--- title: Trump Gets Called Out for a Concrete Wall Speech in 2004 description: "Go over it. Go around it. But get to the other side of that wall,” Trump said. canonical: https://time.com/5499234/trump-2004-wall-speech/ author: Tara Law article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-01-10T16:16:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:56:52.661Z og:title: Trump's 2004 Speech Is Making the Rounds Because of One Point og:description: People are starting to notice og:url: https://time.com/5499234/trump-2004-wall-speech/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b796db5be24f8cb/69894308bc6cfc09c93e7e39/trump-wall-1.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Smith Collection/Gado—Getty Images og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump's 2004 Speech Is Making the Rounds Because of One Point twitter:description: People are starting to notice twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b796db5be24f8cb/69894308bc6cfc09c93e7e39/trump-wall-1.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump Said 'If There's a Concrete Wall in Front of You, Go Around It' in a 2004 Speech and People Are Starting to Notice  by [Tara Law](https://time.com/author/tara-law/)  ## Tara Law Jan 10, 2019 4:16 PM UTC  Project Manager James O'Loughlin explaining Border Wall prototypes to President Donald J Trump, accompanied with DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, CBP Acting Commissioner Kevin McAleenan, and San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Rodney Scott, San Diego, March 13, 2018\. Image courtesy Ralph Desio / United States Department of Defense. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images) Project Manager James O'Loughlin explaining Border Wall prototypes to President Donald J Trump, accompanied with DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, CBP Acting Commissioner Kevin McAleenan, and San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Rodney Scott, San Diego, March 13, 2018\. Image courtesy Ralph Desio / United States Department of Defense. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)Project Manager James O'Loughlin explaining Border Wall prototypes to President Donald J Trump, accompanied with DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, CBP Acting Commissioner Kevin McAleenan, and San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Rodney Scott, San Diego, March 13, 2018.  by [Tara Law](https://time.com/author/tara-law/)  ## Tara Law Jan 10, 2019 4:16 PM UTC The plan to build a wall along Mexico’s border was a cornerstone of [Trump’s campaign](http://time.com/5497260/donald-trump-border-wall-fact-check/) that he and other administrators have been pushing for in recent weeks. But back in 2004, [Donald Trump](http://time.com/5496908/donald-trump-wall-shutdown-address/) had a very different take on “walls,” or metaphorical ones at least. In a commencement speech unearthed by the _Daily Show_ on Wednesday, Trump – who was accepting an honorary degree from Wagner College in Staten Island, New York – advised graduates to find a way around any wall they encounter in their future. “I’ll tell you, to me, the second-most important thing after love what you do is never, ever give up,” Trump said. “Don’t give up. Don’t allow it to happen. If there’s a concrete wall in front of you, go through it. Go over it. Go around it. But get to the other side of that wall.” The speech showed little sign that 12 years later, he would be elected president – and that two years into his presidency, he would push to build a wall in exchange for ending the government shutdown, which has become the second longest in history. As he introduced a clip of the speech, host Trevor Noah made the case that it all just proves that Trump knows that walls aren’t infallible. “If there’s one thing we know, it’s that nothing will stop immigrants from trying to come to America,” Noah said. “This is a place that people dream of coming to, because people trying to make a better, safer life for their families will do anything to achieve that dream.” At the time of the commencement speech, Trump’s life was radically different than it is today. He was celebrating the success of his new television show, _The Apprentice._ A faculty member introduced him by saying, “He is brash, demanding, sometimes boastful, but at the same time candid, insightful and supremely confident. Nothing second best.” In his speech, Trump acknowledged the success of his television show, and joking, “So here I am, I’m a star. And there’s nothing like it. It beats real estate all the time.” He also offered the graduates different tidbits of advice, including to “give all you’ve got” to your career; to “study something every day”—and to make sure they take out a prenup when they get married. He also advised students not to follow in his path. “Don’t live on the edge like I do. You don’t need it. You want to have a nice normal life, folks, ok? ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5499234/trump-2004-wall-speech/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5499234/trump-2004-wall-speech/"},"headline":"Trump Said 'If There's a Concrete Wall in Front of You, Go Around It' in a 2004 Speech and People Are Starting to Notice","datePublished":"2019-01-10T16:16:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:56:52.661Z","description":"\"Go over it. Go around it. 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