President Barack Obama gave the keynote address to the graduating students of Rutgers University on Sunday. Obama used the opportunity to slam the policies of the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump.
Although Obama did not mention Trump's name, it was not difficult to determine whom the president was talking about. Obama talked about his dismissal of anti-intellectualism and "building a wall."
The president addressed an estimated 12,000 graduates and spoke to more than 50,000 people at the state university's football stadium. Obama's commencement address came as a result of a three-year lobbying campaign by the university as mentioned in his speech.
Obama said that the world is more interconnected than ever before so building walls won't change that. He also went on to attack the political positions of Trump including his opposition to trade deals and bar Muslims from entering the U.S.
"Isolating or disparaging Muslims... That is not just a betrayal of our values - that's not just a betrayal of who we are, it would alienate the very communities at home and abroad who are our most important partners in the fight against extremism." The statement referred to Trump's suggestion of isolating Muslims and creating laws against them from entering the country.
It was clear that the sitting president wanted to launch a force campaign against Trump ahead of the November elections since the university mirrors the country's racial and economic diversity. Obama's remarks were well received by the academic audience.
Obama also told the graduates that they bear some responsibility for learning the truth, instead of reading sources that confirm their own beliefs. He told that the Class of 2016 that ignorance is not a virtue as telling people what they want to hear instead of confirming the facts is problematic.
The president also addressed the importance of voting by saying that apathy has consequences. Aside from Obama, Rutgers University also gave honorary degrees to astrophysicist S. Jocelyn Bell Burnell and journalist Bill Moyers, according to Politico.
Rutgers University, located in Brunswick, New Jersey, marked the largest graduating class in its 250-year history, according to Robert L. Barchi, the university's president. Despite needing to arrive early due to increased security and traffic, students were honored to have Obama give the commencement address at their school marking a truly historic event, according to Inquisitr.
