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Trump at Liberty University commencement: Embrace being an outsider (w/video)

 
President Donald Trump gives the commencement address for the Class of 2017 at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., Saturday, May 13, 2017. [Associated Press]
President Donald Trump gives the commencement address for the Class of 2017 at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., Saturday, May 13, 2017. [Associated Press]
Published May 14, 2017

In his first commencement address as president, Donald Trump on Saturday drew a parallel between what he faces as a political outsider in Washington and what he said the Christian graduates of Liberty University can expect to encounter in a secular world.

"Be totally unafraid to challenge entrenched interests and failed power structures," Trump said. "Does that sound familiar, by the way?"

"Relish the opportunity to be an outsider," he continued. "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."

Trump's nearly 30-minute address was short on scripture but cast the president as a defender of the Christian faith — a mantle he assumed throughout the campaign.

"In America, we don't worship government," Trump declared at one point. "We worship God."

Liberty University president and evangelical icon Jerry Falwell Jr. endorsed Trump in January 2016, calling him "a successful executive and entrepreneur, a wonderful father and a man who I believe can lead our country to greatness again."

Falwell, who also became a key campaign surrogate, praised Trump's actions on issues that concern Christian conservatives.

"I really don't think any other president has done more for evangelicals and the faith community in four months than President Trump has," Falwell told the Associated Press in a telephone interview on Friday.

Trump spoke at Liberty University in January 2016, drawing some laughs when he referred to one of the Bible's books as "Two Corinthians" instead of the more common "Second Corinthians." In that speech, Trump promised to "protect Christianity."

He made the same pledge again Saturday.

"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," said Trump, an occasional church-goer. "We will always stand up for the right of all Americans to pray to God and to follow his teachings."

Trump is scheduled to address graduates of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., on Wednesday.

The president received a warm reception on Saturday from the roughly 50,000 commencement attendees — a record crowd for the university, he proudly declared. Falwell said Trump is the second sitting president to deliver a commencement address at Liberty; George H.W. Bush spoke in 1990.

In a lighthearted moment, Trump listed some of the schools that Liberty's football team will face in 2018, when it joins the top tier of collegiate competition. Opponents will include such traditional powers as Auburn, Virginia Tech and Ole Miss.

"Jerry, are you sure you know what you're doing here?" Trump quipped.

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