Pelley's anti-Trump commencement speech was a public spectacle filled with nonsense
Share this @internewscast.com

Leaving aside that Scott Pelley might have dampened the graduation day for some parents and students at Wake Forest University, his anti-Trump commencement speech last week nonetheless has its merits.

Namely, Pelley’s outrageous fearmongering throws open the window to the mindset of a media figure at one of the nation’s supposedly premier outlets.

The view we get is so appalling as to be stomach-churning.

It turns out that the man from CBS is full of BS.

But we already knew that, didn’t we?

The surprise is that he outed himself in such a revealing and public spectacle.

Warped by partisanship

Pelley’s description of America and Trump’s agenda is so warped by partisanship that he can’t see straight.

His version of reality brings to mind the distortions of a fun-house mirror — without the fun.

Carried away by his own grandiosity, he fancies himself a brave truth-teller and reaches for historic comparisons.

Only the most notable examples will suffice, as Pelley connects his immature scare tactics to the courageous wartime broadcasts of Edward R. Murrow during Hitler’s bombing of London and the insightful warnings of George Orwell regarding fascism.

After quoting Orwell’s remark, “If liberty means anything at all, it means something worth saying that some people don’t want to hear,” Pelley somewhat modestly adds: “I fear there are some people in the audience who don’t want to hear what I have to say today. But I appreciate your forbearance in this small act of liberty.”

What courage!

What humor!

He never mentions the president’s name, but doesn’t have to.

His language steals from the headlines of Trump-bashing ­media everywhere.

It’s a testament to their conformity that we know who and what he’s talking about because the legacy outlets all think and speak in lockstep.

Day in, day out, the heights of journalism plumb the depths of conformity.

Everything Pelley said, we’ve heard 10,000 times before.

And often with more insight and balance.

But he didn’t go to Wake Forest to be fair.

He went to recruit those who don’t hate and fear their president by trying to scare them half to death.

“Our sacred rule of law is under attack. Journalism is under attack. Universities are under attack. Freedom of speech is under attack,” Pelley insisted.

“An insidious fear is reaching through our schools, our businesses, our homes and into our private thoughts. The fear to speak. In America?”

‘Speaking’ of irony

Is this a commencement address in 2025 or the introduction to a 1950s late-night horror movie?

The theme song of “Jaws” would have made a fitting backdrop, with Trump as the frightening Great White.

Because no self-respecting graduation speech is complete without citing Abraham Lincoln, Pelley goes for the obvious, saying that “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?”

Yet there he is, speaking!

Actual fairness doesn’t interest him or his network. The once-trusted CBS has become just ­another dog barking at shadows.

Worse, Pelley is a member of the “60 Minutes” team that is leading the charge downhill.

It denied the legitimacy of Hunter Biden’s infamous laptop long after The Post proved it was real, and even after the FBI ­authenticated its damning contents.

And neither Pelley nor any of his colleagues saw the slightest hint that Joe Biden was suffering from serious cognitive decline. To admit it would have helped Trump, so they looked the other way.

You know, to save democracy.

The program continued to shill for Biden up until the minute he dropped out of the presidential campaign, then immediately shifted gears to shill for Kamala Harris.

The selective editing of a “60 Minutes” interview with her is the target of a Trump lawsuit and is spurring fears among top management that a corporate merger with Skydance Media will be blocked by federal agencies.

Oddly, that fear is having something of an admirable impact in that some segments on “60 Minutes” and presumably elsewhere on the network are being more closely scrutinized for fairness before airing.

As for Pelley, he made it clear he doesn’t like the oversight by recently lionizing the program’s former executive producer, Bill Owens, who resigned by saying

he had lost control over the contents.

Career death knell?

Perhaps Pelley also fears for his own paycheck, which could explain why he’s forsaking journalism and diving into the darkness of propaganda.

He’d fit right in at MSNBC.

Whatever the cause, his speech should mark the death knell of his CBS career.

How can it be otherwise when the underlying assumption is that if you aren’t consumed with hate and fear over the president, there’s something wrong with you?

It breaks my heart to say it, but this is the ethos of most contemporary journalism, where independent thinking is verboten.

Only one thought per customer is permitted, and it must conform to the party line.

“Tuition liberation day” is what many parents call graduation, but Pelley didn’t even have the grace to make anything other than a passing reference to those who paid the outrageous bills Wake Forest charges.

All they got was a lecture about what a horrible country they and their children live in because there is a monster in the White House.

Things are so bad that Pelley felt compelled to compare the current mood to the run-up of the Civil War, the early days of World War II and the campus rebellions over Vietnam.

The fact that Trump was elected — and carried — North Carolina, where Wake Forest is located, never figures into the screed.

That’s not an accident. To acknowledge that a contrasting point of view exists would cast doubt on Pelley’s dogma.

He calls himself a “reporter,” as if he’s Detective Joe Friday, another television creation who just sticks to the facts.

In Pelley’s case, that’s not only false modesty — it’s also inaccurate.

Just the facts? Hardly

Former CBS giant Dan Rather used to say the same thing about himself — right up to the moment he got booted for using phony documents to try to help Al Gore defeat George W. Bush.

Similarly, Pelley has come out as a rank partisan and can never again be trusted to cover anything remotely related to Trump or ­politics.

Consider that a majority of North Carolina voters backed Trump, meaning that some of the adults in Pelley’s audience, including faculty and parents, and possibly many students, voted for the man their graduation speaker described as a wannabe fascist dictator.

And a racist.

Because in addition to his silly comparisons to World War II, Pelley likened the current atmosphere to the run-up of the Civil War.

Get a grip, man!

Then there’s Wake Forest itself.

It’s an elite private school where full-time tuition and other costs surpass $90,000 a year.

It’s not exactly a middle-class bastion or in any way representative of the concerns of most American families.

Then again, neither are Scott Pelley and CBS.

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like
Eight Americans arrested in Bahamas after authorities discover 'high-powered weapons' cache, ammunition

Shocking Discovery: Eight Americans Detained in Bahamas for Hidden Arsenal of High-Powered Weapons

In a significant operation on Tuesday, eight American citizens were detained in…
Tropical Storm Melissa is now forecast to become a major hurricane as it trends toward a concerning track

Tropical Storm Melissa Predicted to Intensify into a Major Hurricane, Following a Worrisome Path

Tropical Storm Melissa is slowly making its way across the Caribbean Sea,…
Suspect pleads not guilty to charge in hit-and-run death of 13-year-old Genesis Webber

Suspect Denies Charges in Tragic Hit-and-Run Death of 13-Year-Old Genesis Webber: Latest Court Developments

Andre Myers, 54, has entered a not guilty plea following his arrest…
Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance denounces driver's license checkpoint plan for Green Cove Springs

Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance Criticizes Proposed Driver’s License Checkpoint Initiative in Green Cove Springs

A proposed driver’s license checkpoint in Green Cove Springs, Florida, has sparked…
Chicago Little Village activity today: 1 arrested for battery of police officer near 26th, Whipple amid clash with feds

Tensions Rise in Chicago’s Little Village: Arrest Made for Assaulting Officer During Federal Standoff

In the heart of Little Village, a neighborhood in Chicago, tensions flared…
Illegal alien failed CDL test 10 times in 2 months before fatal Florida crash that killed 3

Tragic Florida Crash: Driver Fails CDL Test 10 Times Before Fatal Accident—A Deep Dive into the Devastating Consequences

An undocumented truck driver accused of causing a fatal accident in Florida…
Expert warns critical hours slipping away as kidnappers likely to move US missionary in Niger

Urgent Countdown: US Missionary’s Fate Hangs in Balance as Kidnappers Prepare to Relocate in Niger

A security specialist has highlighted the urgency of the initial 48 hours…
Suspect Keon King charged with murder in death of Philadelphia woman Kada Scott; new details revealed

Philadelphia Tragedy: Keon King Faces Murder Charges in Kada Scott’s Death – Latest Updates Unveiled

PHILADELPHIA — Keon King, the man initially arrested in connection with the…
Man accused of killing teacher wife after wandering shirtless and warning of ‘too many cops’ nearby: police

Shirtless Man Arrested for Allegedly Killing Teacher Wife, Claims ‘Too Many Cops’ Were Close: Police Report

A Texas man has been taken into custody following allegations that he…
Alabama execution: State executes Anthony Boyd with nitrogen gas for 1993 murder of Gregory Huguley over $200 drug debt

Alabama Makes History: First Execution by Nitrogen Gas for 1993 Murder Case

ATMORE, Ala. — An Alabama man, implicated in a 1993 murder involving…
Manhunt underway after college student attacked on campus following reported road rage incident: police

Authorities Launch Search Following Campus Assault on College Student Stemming from Alleged Road Rage Incident

Authorities at a Maryland university have initiated a manhunt after a student…
Watch: Pritzker Shows Us Who He Really Is in Response to Important Question on ICE Actions in Chicago

Pritzker’s Candid Response to Crucial ICE Query in Chicago: What You Need to Know

Recently, Chicago has been a focal point of heightened tensions as federal…