PoliticsDonald Trump Goes Off About 'Trophy Wives' in Crazy Commencement Speech: Watch
The president rambled on about why marrying a 'trophy wife' isn't a good decision.
May 25 2025, Published 4:20 p.m. ET
Donald Trump celebrated graduates at West Point on Saturday, May 24, where he gave the United States Military Academy their commencement speech.
While the president opted to give his personal “tips” on how to stay successful, he veered off into a discussion about “momentum,” emphasizing to the audience, “Remember the word momentum.”
Donald Trump Delivers Speech About 'Trophy Wives'
The president honed in on not losing your 'momentum' during life.
To get his point across, Trump told the story of the late real estate developer William Levitt, who sold his business at the height of its growth.
The key factor, though, was how Levitt traded his booming company so he could run off with what Trump called a “trophy wife,” which he continued to ramble about during the important speech.
The president explained how the real estate developer went bankrupt.
“He became very rich, became a very rich man. And then he decided to sell,” Trump said of Levitt. “He was offered a lot of money by a big conglomerate, Gulf and Western, big conglomerate.”
“They didn’t do real estate. They didn’t know anything about it, but they saw the money he was making,” the president noted before elaborating on why one shouldn’t seek a trophy wife.
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Donald Trump said having a trophy wife 'doesn't work out too well.'
“He ended up getting a divorce, found a new wife — could you say a trophy wife? I guess we can say a trophy wife — it didn’t work out too well,” the president said. “But that doesn’t work out too well, I must tell you; a lot of trophy wives, it doesn’t work. But it made him happy for a little while, at least. But he found a new wife.”
Trump went on to say how Levitt went bankrupt and lost “everything” 15 years later, after he bought back his company for a “cheap” price.
The president shared the words William Levitt told him that he'll 'never forget.'
During his downfall, Trump saw Levitt sitting alone at an event, where he took the opportunity to speak with the real estate developer, hoping to gain insight from a like-minded man.
As the twosome discussed business, Levitt gave Trump a class on “momentum,” which the president said he will always remember.
“He said, I’ll never forget, he said, ‘I’ve lost my momentum; I just didn’t have it. I used to have it, but I lost my momentum,’” Trump told the West Point grads.
Donald Trump told the graduates they should always be aware of when they've 'lost' their momentum.
To really bring it home, the president emphasized the importance of what Levitt told him.
“You have to know when you have the momentum, but sometimes, you have to also know when you’ve lost the momentum,” Trump noted.
