Mindy Kaling Pokes Fun At President Trump In Dartmouth Commencement Speech
Mindy Kaling had some words of wisdom for the graduates of Dartmouth College. The Mindy Project and Ocean’s 8 star, who graduated from Dartmouth in 2001 and received an honorary degree from the prestigious school during the ceremony, addressed the 2018 graduating class of her Ivy league alma mater by telling them that Donald Trump is a testament to how far someone can go if they believe they are the smartest and most successful person in the world—even if that confidence is a delusion.
In her commencement address, Kaling urged the 2,000 Dartmouth graduates to have the same “insane confidence” as Donald Trump has in himself as they move forward, according to Page Six.
“Two years in I think we can pretty safely say that he’s not getting carved onto Mount Rushmore. But damn if that is not a testament to how far you can get by just believing that you are the smartest, most successful person in the world. You have to have insane confidence in yourself, even if it’s not real.”
In her speech, Mindy Kaling also mocked Trump’s Twitter trigger finger by saying he may have “tweeted us into war” with Wakanda, the fictional country from the movie Black Panther.
“I’ll tell you my secret, the one thing that keeps me going, my superpower: delusion,” Kaling said. “This is something I share with the president, a fact that is both horrifying and interesting.”
Thank you @dartmouth, my Alma Mater, for welcoming me back to deliver today’s commencement speech. To say it was an honor is an understatement. #Dartmouth18s (You can watch it here: https://t.co/vd3PSf5Nlp) pic.twitter.com/cQcyOdaRze
— Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) June 10, 2018
Kaling directly addressed the women in the crowd, telling them they need to “do a better job of supporting each other” and try to “work together to dismantle a system that makes us feel like there’s limited room for us.” Kaling also told the men in the crowd they should “spend the next 30 seconds thinking about the extra money they will be making for doing the same job as a woman.”
Mindy Kaling was not the only celebrity to take a major swipe at Donald Trump over the weekend. At Sunday night’s Tony Awards ceremony, actor Robert DeNiro led the audience in a chant against the 45th president. DeNiro took the stage to shout, “I’m gonna say one thing: F–k Trump!”
The actor received an extended standing ovation from the Radio City Musical Hall audience before denouncing Donald again, shouting, “It’s no longer down with Trump. It’s f–k Trump!” ahead of his introduction of a solo musical performance by Bruce Springsteen. CBS censors quickly bleeped out DeNiro’s profanity-filled rant about Trump, but it lives on forever on social media thanks to quick-thinking Tony Awards attendees who captured the live moment on their phones.
You can see Mindy Kaling’s entire commencement speech to the Dartmouth graduating class below.
