Obama hits out at Trump, tells graduates walls won’t solve ills

“When my sisters graduated from Oklahoma State University in 2006, President (George W.) Bush was actually their commencement speaker”, said Rachel Stephenson, of Stillwater, who earned a Master’s of Library and Information Science from Rutgers on Sunday.

Obama told the graduates that they needed to participate in the political process and be satisfied with incremental change.

“I guess it’s part of human nature – especially in times of change and uncertainty – to want to look backwards and long for some imaginary past when everything worked, and the economy hummed and all politicians were wise and every child was well-mannered and America pretty much did whatever it wanted around the world”, Obama said.

“Truth is, I came here because you asked”, he said, telling the graduates their emails, letters, tweets, YouTube videos and a plea from the grandmother of the student body president convinced him to accept. Since I graduated, crime rates, teenage pregnancy, the share of Americans living in poverty – they’re all down. “Be revolutionary, challenge the status quo”. “Don’t just go out and make a fortune, make a difference”. Should it have been more real advice and less about Trump and the presidential election year? “You are the first to launch a three-year campaign”, he said. “If we want to close loopholes that allow large corporations and wealthy individuals to avoid paying their fair share of taxes, we have got to have the cooperation of other countries in a global financial system to help enforce financial laws”, Obama added.

“And I have to say that really sealed the deal”.

The president told students that progress takes time, personally and politically. “This is what you want”. “It is not that complicated”.

Delivering the commencement address at Rutgers University in New Jersey today, President Barack Obama told the graduates that “the good old days weren’t that good” and that both America and the world are better than they were “even eight years ago”. He said having the president come to Rutgers was “great for the school”. “And more importantly, our democracy wins”. “You can’t let other people do it for you”.

The president throughout his speech decried a strain of anti-intellectualism in American politics that he said rejects science, reason and debate. We reserve the right to edit a comment that is quoted or excerpted in an article.

President Barack Obama, left, receives an honorary degree from Rutgers University President Robert Barchi during Rutgers University’s 250th Anniversary commencement ceremony, on Sunday, May 15, 2016, in Piscataway, N.J.

But above all, he urged students to vote, saying apathy has consequences. Stand up for what you believe in.

And he warned graduates not to lose hope in the face of naysayers and roadblocks.

Read the full speech here.

Advertisement

“A while back, you may have seen a United States senator trotted out a snowball during a floor speech in the middle of winter as “proof” that the world was not warming”, he said as the audience laughed with him.