Scott Pelley, a “60 Minutes” anchor and longtime media figure, delivered a commencement speech at Wake Forest University, warning students that journalism, universities, and free speech are “under attack”—and blamed President Donald Trump for the decline. Pelley’s remarks, filled with familiar leftist talking points, reflect a media elite desperate to deflect blame for their own failures.
Pelley’s speech painted a dark picture of modern America, claiming that “insidious fear” is spreading through schools, businesses, and homes. While Pelley lamented an alleged attack on free thought, he ignored the left’s decades-long assault on basic freedoms through identity politics, censorship, and radical ideology. His own network, CBS News, is facing a $20 billion lawsuit from President Trump for deceptively editing an interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, allegedly to favor Democrats.
Pelley warned that “ignorance works for power” and that those in control seek to “rewrite history” by turning criminals into heroes. Yet, it’s the left who celebrates figures like George Floyd and defends alleged criminals like Kilmar Abrego-Garcia, an MS-13 gang member accused of domestic violence. The left’s word games extend to redefining terms like “gender-affirming care” and “choice,” masking radical agendas in palatable language.
Pelley’s commentary on “diversity, equity, and inclusion” revealed a further disconnect. No one is redefining “diversity”—it means difference. The debate is whether diversity, equity, or inclusion should be treated as ultimate goods. The answer: they should not. The purpose of higher education is intellectual development, not ideological conformity. Yet leftist dogma increasingly dominates campuses, stifling real inquiry.
Pelley’s tale of rejection from CBS—he applied “over and over” in the 1980s and was told to stop—highlights the irony of a man who now lectures others on power and fairness. His attacks on President Trump and the conservative movement reveal a media class unable to face its own decline, clinging to a narrative of victimhood while propping up a corrupt ideological agenda.
