chorus of critics standing on the sideline saying why it can't be done," he said.
"Nothing is easier or more pathetic than being a critic."
Trump, as he spoke before the Christian university, dubbed the criticism of his actions as a sign that he was "doing honourable work in remarks that touched upon religion but were not particularly imbued with religious overtones," CNN reports.
"You aren't going to let other people tell you what you believe, especially when you know that you're right," the President said.
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"We don't need a lecture from Washington on how to lead our lives."
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