Ken Burns takes down Donald Trump in scorching Stanford commencement speech

Mon, 13 Jun, 2016 - 16:28

Stanford University has been no stranger to media attention of late, over 20-year-old Brock Turner who will likely serve only three months for the rape of an unidentified unconscious woman during his freshman year, writes Claire Anderson.

Stanford's graduation was marked by protests against Turner at the California school.

At the commencement speech, things began to heat up further as Ken Burns took to the podium.

Burns, a known historical documentary filmmaker, spoke out against Donald Trump to rapid applause, without even mentioning the candidates name.

One viewer seemingly thought Burns' attack on Trump was more thorough than what most other politicians had offered. "After a certain point, I was expecting Hillary to appear from backstage and declare Ken Burns as her running mate."

Read a stinging extract of the speech or view an 11 minute clip below. You can also access the full speech HERE.

Ken Burns definitely brought the fire.

For 216 years, our elections, though bitterly contested, have featured the philosophies and character of candidates who were clearly qualified. That is not the case this year. One is glaringly not qualified. So before you do anything with your well-earned degree, you must do everything you can to defeat the retrograde forces that have invaded our democratic process, divided our house, to fight against, no matter your political persuasion, the dictatorial tendencies of the candidate with zero experience in the much maligned but subtle art of governance; who is against lots of things, but doesn’t seem to be for anything, offering only bombastic and contradictory promises, and terrifying Orwellian statements; a person who easily lies, creating an environment where the truth doesn’t seem to matter; who has never demonstrated any interest in anyone or anything but himself and his own enrichment; who insults veterans, threatens a free press, mocks the handicapped, denigrates women, immigrants and all Muslims; a man who took more than a day to remember to disavow a supporter who advocates white supremacy and the Ku Klux Klan; an infantile, bullying man who, depending on his mood, is willing to discard old and established alliances, treaties and long-standing relationships. I feel genuine sorrow for the understandably scared and—they feel—powerless people who have flocked to his campaign in the mistaken belief that—as often happens on TV—a wand can be waved and every complicated problem can be solved with the simplest of solutions. They can’t. It is a political Ponzi scheme. And asking this man to assume the highest office in the land would be like asking a newly minted car driver to fly a 747.