US Sen. Sasse criticized for jokes in graduation speech

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse's attempt at humor during a speech at a Nebraska high school's online commencement — which included jokes about students' fitness and psychologists and also blamed China for the coronavirus outbreak — drew strong criticism.

The Republican senator's speech on Saturday was panned by a Fremont High School board member and his Democratic opponent in the November election. Sasse's spokesman, James Wegmann, told the Omaha World-Herald Sunday the senator was joking during the graduation speech.

Sasse said during the speech "95% of all gainfully employed psychologists — and I'm serious there are dozens of them that are gainfully employed —- their job is really just to help people forget high school ... If you’re headed to college, do not — do not — major in psychology. That part’s not a joke.”

Sasse, who was unshaven and wore a loosened red tie and white dress shirt, also said that in life, the graduates would at times be asked to climb giant ropes. “If you don’t get that joke, talk to your mom and dad. Back in the day when we were a lot fitter than you people are, we used to have to climb ropes all the way up to the ceiling of the gym all the time.”

Sasse suggested that the graduates would remember their senior years at their future reunions as “that time when China started a big global pandemic that created the worst public health crisis in over a century and brought the economy to its knees and we had to stay home and everybody was hoarding toilet paper.”

Near the end of the speech, Sasse mixed in some serious encouragement for students with another shot at China.

“Nobody knows exactly how we’re going to beat this thing, but you know what, we’re Americans, we’re Nebraskans, we’ve got grit and we’re going to beat this thing,” he said....