Ivanka Trump Calls Out “Cancel Culture” After Wichita State Drops Her Commencement Address Invite

Bruce Haring
·2 min read

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Ivanka Trump has posted a video via Twitter of the speech she intended to give as a commencement speaker for Wichita State University. She also decried the “cancel culture” that led to her invitation being rescinded.

“Our nation’s campuses should be bastions of free speech. Cancel culture and viewpoint discrimination are antithetical to academia,” she wrote. “Listening to one another is important now more than ever!”

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The senior White House advisor and daughter of President Donald Trump provided a video version of her intended remarks.

“I know that all of these talented graduates will dream big and aspire to make the world a better place!” she said.

Student protests over her appearance led to the university dropping her. Students cited President Trump’s response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last week as a reason to rescind her invitation.

“Ivanka Trump, obviously, represents her father’s administration as one of his closest advisors,” Jennifer Ray, associate professor of photo media, said in a letter posted online. The comments drew hundreds of signatures. “To many Americans, that administration has come to signify the worst of our country, particularly in its recent actions toward those peacefully protesting against racist police brutality.”

Wichita State President Dr. Jay Golden and WSU Tech President Dr. Sheree Utash made no reference to Trump’s cancellation in a statement.

“The WSU Tech commencement plans have been refocused more centrally on students — student voices in particular,” they said.

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