Warren rips Trump in commencement speech: No one is above the law

Sen. Elizabeth WarrenElizabeth WarrenChris Wallace: Trump struggling with attacks on 'shape-shifter' Harris Markey riffs on JFK quote in new ad touting progressive bona fides Howard Kurtz: Kamala Harris 'getting walk on water coverage' by media after VP pick MORE (D-Mass.) took multiple swipes at the Trump administration during a commencement address Friday, days after President TrumpDonald John TrumpUSPS warns Pennsylvania mail-in ballots may not be delivered in time to be counted Michael Cohen book accuses Trump of corruption, fraud Trump requests mail-in ballot for Florida congressional primary MORE fired FBI Director James Comey.

 

Warren pivoted to Trump during a speech at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, offering suggestions for specific causes graduates could get more involved in.

 

"I'm trying to keep this apolitical but I can't help myself ... the principle that no one, no one in this country is above the law and we need a Justice Department, not an obstruction of justice department," Warren said.

 

Democrats have honed in on Attorney General Jeff SessionsJefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsHow would a Biden Justice Department be different? Kamala Harris: The right choice at the right time Three pros and three cons to Biden picking Harris MORE and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein — both of whom Warren opposed — in the wake of Comey's firing this week.

 

Fallout over Comey's firing is the latest controversy swirling around the Trump administration, which Democrats have criticized for months over a string of issues including the president's refusal to place his assets in a blind trust or release his tax returns.

 

Warren on Friday didn't hold back from jabbing other members of Trump's team, mocking senior White House adviser Kellyanne Conway for the phrase "alternative facts."

 

"Go online and read the facts, not the alternative facts the real facts. I have to say I had never thought we would need a modifier for facts," Warren said. 

 

The president's senior advisor injected the phrase into the national vocabulary after using it in an NBC interview to defend White House press secretary Sean Spicer's claim that Trump had the "largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period."

 

The Democratic senator also knocked Trump while referencing the "Elizabeth Warren commencement speech drinking game," quipping that "fireball is a nickname Donald Trump uses on Twitter, not a beverage to be consumed by distinguished college graduates." 

 

Trump wasn't the only Republican figure that Warren targeted during her speech, going after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellOn The Money: Senate leaves until September without coronavirus relief agreement | Weekly jobless claims fall below 1 million for first time since March | Trump says no Post Office funding means Democrats 'can't have universal mail-in voting' Overnight Health Care: Senate leaves until September without coronavirus relief deal | US records deadliest day of summer | Georgia governor drops lawsuit over Atlanta's mask mandate Senate leaves until September without coronavirus relief deal MORE (R-Ky.). 

 

Noting her recommendation that graduates study policy wouldn't make her "Ms. Popularity," she added: "I think as long as Mitch McConnell is running the Senate that's out of reach for me."

 

McConnell rebuked Warren on the Senate floor earlier this year for criticizing Sessions, who was still a senator at the time. McConnell, justifying the move, said Warren had been warned for breaking the Senate rules, adding, "nevertheless, she persisted."