Sen. Elizabeth Warren used her commencement speech at Bridgewater State University on Saturday to speak about the importance of fighting for one’s beliefs, no matter the challenges ahead. But before her message resorted to the same tired clichés of most commencement speeches, Warren proceeded to frame her advice in terms that the millennials in the audience would be sure to understand.
“To put it differently, as one of the great philosophers of our time has said—haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate,” Warren said, invoking the lyrics of Taylor Swift. “Knowing who you are helps you ‘shake it off.'”
While Warren didn’t specifically name the presumptive GOP presidential nominee to the graduates of the Massachusetts college on Saturday, her use of Swift’s famous lyric comes as the Massachusetts senator ramp ups her attacks against Donald Trump on social media. She was not the only one. Speaking at Rutgers University the following day, President Barack Obama also indirectly took aim at Trump’s campaign, warning students about the dangers of ignorance and building a border wall at the US-Mexico border.
