CAMBRIDGE — Conan O’Brien ripped into the Trump administration while delivering Harvard University’s 2026 commencement address on Thursday, May 28, 2026.
The comedian, who graduated from Harvard in 1985 with an undergraduate degree in history and literature, opened by jokingly greeting faculty, alumni, graduates and “Justice Department spies” and said Harvard was the last place he ever used the word “querulous” in a sentence.
O’Brien also did a bit about AI, joking that Harvard professors have their own way of catching students who use it.
“Now, of course, I understand the unprecedented difficulties you face today, including AI,” O’Brien said. “Yeah, I know, I know. Luckily, AI is not a problem at Harvard. Here, professors have been able to quickly flag students’ use of AI, thanks to the sophisticated AI software they use to grade papers.”
Then, after joking that he was suing the university too — over his freshman bunk bed, class schedule and lackluster undergraduate sex life — O’Brien took aim at the Trump administration’s attempt to revoke Harvard’s ability to enroll international students, a move Harvard sued to block.
“As you are aware, the current administration feels Harvard admits too many foreign students. And who knows, they may have a point. After all, what has any foreigner ever added to our American culture?” O’Brien said. “With the possible exception of music, literature, art, cuisine, fashion, architecture, dance, scientific breakthroughs, and the core of our moral codes and ethical beliefs?”
Later in the speech, O’Brien broadened the criticism, saying the current leadership in Washington believes empathy is weakness and that America stands “supreme and alone.”
“I understand that I am preaching modesty and connection at a time when this is not in style,” O’Brien said. “We are living through a period of extreme narcissism. Our current leadership in Washington believes that empathy is a weakness and that our nation stands supreme and alone.”
