Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz assailed Donald Trump in a law school graduation speech on Saturday, accusing the president of creating a national emergency by repeatedly violating the rule of law. Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2024, used his remarks at the University of Minnesota's law school commencement ceremony to call on graduates to stand up to abuses of power, the AP reports. Lawyers, he said, "our first and last line of defense."
"Right now, more than any other time in my lifetime, we need you to live up to the oath that you're about to make. Because, I have to be honest with you: You are graduating into a genuine emergency," Walz told the crowd, which greeted him with loud applause, per the AP. "Every single day, the president of the United States finds new ways to trample rights and undermine the rule of law." He pointed to Trump's immigration enforcement crackdown, which includes deporting people it accuses of being gang members to a notorious prison in El Salvador without due process, as well as the offer of a gifted jet from the Qatari ruling family to the president.
Walz added: "This is what the crumbling of rule of law looks like in real time. And it's exactly what the founders of this nation feared: A tyrant, abusing power to persecute scapegoats and enemies." The governor acknowledged his words were particularly pointed for a celebratory ceremony. "But I would argue: I wouldn't be honoring my oath if I didn't address this head on," he said to applause and cheers. He also attacked "feckless" and "cowardly" big law firms that have acquiesced to Trump in the face of threats, with some offering millions in pro bono work. "It's a flagrant betrayal of the oath they took as lawyers," Walz said, urging graduates to refuse to work for or with those firms as they join the workforce.
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