--- title: Donald Trump: Commencement Speeches Include Trump Warnings description: Many commencement speakers have added a new topical piece of advice to their addresses this year: don't behave like Donald Trump canonical: https://time.com/4357088/2016-commencement-speakers-donald-trump/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-04T11:47:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:55:30.140Z article:section: Politics og:title: Commencement Speakers’ Advice for 2016 Grads: Don’t Be Like Donald Trump og:description: There's a new piece of popular advice for graduates og:url: https://time.com/4357088/2016-commencement-speakers-donald-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb2e7ea83ddc099ac/69889654656a3f750cbcbcb6/donald-trump-commencement.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-VOTE-TRUMP og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Commencement Speakers’ Advice for 2016 Grads: Don’t Be Like Donald Trump twitter:description: There's a new piece of popular advice for graduates twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb2e7ea83ddc099ac/69889654656a3f750cbcbcb6/donald-trump-commencement.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Commencement Speakers’ Advice for 2016 Grads: Don’t Be Like Donald Trump ## Video: Obama's Commencement Speeches Over the Years [Watch (HLS stream): Obama's Commencement Speeches Over the Years](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/FkJAzJXG.m3u8) (3:28)  _Published 2016-06-03_  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Jun 4, 2016 11:47 AM UTC  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a rally in San Jose, California on June 2. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a rally in San Jose, California on June 2.Josh Edelson— AFP/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Jun 4, 2016 11:47 AM UTC In the tradition of commencement speeches, repetition is inevitable. Year after year, influential speakers offer graduates a relatively familiar message, telling them to change the world while seizing opportunities and overcoming fears of failure. This year, many speakers have added a new topical piece of advice to the rotation: don’t behave like Donald Trump. Several 2016 commencement speakers—from actors to politicians—have admonished the Republican presidential nominee, mentioning him either directly by name or with references to his policies. With their speeches on Friday, both Michelle Obama and Matt Damon joined the mix. Some speakers have made reference to Trump’s repeated promise to [build a border wall](http://time.com/4237744/vicente-fox-donald-trump-wall-mexico/) and [get Mexico to pay for it](http://time.com/4281926/donald-trump-mexico-border-wall-explanation/), while others have referenced his [call for a ban on Muslims](http://time.com/4253839/donald-trump-islam-hates-us-interview/) entering the U.S. and his tendency to resort to [name-calling tactics](http://time.com/4242827/donald-trump-marco-rubio-insults/) with rivals. (Notably, some of the same speakers also took shots at Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, by mentioning his promises of free college and Wall Street reform.) Here’s what they had to say: **Barack Obama** The President of the United States [addressed graduates at Rutgers University](http://time.com/4340310/barack-obama-commencement-address-transcript-rutgers/) on May 15. --- > “” --- **Read more:** [Watch Barack Obama Use Commencement Speeches to Talk to Young Voters Over the Years](http://time.com/4356971/barack-obama-commencement-speeches/?xid=tcoshare) **Michelle Obama** The First Lady spoke to [spoke at City College of New York](http://time.com/4357063/michelle-obama-donald-trump-cuny-commencement-speech/) on June 3. --- > “” --- **Matt Damon** The _Good Will Hunting_ actor [spoke at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology](http://time.com/4357006/matt-damon-mit-commencement-donald-trump/) on June 3, mentioning the idea that reality [could actually be a computer-generated simulation](http://www.simulation-argument.com/simulation.html). --- > “” --- **Arianna Huffington**The Huffington Post editor-in-chief spoke [at Colby College on May 22](http://motto.time.com/4341944/arianna-huffington-commencement-speech-colby-college/): --- > “” --- Huffington also [gave the address](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karah-preiss/arianna-huffington-to-hunter-college-grads-to-create-a-better-world-secure-your-own-oxygen-mask-first%5Fb%5F10270058.html) at Hunter College on June 2. --- > “” --- **John Kerry** The Secretary of State [addressed graduates at Northeastern University](http://time.com/4321733/john-kerry-commencement-address-transcript-speech/) on May 6. --- > “” --- **Elizabeth Warren** The Democratic Massachusetts Senator [spoke at Suffolk University](http://motto.time.com/4345503/elizabeth-warren-suffolk-univeristy-commencement-speech/) on May 22. --- > “” --- Earlier, speaking at Bridgewater State University’s commencement on May 14, she mentioned her ongoing feud with Trump. --- > “” --- **Lin-Manuel Miranda** The creator and star of Broadway hit _Hamilton_ [addressed graduates at the University of Pennsylvania](http://motto.time.com/4337719/lin-manuel-miranda-grad-speech/), where Trump’s daughter graduated this year. “In a year where politicians traffic in anti-immigrant rhetoric, there is also a Broadway musical reminding us that a broke, orphan immigrant from the West Indies built our financial system, a story that reminds us that since the beginning of the great unfinished symphony that is our American experiment, time and time again, immigrants get the job done.” **Michael Bloomberg**The [former New York City mayor](http://time.com/4313436/michael-bloomberg-commencement-speech-donald-trump-bernie-sanders/), who considered a presidential run as an Independent, gave the University of Michigan’s [commencement address](https://www.mikebloomberg.com/news/mike-bloomberg-delivers-commencement-at-university-of-michigan/) on April 30. --- > “” --- **Mitt Romney** The 2012 Republican presidential nominee [spoke at Trine University](http://www.wowo.com/transcript-mitt-romneys-speech-trine-university/) on May 7. --- > “” --- **Maria Elena Salinas** The Univision anchor said journalists were often unfairly vilified by politicians, mentioning Trump, and was [met with boos from the audience](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/27/us/boos-for-univision-anchor-who-spoke-spanish-and-criticized-trump-at-graduation.html) at California State University, Fullerton on May 22. --- > “” --- **Jerry Moran** The Republican Kansas Senator spoke at Friends University on May 7. --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4357088/2016-commencement-speakers-donald-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4357088/2016-commencement-speakers-donald-trump/"},"headline":"Commencement Speakers’ Advice for 2016 Grads: Don’t Be Like Donald 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