Love him or loathe him, Donald Trump might be one of the most unshakeable figures of our time. He’s been impeached twice, banned from social media, sued, mocked, arrested, fact-checked, and written off more times than any public figure should survive and yet, somehow, he’s still standing and commanding attention.

Trump’s story is less about politics and more about psychology and a strange study in resilience and defiance. His power doesn’t come from never being hit. On the contrary, it comes from never staying down no matter the hits.

He may not be everybody’s favourite person, but whatever he’s doing is working and deserves a deeper look.

Here are five strange but undeniable lessons from his playbook on how to stay standing when the world would rather see you fall.

1. Thick skin is a strategic asset

Most people think of thick skin as a personality trait. For Trump, it’s a business model. He has turned criticism into background noise he no longer hears. The insults, headlines, and late-night jokes which would dampen any other person’s spirit, feed him. Every attack for him is proof that he’s still relevant.

The lesson: If you let public opinion dictate your energy, you’ll burn out before you ever break through. The ability to stay unbothered, or at least appear to, is a competitive edge in an age where everyone’s emotions are on display.

2. The secret to staying relevant? Never stop talking

When most people retreat after backlash, Trump doubles down. He posts, he calls, he rallies, he repeats. His noise drowns out silence and that’s the point. Relevance, in his world, belongs to whoever keeps the microphone.

The lesson: Visibility beats perfection. You don’t stay in control by waiting for the storm to pass. You stay in control by being the loudest voice through it.

3. Control the room by never conceding it.

Trump doesn’t just occupy whatever space he finds himself, he dominates it. Whether in debates, boardrooms, or social media, he refuses to give up control of the frame. If he’s cornered, he reframes the corner. If he’s wrong, he changes the subject until he isn’t.

The lesson: In communication, control isn’t about truth but about direction. Whoever sets the narrative leads the room. You don’t need to win every argument but you need to control what’s being argued about.

4. Never play on someone else’s stage

Trump built his own stage, literally and figuratively. He used television to shape his image, social media to bypass gatekeepers, and rallies to turn audiences into armies. When platforms banned him, he built new ones. When critics mocked him, he made the mockery part of the show.

The lesson: If you rely on borrowed platforms, you’ll always be one edit away from erasure. Build your own channels, own your message, and make your audience come to you.

5. Own your contradictions before someone else weaponises them.

Trump’s contradictions are public record: billionaire populist, rule-breaker who loves order, businessman and showman. Yet what keeps them from destroying him is that he rarely hides them. He exaggerates them first.

The lesson: The best defense is preemptive honesty. When you name your flaws before others do, you rob them of their sting. Vulnerability, handled with audacity, becomes armor.

Final thought

Donald Trump may never win a popularity contest, but he’s mastered something more powerful: staying visible, relevant, and defiant in a world built to cancel, correct, and control. His strange superpower isn’t just confidence but endurance. You don’t have to admire his politics to learn from his persistence. Because in a world quick to judge, those who survive aren’t always the most loved, just the least shaken.