freed u.s. prisoner held nearly two years in a venezuela prison is expected to arrive at the white house. he and his wife were charged by fence with one authorities with stockpiling and explain. the couple is expected to meet at the white house with senator orrin hatch. we hope to bring you coverage within the hour. in the meantime, here is a portion of today's washington journal with reaction to commencement speeches. some of the commencement around the country are making headlines. on the front pages of newspapers , the "worcester telegram" in massachusetts features "the holy cross graduation," saying speaker michelle morris tells holy cross grabs that tasks by vernon jordan at

1978 graduation is unfinished. "capitol"e from annapolis, maryland, talking about president trump telling the graduating class naval academy that "we are expected again." let's take a look at some of what mustere mr. trump said. [video clip] ats. trump: each of you are a truly exciting time for our country, because we are witnessing the great reawakening of the american spirit and the american might. we have rediscovered our identity. sproudined our tride, and we are proud again. prosperity is winning at home,

our economy is strong again, and our country has regained the respect that we used to have long ago abroad. yes, they are respecting us again. host: that with the president at the u.s. naval academy graduation. let's take a look at what former secretary of state hillary clinton said, talking about resilience in her remarks that yale. ms. clinton: we are looking at a time when fundamental rights, civic virtue, freedom of the press, even facts and reason are under assault like never before. but we are also witnessing an conviction,oral civic engagement, and a sense of devotion to our democracy and country. so here is the good news -- if any group were ever prepared to rise to the occasion, it is you, the class of 2018.

you have already demonstrated the character and courage that will help you navigate this tumultuous moment. and most of all, you demonstrated resilience. now that is a word that has been on my mind a lot recently. one of my personal heroes, eleanor roosevelt, said "you gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. you are able to say to yourself -- i have lived through this horror. i can take the next thing that comes along." that is resilience, and it is so important, because everyone -- everyone -- gets knocked down. what matters is whether you get back up and keep going. this may be hard for a group of yale soon-to-be graduates to accept, but yes, you will make

mistakes in life, you will even fail. it happens to all of us, no matter how qualified or capable we are. [laughter] ms. clinton: take it from me. i remember the first month after the 2016 election were not easy. we all had our own methods of coping. i went for long walks in the woods. [laughter] miss clinton: yale students went for long walks in east rock park. i spent hours going down the twitter halt here you spent es group.the yale mem i had chardonnay. you had any drinks -- penny drinks. [laughter] ms. clinton: i practice yoga. you took psych and "the good wife. " cheers and applause[]

ms. clinton: let me get this out of the way. no, i am not over. it. i still regret the mistakes i made. i still think understanding what happened in a weird and wild election in american history suspend our democracy in the future, be it right, left, center, republican tom, democrat, vegetarian, whatever -- [laughter] ms. clinton: we all have a state in that. as a person, i am ok, but as an american, i am concerned. host: we are talking to you about whether havencement speakers gotten too political. former secretary of state hillary clinton they're talking about the "weird and wild election." linda in maryland, what do you think? might and it is the

children were graduating, they are heroes and they have to have a cause. i do not think they need t someone to tell them the course or direction of their life. great if youis have good, famous people, but what they needed someone to help them to the next stage. so my suggestion is college, when they choose the person who has to corner them for commencement, they choose someone that can put their helpingr put themselves those students to the next stage, by guiding them to the next stage, by giving them opportunity, by giving them some connections. i think this is what they need. they do not have to be knocked down. of course we make mistakes.

they have done this all the time. but they don't have to knockdown, they have to look alway up. i think the college leadership -- this is only my opinion, of course. host: we are talking with you about whether commencement speeches have gotten too political. lots of commencement speeches happened in the last few weeks and in the upcoming week. if you are a current student, you can call (202) 748-8000. if you are a recent graduate, you can call (202) 748-8001. all others can call (202) 748-8002. "the daily beast" has a piece about senator jeff flake and remarks he made in a commencement. it said "in highly charged and notably ominous terms," senator jeff flake, a republican from on wednesday laid there

is fierce about the damage donald trump was inflicting on the office he holds and called out his fellow republicans for lacking the spine to fight it. host: frank is on the line from fort lauderdale, florida. do you think that speeches have gotten too political, frank? caller: well, i am going to go one step after that. what i think we should do, for instance, i would suggest the gotof the spy pilot that shot over the soviet union in 1960, a commencement speaker.

he is not very political, but he is historical. when he to look at that. the end of the cold war i think would be one of the areas -- not the only 1 -- but one of the areas that we could select speakers from to look at our legacy in the country, and this case, i think it's pretty good, because i think joseph stalin was absolute dictator as we have had in the world, he just was not as aggressive as atul fidler militarily. i think we need to -- as adolf hitler militarily. i worked for the "cold war times," which gary powers was the publisher of for a time. he would be a good commencement speaker. he travels nationwide for talks on the cold war and everything else. i would recommend him. i think that would be a guideline for other speeches that are probably a little less apolitical and maybe more historical.

i think it has improved since the end of the cold war and since the urgent gulf war. i think this is generally a healthy thing for our society. thank you. host: all right. ada is going from arlington, virginia. graduation speeches got into political? too political ? caller: i do not think it is too important. i think it depends on the speaker and what the speaker says. in this particular case, you have shown, one was a liar and the other one was not, and we have heard hillary clinton talking about encouraging also the students, to be resilient, and to move forward. i do not think there is anything the about talking about political situation in the country. it is so important.

we are in a mess right now. host: all right, congressman awis luis gut democrat, spent some time talking but the issue of immigration at his commencement speech at northeastern illinois university. let's take a look at that. [video clip] rep. gutierrez: this is a particularly dark moment in american history for the latino community and for us all, and we have to recognize that progress for latinos for inclusion in the united states has taken several steps backward in the last couple of years. hisrson who proclaimed candidacy for president of the united states by saying that people who look like me are mostly "rapists and criminals" was elected president of this nation. "build a wall, support them

all, -- deport them all, get rid and we are all the targets of that emotional reaction, whether we are immigrants or whether our ancestors came here on the mayflower. " to manyill "them americans, and in the minds of some, we are not part of "us." get 80% of latinos in america are citizens of the united states, and most latinos were born here. "them,"re considered and not "us" by many americans. 93% of our children are citizens of the united states of america. 93% of latinos are under the age of 18. and i want to remind someone -- they are getting to be 18 real quick and registering to vote. [cheers and applause] about onerrez:

million latino citizens turn 18 every year, and this will be true for decades to come, but we are considered foreigners in our own land. at least by some people. and i know there are dreamers in the audience this afternoon. and daca recipients right here in this audience among the graduates today who are trying to continue their lives and career in times of great uncertainty, but i came here to you, and id with will not rest until the job is done and you have your american citizenship in the united states of america! viewers cannder, find that another related videos on c-span's website, c-span.org.

baron is on the line, a student from virginia. caller: good morning. host: to you think graduation speeches have become too political? but i alsohink so, think rightfully so, because students are the future. know whatey need to is going on in society. when you make that reality during the commencement speeches, they understand the seek the issue at a personal level in one way or another, regardless of where they find themselves. the only problem, though, i think, is the politics that is used during some of the commencement speeches may not be true politics, and that is where

the problem, in my view, really lies. politics needs to be reflective , and iactual atmosphere understand people have various views about the way the nation needs to go, the way we need to address certain things in society, but at the same time, you need to be outside of yourself to present the political future in a way that projects society from the local community to the federal government, on national and economic issues to foreign policies, and not about themselves. host: ok. brian is calling in from overlook park, kansas. you are a recent graduate. do you think commencement speeches are too political?

was your commencement speeches political one? caller: thanks for having me on the show. speechommencement a couple of weeks ago, it did get very political. college is already a very politically charged atmosphere. i know mine was. graduation is supposed to be a time of excitement and preparing for the future, and sitting there in the crowded having get up there and basically push their own political views, whether the audience thinks they are correct or not, i think is just an inappropriate time. host: brian, from where did you graduate, and who spoke at your commencement? caller: i graduated from a place in missouri, i would rather just keep it, you know, private, just and alsot the college the person who spoke. know, i think that it

needs to be more focused around the students, not the political agenda, and i think that is an losttant site that we have , you know, with being caught up in social media and the news and just having politics around us 24/7, i think we have lost sight on just focusing on being human and congratulating someone. i worked way too hard for four years to sit there and be almost lectured again. i sat through hours and hours of lectures. graduation is supposed to be the one time i can sit down, have my name called, walk across, get my diploma, you know, praise the lord. but i think it is just time that we look and reflect on, you know, just the in humans. host: ambassador nikki haley, u.n. ambassador nikki haley, lived some tips on how to

an active life of gratitude. take a look. [video clip] amb. haley: these are a couple of tips of living a life of active gratitude. first, beware of social media. if it wasst as resented to destroy gratitude. everything is carefully curated during we all do it, right? posting the best pictures of the most exciting places we go and the most interesting things that we see, but our social media lives are not the real world. real life is usually messier, and whether we need to do what not, the fake lives we live on social media can evoke a kind of gratitudeis a lack of that is very damaging. the grass isia, always greener on someone else's page, but this is a recipe for

dissatisfaction with life. and makes us obsess about the stuff we don't have rather than be thankful about what we do. and all for what? spend our lives unhappy, chasing an ideal that does not exist? as a country, we are experiencing something of a gratitude crisis today, and it is not just on social media. instead of feeling grateful, too many americans are feeling entitled. we take for granted the many, many blessings that we have. we feel entitled to be free, to speak our minds, and to not have our feelings hurt, but these things are gifts, not guarantees. just ask the three americans recently released from a north korean prison. and now my second piece of advice on how to live a life of active gratitude.

be alive in to america in 2018. every day at the united nations, idea with countries where people are not free, people where there is no respect for the inherent dignity of women, or people of faith,nt races or places where the rule of law is nonexistent. without exception, these are dark, dangerous, unpleasant places. they are countries where governments commit genocide, places where dictators use the torture of children and the rape of women as political weapons. it is not that the united states is perfect -- we are not -- but we have been given a great set of tools, freedom, the rule of law, and respect for human rights, with which we can create a more perfect union. don't take these things for granted. be grateful for them.

preserve them. use them to make a better life for yourself and your family. host: that was ambassador nikki haley giving a commencement speech. we are talking about commencement speeches. have they become too political? current students can call (202) 748-8000. recent grads, (202) 748-8001. all others can call (202) 748-8002. mike is on the line from stockton, california. good morning. caller: good morning. first, i would like to talk about -- it looked pretty apparent that we are going to metal detectors in the schools and probably have a dates inuick-release case of emergency -- we are talking about

commencement speeches now. do you think commencement speeches have become too political? caller: i really do. short, youong story know, there is always a reference to quotes from the itle, i would call spirituality, it is karma-minded. it is much simpler and easier for a person who has been spiritually enlightened to have an understanding than a carnal -minded person. that is where i have to say about that. host: the "new york post" reports that an interesting are taking the post as commencement speakers, making the majority of them. it says "this graduation season, the podium is all hers."

host: by contrast, women made up just a 1/4 of speakers at those schools over the previous 19 years, according to an associated press analysis of university workers. -- records. karen is on the line from norman, oklahoma. good morning. caller: good morning. i just wanted to say that we love nikki haley, and i did not know anybody that cares about what jeff flake thinks. i do think they're are getting

too political on the commencement speeches. i heard president trump talking about how great our country is, and then hillary and the other guy talking about how to resist, and i do not know what jobs to get done, the guy was talking about, because president trump get daca a way to citizenship, and the democrats did not want it. college is supposed to be about not just learning stuff but go toure in life, how do bed at night, how to get up in the morning had a good time, comb your hair, take a shower, brush her teeth might go out, work hard come home, study, or go to a job. want toege kids do not work. they get that money too easy, too frequently they want to go buy some old car that does not last a month, they get their loan check, they have money, now they are going out to the bar. they will go around town with new tattoos. and they are not teaching them

structure on what the priority -- apply yourself. i am not saying all college kids are like this, but not all college kids are that young, either. they brushed, hair combed, have been to a job, their breast is not smell like liquor. the kids have to take some kind of responsibility their own selves. week's former president jimmy carter talked about the country's difficulty adjusting to equality during his commencement speech at liberty university. [video clip] mr. carter: so far, real americans, down through history, have had a hard time adjusting to this concept of a quality. we fought the civil war, the war of 20 states, finally ending slavery. in the 1920's, and then four years later, we had a struggle granting whiteof

women and in four years later black women as well just the right to vote, and more recently, we have been struggling to end racial segregation. even now, some of us are still struggling to accept the fact are equal in the eyes of god. president -- [applause] mr. carter: as when i was in the navy and also when i was president, i wanted the united states to be strong enough so we would never have to prove that we were strong. with the attributes of a they go beyond military strength. it is the same as those of a person. our nation should be known as a

champion of peace. our nation should be known as a champion of equality. our nation should be known as a champion of human rights. admired forso be , helping people in need, and other moral values. in other words, for those principles that never change. there is no reason why the united states of america cannot if the demise these high virtues. host: in some other news, president trump has just tweeted about the release of an american hostage. he said "good news about the release of an american hostage in venezuela. should be landing in d.c. this evening and be in the white house with his family at about 7:00 p.m. the great people of utah will be very happy." a is speaking of joshua holt,

man from utah, who was imprisoned in venezuela for two years without a trial. senator orrin hatch also released a statement. "breaking: senator hatch has secured the release of utahn josh holt from venezuela." we are continuing our discussion of commencement speeches. have they become too political? win is on the line from rural arkansas. what do you think? caller: um. yeah, i think they are becoming way too political. i think they are almost trying to brainwash these kids. i think they should be giving motivation-like speeches, send them on the way, let them teach themselves a little bit, instead of trying to tell them how to think, you know. it is just scary to me. host: what about the fact that colleges are places, wayne,

where they learn not just what they learn in the classroom but also to form their own political ?iews aren't colleges sort of inherently political places? caller: yes, and i think they can be somewhat. you should not give them just one side. you should give them both political views, conservative and democrat -- that is what makes our country great -- but when they are graduating, you are giving a commencement speech. is should be more of a congratulations, you have made itthrough however many years is, and this is all the life lessons -- hard work pays off, don't give up, try, this and that. them -- that is not what it host: it supposed to be about to me. all right. more from the "new york times" about president trump's address. it says during the speech on

friday, mr. trump runs about increasing the size of the military and said that a more powerful army, navy, and air force would help keep the country safe by preventing the need to use them in the first place. is best way to prevent war to be truly prepared for war, mr. trump told the graduates. , if a fightdded must come, there is no other alternative -- victory, winning, beautiful words, but that is what it is all about." what do you think about commencement speeches, such as when we see speeches for the navy officer graduates. do you think they have become too political? caller: i don't think they have become too political, c-span, and i feel like they are not political and global enough. our students must be prepared to

accept the world. the world's political. i am an african american scientist. i have a phd. dr. angela merkel has a phd in physics also. hillary rodham clinton, she was a global secretary of state and would have been one of the best presidents this country has ever had, if you had jimmy carter on re a moment ago. our students need to know what world you are going to go into. barack obama has no political at theat all, 0, 0, 0 top, but he will go down in history as one of the best presidents this country has ever had. hillary would have been a fine .resident durin endorsedournals all hillary clinton to be president.

edward, i want to bring the conversation back to commencement speeches. president trump is the president of the united states, he is the current president -- caller: that is correct. but president trump has divided this nation. he has did a lot to divide this is, i up, and the thing do not consider him as a legitimate president because of what he did. look at what happened, hillary rodham clinton -- he calls people names. he calls cleopatra names and all these kinds of things like that. that is not what we are about. our students need to become global. for example, look at the foreign policy. i had almost forgotten that i was an american citizen, but they treated me well. i was treated well in this country when i go to into academia, and our students need

to be prepared for the world. host: all right. in some other headlines, the "washington post" reports that president trump's now former attorney met with russians at trump's tower. at trumpohen met tower in new york days before the inauguration with a russian billionaire who was sanctioned this year by the u.s. government. host: charlie is on the line calling from roslyn heights, new york. charlie, do you think that college commencement speeches have become too political? caller: no, not at all.

the conservatives have been political since the beginning of time in this country, and when the liberal progressives start speaking up and getting more political, all of a sudden they say it is more political. i think it is good to educate the students of reality and the world, just like the other speaker said. i think there is some confusion as to be in a progressive and be at a liberal is. it is not just being a woman or a black -- that does not mean you are a progressive. just because they are a woman or a black person does not mean they will be more progressive than anybody else. we need to open this up a little bit. host: charlie, should it be subject matter whether the speaker is progressive or conservative, is a college graduation a time where students and their parents and families come together to celebrate the fromvement of graduating college, should that be the time to focus on politics, or should they instead be focusing on the

future of the graduates? caller: both. politics is in everything. politics is in everything. there is absolutely nothing wrong with doing this. when progressives speak up and start being political, i think that is when the corporate media starts saying they are too political, but the conservatives have been doing it since the beginning of time, you know. because they are a woman, like i said, identity politics is not progressivism. just because it is a woman speaking or a black person speaking does not mean they are progressives. host: ok. house majority whip congressman deliveredise the commencement at his alma mater, louisiana state university, in baton rouge, and he talked about coming together as a country. [video clip] scalise: remember how precious life is.

ultimately, how you use this time, what you do with it, is so important. in the days following the shooting, i had so many people reach out to me, some people i had never knew, some people i had met briefly. benjamin netanyahu, the prime minister of israel, he and i had become friends, and he called me. we had some incredible conversations on the phone, and he shared so many things with me. when he recently came to the capital, he presented with a paratrooper's beret, with in israel is a sign of bravery. it is such a wonderful show of love and support that all around the world gave me. theresa may, the prime minister of england, king abdullah of jordan. itt it told me was clearly was not just about the shooting of a member of congress. it was a sign that people all around the world look to us. they love the united states. they saw this as an attack on the united states. as we look at it, we all have

different points of view, whether your republican, democrat, libertarian, progressive -- we all have differences. when our founding fathers set up this great country, it was to set celebrate those differences. we do not say everybody has to think alike, or if you think differently come alike in some countries, you will be oppressed. our country shares those differences freely. but what is so important as you do not take those differences personally. just because somebody disagrees with you, don't try to attack the character. i think that is where you see so much of the division in congress and among the country, is that too often people make those differences personal, and that is something we all have to work harder to do. civility is not dead, but we need to keep working harder to strengthen our democracy. host: we are talking to our viewers, asking you -- do you think commencement speeches have become too political?

again, current students can call (202) 748-8000. recent grads, (202) 748-8001. all others can call (202) 748-8002. give us your thoughts on commencement speeches. we will get back to the calls in a moment. other headlines, fox news reporting the white house once a briefing on the mueller probe information that was shared with lawmakers this week. it says "the white house is reportedly seeking a briefing on information that lawmakers received thursday regarding classified documents related to special counsel robert mueller's investigation into russian meddling into the 2016 presidential election. one of trump's top attorneys, told the associate press on whit friday that the white house hopes to receive a handout on the information next week, specifically in relation to a government informant who reportedly approached members of the trump campaign in a possible attempt to influence the

election. giuliani said if the alleged spying turns out to have been inappropriate, then we may have been entirely illegitimate investigation, referring to the mueller probe." karen is on the line from somerset, new jersey. do you think politics of overtaken college commencements? caller: thanks for taking my call. bs, i do. graduating from medical school on thursday, and hard, watched him work so and it is so stressful, and now -- almost through the culmination -- of course he has to go through residency now -- but he has had such a great accomplishment to get to where he is now, in he also has insurmountable debt. and i want him to be celebrated. i want him to be encouraged. i want him to have people give

him hope, more than what we can give him, and that should be done by people who have an optimistic outlook for the future of our children. i do not think politicians should be allowed a commencements. they, no matter what side you are on or what you there is going to be fully half of that audience that does not agree with you. and creates a feeling of, for me anyway, it creates an annoyance. to look at the commencement speaker as an opportunistic person trying to put forth something from him instead of looking at these kids and everything that they have had to point,ugh to get to this even with something as stressful as, you know, the medical field. that is my opinion. i know different people calling have different opinions. this country is so divided.

why bring that into a time when parents and children should be unified? and so thankful for my son his hard work and the kind of young man he has become. that is my point. host: some other headlines in the "washington post," reporting that the department of homeland security has allotted 16,000 guestworker visas.

host: we continue our discussion about commencement speeches. have they become too political? harry is on the line from baltimore. what do you think, harry? caller: i think it is too much trouble with those speeches, because they tried to indoctrinate the young people into becoming democrat or republican. they should be celebrating that they are graduating from college and get them to go out and earn a living and start paying their debts, just like all of us did before them.

i appreciate the call. bye. host: on monday, memorial day, we will look back at 100 years of american involvement in world later, in thers spring and summer of 1918, american army soldiers and marines saw their first major combat in northeastern france. angel, on offer, will join us to talk about the role of u.s. troops. that is monday on memorial day. we are continuing our conversation about commencement speeches. miriam is going from miami. what do you think? caller: i think it is ok for them to be political. days, especially the young

people who are graduating out of college, they tend to come alike -- i am not talking about in the media, i am talking about the general public, they crucify anything that is serious, anything that is a serious topic, whether religious, politics, whatever -- "well, we do not want to talk about that right now. go it will affect the seniors -- or the people becoming seniors. it is important to have political conversations, challenge, form an opinion. is an opportunity for people to, yes, celebrate, but then when you are having that conversation around the table to say hey, what do you think about what he said? well, i agree, i disagree. form their spin. i think we should not discourage it but encourage it. host: marianne thieme 11 me ask college students have years

to sort of engage with each other and form those political opinions. pointed out,ller it may turn off some, maybe even half, of these folks who are graduating. they feel like their views are not being heard. caller: no. in schoolstudents are sometimes, what ends up happening is a lot of them just complete the assignment to get through class, and they do not understand the impact that it actually has in the real world, and i think someone like, you know, whether it is donald trump or hillary clinton, saying like, ok, this is how it impacted me, this is what i am doing in this world, whether you like them or don't like them, whether you are uncomfortable or not, you should be able to, like, ok, i can listen to you and still enjoy my

what i am going to do about it in the future and have an idea of how do we change this point, because i am the future. it should not make you feel like so small, like, well, they are not expressing my views, so i am not happy anymore. you should be happy. you should definitely say you know what, i do not agree with what this person is saying, so i will be the next speaker. host: ok. in some other headlines, the says theeet journal" gop has a new push to repeal the aca.

host: we are continuing to talk to you about commencement speeches. are they too political? john, you are calling from chicago. what do you think? caller: as far as education, i think everybody should get an education. if you go to college, if it takes that to get an education -- the reason i say that as i got my undergrad overseas. i got my masters in the states. the one thing i learned from that is how to learn. when you are discussing different things, like someone talked about trump or barack obama, you can do your own

research, you can do your own studies with the resources you have today. there was an individual earlier you had on that set he does not believe trump is our president. well, i do not believe that barack obama is our president, if i use the same theory he uses, but i do my research. i do my studies. i just do not listen to news stations and take what they say for the truth. i am going to do my own research. president, not our obama was not our president, because i think he did more destruction to our country than any president in history, and i have studied history. so yes, i do believe going to college, to learn to how to learn to do some research and not just listen to nonsense on the radio or tv. thank you. host: ok. listing whatce out they call some of the most controversial commencement and theyof 2018,

include rex tillerson speaking at virginia military institute on may 16, where he was critical of president trump. delivering aomberg speech at rice university as well as hillary clinton's speech at yale. we saw a clip of that earlier. commencementof the speeches pointed out by forbes this year as being controversial. we are talking to you about commencement speeches. connor on the line from greenbelt, maryland. you are a recent graduate. what do you think about your own commencement speech? do you think they are getting too political in general? caller: i actually liked mine. it was an astronaut. think every controversial

speech, largely, it has fallen on these school. connor, if you could speak into your phone a little more clearly, i am having a little trouble hearing you, but i want to caller: get to your caller: point. can you hear me now -- get to your point. caller: can you hear me now? host: yes. caller: hillary clinton, there should not be any doubt in anyone's mind what kind of speech she was going to deliver, same with rex tillerson. so if the school invites a alitical speaker to deliver commencement speech, that is what they are going to get. ith the previous caller, think students can speak to themselves, so being presented with controversial idea is fine. they can pick and choose from and what they like, but i do arek commencement speeches

supposed to united graduation class together, and send them on their way without a polarizing speech. that is not do that. thank you. host: some other headlines today from the "washington post," the gop worried over senator mccain's's senate seat.

host: meanwhile in utah, republican mitt romney and state lawmaker mike kennedy will debate ahead of the june 26 primary election. romney and kennedy are running to replace retiring senator orrin hatch, and you can watch that of a live on tuesday at 8:00 p.m. eastern here on c-span. to talk abouting commencement speeches and whether they are too political. there is still time for students to call at (202) 748-8000. recent grads can call (202) 748-8001. all others can call (202) 748-8002. , tous know what you think you think political speeches have become too political?

we have courteney on the line from california. what do you think? caller: hey, young lady. thanks for the opportunity. so yes, yes i do. can you hear me? host: you are on. go ahead. and tell us why these graduation speeches have gotten to political. theyr: because basically are all speaking fake news. they do not really know what they are saying, because they are not speaking the truth about the american experience. ley, fore hay instance, she is saying many americans are feeling entitled, we take for granted the many blessings that we had, we feel entitled to speak our mind and do not have our feelings hurt, but these things are gifts. no! these things are not gifts! these things are our natural -born rights.

let me tell you what a gift is, the gift is letting nikki nikki haley stand up there and give that speech. the only one who is making sense and who speaks eloquently without mistake every time and who was actually telling the people to do the same thing he told his children to do when they was very young, there is nothing you can accomplish in this country if you think big. i am thinking big, and the only thing that is going to make america rich again is first and foremost to make the native here, because this still is a stolen country. and to restore african-american's reparations, and i have a three-point solution to get the job done. calling from simi valley, california. are a current graduate third

what do you hope your speaker focuses on? becausei feel alienated if i do not agree with, like, the mainstream democratic point of view, it is kind of like i am being labeled a racist or something. that is pretty much it. you go to where do school, and do you know who your speaker is going to be? i don't want to give that away. i do not want to give personal information to tie me to it. host: ok. in some other headlines, the "washington post" reports bipartisan anger. the president has struck a deal on zte.

host: lou is on the line from pennsylvania. you have the last word. do you think graduation speeches have become too political? caller: no, not at all. we are living at a time when a person is doing their utmost to twist reality and the perceptions of reality and also the political debate in an extremely deceitful way, so anything that can bring a greater focus on the truth and andthrough the gas lighting

purposely create confusion is definitely a step in the right direction in our democracy, and our country really depends on the. i praise anyone who came out, like jeff flake, and as secretary of state coming out greaterng much attention to the problems that are >> he spends washington journal, live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. the political, news of the day. u.s. ambassador discusses tensions with north korea and iran over their nuclear programs. c-span'so watch

washington journal. join the discussion. commencement speeches -- next week in prime time. monday at 8:00 p.m. eastern, oprah winfrey, representative steve scalise, ron rosenstein. tuesday at 9:00 p.m. eastern the #me too movement founder, starbucks ceo, and nikki haley. wednesday at 8:00 p.m. eastern, hillary clinton, rex tillerson, james mattis, and canadian prime minister justin trudeau. thursday 8:00 p.m. eastern, apple ceo tim cook, governor john kasich, governor kate brown, and governor luis gutierrez. friday 8:00 p.m. eastern, jimmy carter, betsy devos, representative mark meadows. next week in prime time on

c-span and www.c-span.org and now, five commencement speeches from across the country. first, ursula burns. is the first black woman to run a fortune 500 company. she is followed by republican senator richard burr of north carolina, cynthia nixon, washington post publisher frederick ryan, and the chair of the national transportation safety board. [applause] ursula: just in case somebody needs to give