‘Wildly Inappropriate!’ Fox’s Howard Kurtz Destroys Scott Pelley’s Viral Anti-Trump Commencement Speech — Suggests it Shows CBS is ‘Incredibly Biased’

Fox News host Howard Kurtz went after 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley for his viral commencement speech at Wake Forest — which took aim at President Donald Trump.

In a commentary on Fox’s MediaBuzz Sunday, the host argued Pelley chose the wrong forum for an address which Kurtz characterized as a “harsh rhetorical attack” against the president.

“I just think it’s wildly inappropriate to use a commencement address to say such things!” Kurtz said.

Pelley, in his remarks to the graduating class at Wake Forest, argued that the rule of law, journalism and higher education are all under attack during Donald Trump’s presidency.

“Our sacred rule of law is under attack,” Pelley said. “Journalism is under attack. Universities are under attack, freedom of speech is under attack. And insidious fear is reaching through our schools, our businesses, our homes, and into our private thoughts. The fear to speak – in America?!”

Pelley’s comments came against the backdrop of reported settlement negotiations between CBS parent company Paramount and Trump’s attorneys over the editing of an October 2024 60 Minutes interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Paramount has reportedly offered as much as $15 million to settle the case. Critics believe the settlement talks are being driven by CEO Shari Redstone’s desire to sell the company — a move which would require approval from Trump’s FCC. Longtime 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl said in a recent interview with the New Yorker that the show’s staff considered quitting en masse over the potential settlement.

Kurtz went on to suggest Pelley’s speech was an indicator of his entire network’s ideological bent.

“Doesn’t that reinforce the notion that the network is incredibly biased against the president?” Kurtz said.

The comments are particularly notable coming from Kurtz — whose hour on Sunday was far from a pro-Trump lovefest. Earlier in the show, Kurtz invited on former CNN correspondent Barbara Starr to deliver a scathing critique of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth restricting press access at the Pentagon. Kurtz not only didn’t push back on any of Starr’s arguments, he brought up the firing of a pro-Trump reporter for OAN after she complained about Hegseth’s press crackdown and noted that “criticism is coming from all quarters.”

Watch above, via Fox News