WASHINGTON – "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."

No, those aren't the words of a fiery advocate of open borders. They were spoken by Donald Trump, 12 years before winning an election in which he made building a concrete wall along the U.S.-Mexico border a centerpiece of his campaign.

The team at Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" unearthed a video of Trump making the inspirational remarks during a 2004 speech while receiving an honorary degree from Wagner College in Staten Island, New York.

Although Trump's words were metaphorical, host Trevor Noah could not resist taking them out of context to point out their irony as Trump's demand for a border wall has led to an ongoing partial government shutdown, now in its 20th day.

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Noah said Trump's insistence on a border barrier had reduced a complicated immigration issue to a simplistic "wall or no wall?" debate.

"If there's one thing we know, it's that nothing will stop immigrants from trying to come to America. This is the place that people dream of coming to because people who are trying to make a better, safer life for their families will do anything to achieve that dream," Noah said.

He added: "And I know Donald Trump understands this because of this video we found from 15 years ago."

In the clip, Trump told the graduates to "never, ever give up."

"Don't give up," he said. "Don't allow it to happen."

At the time, the real estate developer was in his first year as the star of the reality show "The Apprentice."

"So, here I am, I'm a star. And there's nothing like it. It beats real estate all the time," Trump said.

In addition to advising graduates to value themselves and always give their best, the twice-divorced television star told them to "always have a pre-nuptial agreement."

You can see the full video here: