Donald Trump’s Wall Commencement Speech 2004 (Full Transcript)

Donald Trump

Below is the full text of the speech of Donald Trump’s Wall Commencement Address delivered in 2004 during a graduation ceremony at Wagner College in Staten Island, N.Y.

TRANSCRIPT:

Well, thank you very much.

I’ve always wanted to be known as a ‘doctor’. And Melania, from now on, you will address me as ‘Dr. Trump’.

Sure she will.

Well, you’re about to begin a great new journey and you never really know where that journey will take you.

Look at me. I was a very successful real estate developer in New York City and they said, “Do you mind doing a television show?”

So I said, “I guess, what the hell.”

And we did it.

But then after I agreed to do it, I was speaking to my good friend John Myers who runs a little thing called the General Electric Pension Fund — what is that? A couple of hundred billion or something, ridiculous [inaudible]. People don’t know — people just don’t know. He’s a great guy.

And John and some of the NBC folks explained that 95% of the shows that go on the air failed.

So I said, “Why didn’t you tell me this before I agreed to do it?”

But it became really something, and it went to the number one show on television.