Hillary Clinton Compares Trump to Nixon in Wellesley Commencement Speech

Former Democratic presidential candidate weighs in on the current political climate at alma mater.

May 26, 2017 1:24 pm
Hillary Clinton speaks at commencement at Wellesley College May 26, 2017 in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Clinton graduated from Wellesley College in 1969.
Hillary Clinton speaks at commencement at Wellesley College May 26, 2017 in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Clinton graduated from Wellesley College in 1969. (Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images)

Hillary Clinton had plenty of criticism prepared for the Trump administration Friday in her commencement remarks at Wellesley College, her alma mater.

“When people in power invent their own facts and attack those who question them, it can mark the beginning of the end of a free society,” she told the graduating class, according to NPR. She also noted several similarities between the current question besieging the White House and the Watergate scandal that brought down the Nixon administration.

“That is not hyperbole, it is what authoritarian regimes throughout history have done…They attempt to control reality.”

She also added that Trump’s new budget proposal is a “con,” and “an attack of unimaginable cruelty on the most vulnerable among us—the youngest, the oldest, the poorest, and hard-working people who need a little help to gain or hang on to a decent, middle-class life.”

Clinton touched on fake news, jabbing at Trump’s fixation on the size of his inauguration crowd, and also spoke about how she’s been since her surprising defeat in November.

“You may have heard that things didn’t go exactly as I planned. But you know what, I’m doing O.K.,” she reportedly said, going on to speak about spending time with her family, going for walks in the woods, jokingly adding: “I won’t lie, chardonnay helped a little too.”

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