'Hollow': Trump mocked for video sharing 'life lessons' as a 'a silver

President Donald Trump at a National Purple Heart Day ceremony in the White House East Room on August 7, 2025.

The Trump White House, on Labor Day 2025, released a video in which President Donald Trump offers "11 life lessons."

The video juxtaposes recent images of the 79-year-old Trump with older images of him from the 1980s and 1990s. And it is drawing a lot of feedback, including some biting analysis from the Daily Beast's Leigh Kimmins.

In an article published on September 2, Kimmins observes, "The 11-point list, taken from a stump speech given by Trump, is platitude-heavy and raises quite a few questions about how the president approaches life himself. 'Let me share some of the biggest lessons I've learned,' Trump says in the video, before rolling out a list of his personal discoveries that sometimes appear to contradict reality."

In the video, Trump declares, "First, if you think that you’re too young, let me tell you that you are wrong. You’re not too young."

But Kimmins notes that Trump has "repeatedly mocked young leaders for their age — most notably, his Swedish nemesis, Greta Thunberg…. He also belittled Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez."

"Another of Trump’s lessons: 'Work hard,'" Kimmins writes. "That will raise a few eyebrows, given the fact that he has played golf for nearly 17 percent of his second presidential term, according to Trump Golf Track, which constitutes 38 full days of his 225 days in office. After an early blitz, Trump has also made fewer and fewer public appearances in the past few weeks."

Trump's "life lessons" video is also generating a lot of discussion on X, formerly Twitter.

MAGA Republicans and right-wing media pundits were quick to praise the video.

Trish Regan posted, "This is awesome. The President just released his 11 lessons that every young American (and old!!) should listen up — optimism, work ethic, and an expectation of one self (THING BIG!!!) fuel the American Dream."

MAGA supporter Dan Brisbois wrote, "Trump's 11 life lessons aren’t some self-help Pinterest garbage — they're war plans. Be an outsider, because insiders are parasites. Work harder than everyone else until they choke on your dust. Believe in the American Dream, but don't just dream — take it, rip it out of the elites’ soft hands. Every lesson Trump spits is a middle finger to the establishment, a reminder that the system hates winners. If you want to change the world, stop asking permission and start kicking in doors."

But reporter Richard Angwin commented, "Trump's 'lessons' ring hollow from a silver-spoon billionaire who dodged the draft, stiffed workers, and turned the American Dream into a nightmare of division and debt."

Writer Charlotte Clymer tweeted, "The White House YouTube account posted this video — 'President Trump's 11 Life lessons' — a few hours ago. It's taken from a commencement address he gave. It feels... odd. It comes across as a rallying cry, sure, but it also can't help seeming a bit like a somber review."

Watch the full video below or at this link.