Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Documentarian Ken Burns Offers Stark Warning About Trump In Viral Graduation Speech

Screenshot of Ken Burns; Donald Trump
Brandeis University; Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

The famed documentarian shared a powerful warning about reelecting Trump, 'the opioid of all opioids,' during his recent commencement speech at Brandeis University.

Make us preferred on Google

Famed documentarian Ken Burns shared a powerful warning about re-electing former President Donald Trump during his recent commencement speech at Brandeis University, referring to Trump as "the opioid of all opioids."

Burns also cautioned graduates that "there is no real choice this November, only the perpetuation, however flawed or feeble you might perceive it, of our fragile 249-year-old experiment or the entropy that will engulf and destroy us if we take the other route."


He added:

"The presumptive Republican nominee is the opioid of all opioids, an easy cure or what some believe is the solution to our myriad pains and problems."
"When in fact with him, you end up re-enslaved with an even bigger problem, a worse affliction and addiction, 'a bigger delusion,' James Baldwin would say, the author and finisher of our national existence, our national suicide as Mr. Lincoln prophesies."
"Do not be seduced by easy equalization. There is nothing equal about this equation. We are at an existential crossroads in our political and civic lives."
"This is a choice that could not be clearer."

You can hear what Burns said in the video below.

Many concurred with Burns' assessment.


This isn't the first time Burns has gone viral for criticizing Trump during a commencement speech.

He previously addressed graduates at Stanford University’s 2016 commencement, stressing that Trump's candidacy signaled rock-bottom in the history of American politics.

Though Burns never actually uttered Trump's name, it was clear to whom he referred to when he described the candidate who “insults veterans, threatens a free press, mocks the handicapped, denigrates women, immigrants and all Muslims” and “took more than a day to remember to disavow a supporter who advocates white supremacy and the Ku Klux Klan."

Burns went on to characterize Trump as “an infantile, bullying man” and ”a spoiled, misbehaving child." He said that electing Trump to office "“would be like asking a newly minted car driver to fly a 747.”

Clearly, he'd rather we not go through that again.

More from News/2024-election

Nicolle Wallace; Marco Rubio and Donald Trump
MS NOW; Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Nicolle Wallace Offers Hilariously Brutal Suggestion For 'Addled' Trump Amid 'Bizarre' NATO Press Conferences

MAGA Republican President Donald Trump has been participating in the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, since Tuesday afternoon, but the visit has been anything but successful for the embattled POTUS.

Trump's appearances before the international press on hand for the summit have been rife with gaffes that have the domestic and international communities both amused and concerned over the 80-year-old's continued cognitive decline.

Keep ReadingShow less
Catherine Zeta-Jones; Bonnie Tyler
Monica Schipper/Getty Images; Christian Augustin/Getty Images

Catherine Zeta-Jones Pens Touching Tribute To Singer Bonnie Tyler After Death—And Fans Are Emotional

Bonnie Tyler, singer of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "Holding Out for a Hero," died on July 8, 2026, just a month after her 78th birthday.

She was in a hospital in Portugal, and she died unexpectedly from the illness she was being treated for.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Rasmus Svaneborg; Mark Rutte
@atrupar/X; Altan Gocher / Hans Lucas / AFP via Getty Images

Reporter Puts NATO Secretary General On The Spot With Brutal 'Self-Respect' Question About Trump

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte found himself on the spot after Danish reporter Rasmus Svaneborg questioned whether sitting silently beside President Donald Trump as he discusses "conquering" Greenland and criticizing allies has impacted his "self-respect."

Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister, has been forced to manage Trump's repeated criticism of NATO while contending with his public insistence that the United States should acquire Greenland from Denmark.

Keep ReadingShow less
Andrew Garfield
Darren Gerrish/WireImage/Ralph Lauren/Getty Images

Andrew Garfield's New Long Hair Has Fans Completely Swooning—And We So Get It

One thing that fans have always appreciated about Andrew Garfield is his very healthy head of hair.

Even when he wore his hair shorter for The Social Network, or just slightly longer and spiked up for The Amazing Spider-Man, it was obvious that he had very thick and luscious hair.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of JD Vance; Julia Louis-Dreyfus
@HQNewsNow/X; Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

JD Vance Pauses Rally To Check If He Got A Call From Trump—And It's Giving Major 'Veep' Vibes

Vice President JD Vance drew comparisons to Selina Meyer, the bumbling vice president played by actor Julia Louis-Dreyfus on HBO's hit political satire Veep after he stopped a rally speech to check whether President Donald Trump had called him.

As Selina Meyer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus won multiple Emmy Awards and numerous other accolades for portraying the perpetually dysfunctional vice president.

Keep ReadingShow less