Tomi Lahren talks free speech, praises Trump and attacks Democrats in Convocation

• Lahren addressed Convocation attendees about topics ranging from immigration, racism and feminism.
• Lahren is currently a FoxNews contributer after being fired from her show on TheBlaze due to expressing her pro-choice views.

 

Controversial right-wing political commentator Tomi Lahren took the stage at Liberty University’s Convocation Monday, Dec. 4, where she commended Donald Trump, sounded off a list of hot-topic issues and encouraged open political discourse with her signature flair of witty conservative one-liners.

 

Lahren is known for her dogmatic personality and hard-hitting commentary through her “Final Thoughts” video segment series that is continually posted on FoxNews Insider—the official blog of the Fox News Channel. She serves as a correspondent for FoxNews after being ousted from her own show on TheBlaze news network last March following her publicized comments that she is pro-choice.

 

Her views on abortion did not come up during her speech at Convocation—which she called her “Final Thoughts for Liberty”— but there was no shortage of topics that Lahren highlighted. She tackled hot-topic issues including gun control, feminism, immigration and racism, with an overarching theme of promoting free speech.

 

“Your faith, your political beliefs and the way in which you see the world are important pieces of who you are,” Lahren said on stage. “Don’t hide them, don’t sugarcoat them, and please, for the love of God, please do not change them to fit in or be accepted.”

 

She began her time on stage with a self-described “poll” in which she asked Convocation attendees a series of questions and told them to raise their hands if the question applied to them. She asked those in attendance how many of them lost friends because of their political beliefs, how many only choose to befriend people who are like-minded and how many were told to not discuss politics and religion with a friend.

 

All three of the questions related to Lahren’s central message: it is okay to be friends with people who disagree with you, and it is important that people talk about controversial issues like politics and religion with friends and close family so that they can gain a greater understanding of the issues.

 

Throughout her speech, she argued that her message—namely her message on free speech—applies to both liberals and conservatives, but accused the left multiple times of limiting free speech (through establishing free speech zones on college campuses) and hijacking social movements like feminism to bolster their political platform.

 

She also lambasted Democrats for using compassion as a political excuse to open U.S. borders to illegal immigrants and publicly disrespecting police officers who are in the line of duty.

 

“For those out there who still believe our police officers risk their lives every single day and put a target on their backs for a salary of $50,000 a year just to satisfy some pent-up racism, I’ve got news for you: you’re wrong,” Lahren said.

 

A handful of her strongly-worded statements were welcomed with a loud applause from Liberty students in the crowd. Particularly, she received a round of applause for her criticism of former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s ongoing protest of kneeling during the national anthem and her call to support Donald Trump in building a wall across the Mexican border.

 

“Illegal immigration, DACA and sanctuary cities are a giant kick in the face to Americans and legal immigrants, and that’s why I say loudly and proudly—and I know the one in the Trump shirt is going to say it with me—build that wall,” Lahren said passionately to a wave of ovation and cheering.

 

Her speech was also charged with forceful criticism for both of the prominent Democratic presidential candidates of 2016. The democratic socialism which U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders ran on, she said, proves that he and his supporters are “not good with math,” and echoed Trump in her references of Hillary Clinton—calling her “Hillary Rodham email-deleting, Banghazi-lying, sham-foundation, crooked Clinton.”

 

She concluded her speech with an emphasis not on politics or conservatism, but on her personal faith in God. She told students in attendance that she believes it is by God’s blessing that she has been able to be successful at such a young age and stated that God has the ability to unite people from every background.

 

“We can look to examples across this country where Christians just like you have come together after a major tragedy and their faith has only grown from it. Liberals, conservatives, black, white, yellow, purple, it doesn’t matter — our faith in God is what binds us together,” Lahren said.