Former US secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday peppered her Wellesley College commencement address with barbs aimed at her rival in last year’s presidential election, criticizing US President Donald Trump’s budget proposal as a mean-spirited “con.”
The former Democratic US presidential candidate never mentioned Trump by name, even as she lashed out at his proposed budget as “an attack of unimaginable cruelty on the most vulnerable among us.”
She said during her speech at her alma mater that the spending proposal fails to address critical issues such as opioid addiction and climate change.
“It is shrouded in a trillion-dollar mathematical lie,” she said. “Let’s call it what it is. It’s a con. They don’t even try to hide it.”
Clinton also painted a portrait of a political environment where some are hostile to the fundamentals of an enlightened society and are engaged in “full-fledged assault on truth and reason.”
People on social media can deny science and concoct “elaborate, hurtful conspiracy theories about child abuse rings operating out of pizza parlors,” she said.
“Some are even denying things we can see with our own eyes, like the size of crowds,” she said, a reference to the Republican president’s false claims about the size of his inauguration crowd.
“When people in authority invent their own facts and attack those who question them, it can mark the beginning of the end of a free society,” she said.
Clinton urged graduates to listen to those they might disagree with and get out of their Internet bubbles, despite the push-back they might receive.
“In the years to come there will be trolls galore online and in person eager to tell you that you don’t have anything worthwhile to say or anything meaningful to contribute,” she said.
“They may even call you a nasty woman,” she said, referring to a comment Trump made to her during a debate.
Clinton said she understands the anger that some of the graduating members of the class might be feeling in the wake of the election, adding that she felt similar outrage as she was graduating 48 years ago.
Her classmates distrusted authority and were angry at the growing casualties in Vietnam — and the-then occupant of the White House, she said
“We were furious about the past presidential election of a man whose presidency would eventually end in disgrace with his impeachment ... after firing the person running the investigation into him,” she said, drawing a parallel between then-US president Richard Nixon and Trump.
Graduates should not be afraid of their ambition, dreams or even their anger, as these are powerful forces that can be harnessed to make a difference in the world, she said
Clinton’s speech was a “stark reminder” of why she lost the election, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said.
“Instead of lashing out with the same partisan talking points, Hillary Clinton would be wise to look inward, talk about why she lost, and expand the dwindling base of Democrat Party supporters,” she said.
Clinton’s speech marked a return engagement of sorts. She delivered the first student commencement address 48 years ago in 1969, the year she graduated from the all-women’s school. She also delivered the 1992 commencement speech.
Clinton appeared relaxed and joked at times during the speech.
After her defeat she was able to rely on her family, her grandchildren and long walks in the woods, she said.
“I won’t lie, chardonnay may have helped,” she said.
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