Ivanka Trump releases prepared speech after being dropped as Wichita State commencement speaker

Ivanka Trump, a top adviser to President Trump and his eldest daughter, released the speech she had prepared to give at WSU Tech’s commencement ceremony before she was dropped as a speaker. 

Plans to have her speak there were canceled amid criticism over the president’s response to protests against the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Our nation’s campuses should be bastions of free speech. Cancel culture and viewpoint discrimination are antithetical to academia.

Listening to one another is important now more than ever!https://t.co/VW6W8TIL9c

— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) June 5, 2020

“We owe it to our students to stand up for the right thing when and where we can,” Jennifer Ray, associate professor of photo media at Wichita State University, wrote to school administrators, according to The Wichita Eagle. “To our students of color, and to me, inviting Ivanka Trump to speak right now sends the message that WSU Tech does not take diversity seriously.”

Ivanka Trump posted a recording of the speech she intended to give on Twitter and railed against “cancel culture.”

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

In her speech, Ivanka Trump noted that the commencement was taking place at an unusual time, with the ceremony being rejiggered to observe social distancing measures during the coronavirus pandemic.

“You commence at a moment unlike any other. America and the world are battling a terrible pandemic. Our entire society is engaged in a national endeavor to defeat the virus, protect our fellow citizens, and open up America again to rebuild our economy and take care of the safety and well-being of our people,” she said. 

“Right now I know the economic uncertainty is real, and it’s hard on many of you and your families. Your own blueprint for your future is likely changing due to the pandemic, but I am confident that even if your path is different form the one you imagined, ultimately it can be better than we could ever have planned,” she added.