US President Barack Obama criticized the populist campaign of Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump, decrying “anti-intellectualism” and noting that “ignorance is not a virtue”.
Advertisement
“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. Don’t lose hope.” Obama supported student effort, hope and positivity: “Don’t let resistance make you cynical.
Although the commander-in-chief didn’t specifically name Trump while addressing the graduating class, he did take a brief moment to criticize numerous presumptive Republican nominee’s controversial ideas, including temporarily banning Muslims from entering the US and building a wall between the good old United States of America and Mexico, among other things.
Trump’s Monday night tweet garnered him some negative attention online.
Obama praised the diversity at Rutgers.
“And yet, we’ve become confused about this”, he continued, warning that the rejection of facts and science would lead the USA on a path of decline. And maybe you’ll learn something and realize you don’t know everything.
Obama slammed Trump’s proposal to build a wall along the country’s southern border, saying the world is becoming ever more interconnected and “building walls won’t change that”.
President Barack Obama on Sunday talked about politics in his commencement address at Rutgers University in Piscataway, N.J.
Those policies are contrary to the nation’s history as a melting pot, Obama said.
“Now, I don’t think it’s a secret that I disagree with numerous foreign policies of Dr. Rice and the previous administration”.
“I come here for a simple reason – to finally settle this pork roll vs. Taylor ham question”, Obama said to laughter and applause. But the notion that this community or the country would be better served by not hearing from a former Secretary of State, or shutting out what she had to say – I believe that’s misguided.
While Obama mentioned climate change, he also used his points about facts and experience to take yet another swipe at an unnamed Trump. When leaders are “not held accountable for repeating falsehoods and just making stuff up, while actual experts are dismissed as elitists, then we’ve got a problem”, he said.
Looking out at a sea of red and black gowns at High Point Solution Stadium, Obama said the pace of change on the planet is accelerating, not subsiding. “You will get frustrated”, Obama said.
Advertisement
President Obama urged the students – who gave the president several standing ovations – to gear themselves for the long haul, not rush their success and endure any setbacks that may arise.
