Graduation speech: Harvard University president gets standing ovation after taking a dig at Trump

BOSTON: Harvard University President gets standing ovation after taking dig at Trump during graduation speech.

According to media reports, speakers during the university’s commencement ceremony on May 29 defended Harvard’s value following relentless attacks by the Trump administration.

Harvard University President Alan Garber received a standing award for celebrating students from “around the world” during his commencement speech.

The ceremony came amid relentless attacks on the university by the Trump administration.

In recent days, the White House has attempted to block Harvard from enrolling international students and cancelled $100 million more in federal contracts with the institution.

Harvard University hosted its commencement ceremony for the class of 2025 on Thursday, May 29, amid the institution’s ongoing feud with President Donald Trump and his administration.

The ceremony, held at the historic Tercentenary Theatre in Harvard Yard, featured remarks from prominent students, illustrious keynote speakers and faculty heads, each of whom addressed the tensions between the university and the current political administration. Most notably, Harvard President Alan Garber began his remarks with an apparent dig at the Trump administration’s attempts to kick out all of the university’s foreign students.

“To the class of 2025, from down the street, across the country and around the world,” he began, pausing for applause before repeating himself for emphasis. “Around the world, just as it should be.”

The simple expression of solidarity with the entirety of his student body earned Garber a standing ovation.

Keynote speaker Dr. Abraham Verghese, a bestselling author and professor at Stanford Medical School, praised Harvard and its students for “courageously defending the essential values of this university and indeed of this nation.”

“No recent events can diminish what each of you have accomplished here,” he told the graduates.

In April, the Trump administration issued Harvard — and several other prominent U.S. universities — a list of demands targeting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives, the admission of international students, pro-Palestinian protests and more.

A protester holds a sign reading “There are no universities left in Gaza” amid the commencement ceremony in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The protest highlights ongoing global concerns about education and conflict, underscoring tensions that extend beyond the university’s celebrations. Protest signs were on display at Harvard University’s commencement ceremony.