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John Kerry’s advice to Harvard grads: Learn Russian

by Rebecca Savransky - 05/24/17 1:26 PM ET

Former Secretary of State John Kerry plans to give graduates at Harvard Kennedy School a piece of advice at their commencement Wednesday: Learn Russian.

“I’m often asked what the secret is to have a real impact on government. Well, it’s recently changed,” Kerry will say, according to Politico.

“I used to say, either run for office or get a degree from Harvard Kennedy School. With this White House I’d say, buy Rosetta Stone and learn Russian.”

His comments, set to be delivered Wednesday afternoon, come after the Justice Department named a special counsel for the probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential race and ties between President Trump’s campaign and Moscow.

Trump has called the probe a “witch hunt” and said the naming of a special counsel “hurts the country.”

During the speech, Kerry is expected to say that democracy relies on free speech and on “speech being truthful.”

“It is the truth after all that sets us free. And the truth is: No, this is not a normal time,” he will say.

“It’s not normal to see a President of the United States decrying ‘so-called judges.’ It’s not normal for the leader of the country that invented the First Amendment to routinely degrade and even threaten journalists.”

He will also address Trump’s recent firing of former FBI Director James Comey.

“And no, it’s not normal to see the head of the FBI fired summarily because he was investigating connections between Russia and the presidential campaign of the very man who fired him,” Kerry will say.

“And it’s not normal that when you close your eyes and listen to the news, too often the political back and forth in America sounds too much like it does in the kinds of countries that the State Department warns Americans not to travel to.”

Tags John Kerry