The announcement of President Donald Trump's planned commencement speech at the University of Alabama this year was met with much support and excitement. But a vocal minority, including alumni, faculty and a college Democrat group, could not stifle their ire, instead venting their indignation on social media.
"[The University of Alabama College Democrats] is shocked and disgusted to learn that our unpopular, divisive, and authoritarian president will be involved in commencement for the graduating class this year," the group posted in a rant shared on X. "This insult will not go unanswered."
Many former alumni claimed to be "embarrassed" and ashamed of the university for allowing the President to come, a sentiment reflected among the thousands of comments UA's post about the announcement received.
Even some faculty members had to express their displeasure.
"Inviting the man who detained one of our students without due process. Shameful," wrote assistant professor A.J. Bauer, apparently referring to Alireza Doroudi, a doctoral student detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for national security reasons.
"'Honored to have been selected' — That's Southernese for 'we didn't invite him and created a new event from scratch overnight under immense outside pressure,' Bauer wrote in another post.
Fellow journalism associate professor Jessica Maddox also referred to Doroudi in her post, which was a near copy of Bauer's critique.
"He [Trump] is actively dismantling higher ed, and currently has a UA PhD student illegally detained without due process," she posted to X, despite an immigration judge ruling that Doroudi did not "meet the burden of showing that he was not a threat to national security," as far-left outlet APR reported.
"UA doesn't have commencement speakers, so word on the street is they're making up an event for him to come speak at. Shameful."
Tom Arenberg, a journalism instructor, retweeted Bauer's post after claiming Trump has made it "riskier" to be a college journalist.
Lieutenant Gov. Will Ainsworth pushed back against the negativity, specifically the college Democrats' statement, which he called a "childish tantrum."
"The University of Alabama College Democrats have taken a page from the radical playbook we see used on liberal campuses in other states. Having the sitting President of the United States address your class at commencement is an honor. Their childish tantrum is tone deaf."
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