‘Insidious fear’ fills universities as Trump escalates conflict in commencement season

From warnings about president to Kermit's innocuous remarks, speeches respond to a politically charged US

It is graduation season in the United States and with it a tradition of commencement speeches to departing college students, usually from high-profile figures who seek to inspire those leaving academia.

But, as with many things under Donald Trump's second term in the White House, commencement season this year has been far from normal, especially as the US president and his allies have waged conflicts against the nation's universities.