CBS journalist Scott Pelley’s commencement address at Wake Forest University urged graduates to defend democracy and freedom of speech — and set MAGA world ablaze in the process.
While the author and 60 Minutes correspondent never mentioned President Donald Trump by name in his May 19 remarks, his descriptions of the ongoing assault on American institutions and freedoms were clearly aimed at the administration.
“But in this moment — this moment, this morning — our sacred rule of law is under attack. Journalism is under attack. Universities are under attack. Freedom of speech is under attack,” he warned graduates. “An insidious fear is reaching through our schools, our businesses, our homes and into our private thoughts. The fear to speak. In America? If our government is, in Lincoln’s words, ‘of the people, by the people and for the people,’ then why are we afraid to speak?”
The speech infuriated Trump supporters, including pundits who wished the worst for Pelley and CBS.
“He should have been (arrested) because there was an overt lie,” Fox News host and former Trump press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on The Five panel discussion program. “What do you know about journalism being under attack? What does he know about that? I mean, 60 Minutes should be reduced to zero minutes.”
The speech infuriated Trump supporters, including pundits who wished the worst for Pelley and CBS.
Fox News host Laura Ingraham blasted Pelley as “a tool” and “whiny liberal” who is partly responsible for “tanking the credibility of the press he is supposedly so desperate to save.”
CBS currently faces a $20 billion lawsuit by Trump claiming a 60 Minutes interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris was favorably edited to her benefit ahead of the 2024 election. This is part of a pattern of Trump criticizing and suing media outlets he thinks don’t portray him the way he wants.
That lawsuit was no doubt in the background of Pelley’s commencement speech at the historically Baptist-related university. CBS News President Wendy McMahon resigned because parent company Paramount Global is negotiating a settlement with Trump. The 60 Minutes staff has been scathing in its own response to Paramount Global.
Ingraham said Pelley is bitter about the situation: “His influence has waned, the power of his old network is gone and now he’s not shy about showing us the rank bias we knew he had.”
But the war on truth extends beyond the media to any individuals and institutions that promote truth, learning and justice, Pelley said.
“First, make the truth seekers live in fear. Sue the journalists for nothing. Then send masked agents to abduct a college student, a writer of her college paper who wrote an editorial supporting Palestinian rights, and send her to a prison in Louisiana and charge her with nothing. Then, move to destroy law firms that stand up for the rights of others.”
Once completed, those in authority can rewrite history, “with grotesque, false narratives, they can make heroes criminals and criminals heroes. And they can change the definition of the words we use to describe reality,” Pelley said.
One case in point is Trump’s effort to eradicate diversity, equity and inclusion programs by labeling them as evil, he added. “‘Diversity’ is now described as ‘illegal.’ ‘Equity’ is to be shunned. ‘Inclusion’ is a dirty word. This is an old playbook, my friends. There is nothing new in this. George Orwell … warned of what he called ‘newspeak.’ He understood that ignorance works for power.”
Now it is up to the graduates of 2025 to speak up and act for liberty, just as their predecessors were called to do in 1861, 1941 and 1968, Pelley continued.
“Wake Forest has trained you to seek the truth, to find the meaning of life.”
“You may not feel prepared, but you are. You are not descended of fearful people. You brought your values to school with you and now Wake Forest has trained you to seek the truth, to find the meaning of life.”
University President Susan Wente, Provost Michele Gillespie and the board of trustees led by example by signing on to a statement defending academic freedom and freedom of expression.
“As leaders of America’s colleges, universities and scholarly societies, we speak with one voice against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education,” the April document declares.
Wake Forest University also issued a “Statement on Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom.”
“It ensures that all members of our university community, including students, faculty and staff, can express their views without fear of censorship or reprisal. It fosters a more inclusive and welcoming campus environment by respecting all voices,” the university explained.
This is not a newfound courage at the Baptist-founded school. In 1962, Wake Forest was the first major private institution of higher education in the South to integrate, Pelley noted.
“This university, old and wise, has seen worse. It has overcome existential threats before to our country. You are not alone. A legion has gone before you. And now it is the Class of 2025 that is called in another extreme time,” he said.
Pelley urged the graduates not to lament that this task has fallen to them: “Hard times are going to make you better and stronger. In a few minutes, when that diploma hits your hand, it’s not a piece of paper you’re holding. We’re handing you a baton. Run with it.”
Pelley grew up in Lubbock, Texas, and landed his first job in journalism at age 15 as a copyboy for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. He majored in journalism at Texas Tech University in Lubbock.