Comedian and television host Conan O’Brien entertained Harvard University graduates at their commencement Thursday, mixing offbeat humor and political jokes with more reflective commentary about empathy and humility at a time when the Ivy League school is in the Trump administration’s crosshairs.
O’Brien, who graduated from Harvard in 1985 and led The Harvard Lampoon humor magazine, quipped that the university had produced “more Nobel laureates or white-collar criminals” than any other in the country. “So whether you choose good or evil, know that you are among the very best.”
While he joked about “Justice Department spies” being in attendance, he also defended international students — which the Trump administration has attempted to block Harvard from hosting — and criticized what he described as a broader erosion of compassion in American public life.
“Our current leadership in Washington believes that empathy is a weakness,” O’Brien said.
He returns to campus during one of the most fraught periods in Harvard’s recent history. The school faces mounting legal and financial pressure from President Donald Trump ‘s administration, which sued the school in March over accusations its leadership failed to address antisemitism on campus.
