President Obama takes thinly veiled swipes at Donald Trump in Rutgers commencement speech
On Sunday, President Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to give the commencement speech at New Jersey's Rutgers University, celebrating its 250th anniversary this year. In a 45-minute speech before 10,000 graduates and 40,000 guests, Obama joked about local sandwiches, a local bar, and how this generation is terrible at spelling and penmanship (though "smarter and better educated than my generation," he added), while also taking several clear swipes at presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump, without mentioning him by name.
"The world is more interconnected than ever before, and it's becoming more connected every day," Obama said at one point. "Building walls won't change that." At another, he took implicit aim at Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan and rhetoric. "The good old days weren't all that good," he said. "In fact, by almost every measure, America is better and the world is better than it was 50 years ago or 30 years ago or even eight years ago ... When you hear someone longing for the good old days, take it with a grain of salt."
Obama also advised the students that when they choose policymakers, they should remember the skills and values they learned at college. "Facts, evidence, reason, logic, an understanding of science — these are good things," he said. "In politics, as in life, ignorance is not a virtue. It's not cool to not know what you're talking about. That's not keeping it real or telling it like it is. That's not challenging political correctness. That's just not knowing what you are talking about." And he said that you shouldn't want an amateur politician as president any more than you'd want an untrained pilot or surgeon. "In our public lives, we suddenly say, 'I don't want somebody who's done it before'?" he asked.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The president said that he chose Rutgers as one of the three colleges he will address this year — he also spoke to Howard University, and he's scheduled to speak at the U.S. Air Force Academy — "because you asked ... You are the first to launch a three-year campaign — emails, letters, tweets, YouTube videos. I even got three notes from the grandmother of the student body president, and I have to say, that really sealed the deal because I have a soft spot for grandmas." You can watch excerpts of the speech below. Peter Weber
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
-
Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leakSpeed Read Paul Ingrassia lost Republican support following the exposure of past racist text messages
-
Trump begins East Wing demolition for ballroomspeed read The president’s new construction will cost $250 million
-
Appeals court clears Trump’s Portland troop deploymentSpeed Read A divided federal appeals court ruled that President Trump can send the National Guard to Portland
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ ralliesSpeed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June



