CBS "60 Minutes" anchor Scott Pelley faced fierce backlash after delivering a scathing commencement address at Wake Forest University this week, accusing President Donald Trump of fueling "insidious fear" and attacking America’s core institutions.

In a sermon-like oration to the class of 2025, Pelley painted a dire picture of a nation under siege.

"Your country needs you — the country that has given you so much is calling you, the class of 2025, your country needs you today," he declared, urging graduates to confront what he described as existential threats.

"This morning our sacred rule of law is under attack. Journalism is under attack, universities are under attack, freedom of speech is under attack and insidious fear is reaching throughout schools, our businesses, our homes and into our private thoughts,” Pelley continued, without naming Trump directly but leaving little doubt about his target.

Pelley went further, decrying Trump’s policies, particularly his administration's rollback of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives.

"Power can rewrite history with grotesque false narratives," he said. "They can make criminals heroes and heroes criminals. Power can change the definition of the words we use to describe reality. Diversity is now described as illegal. Equity is to be shunned. Inclusion is a dirty word. This is an old playbook, my friends. There is nothing new in this."

His remarks drew scattered applause but ignited a firestorm online.

Social media erupted with condemnation. “Scott Pelley raged at Trump in angry, unhinged commencement address at Wake Forest…as he speaks openly and freely in America,” one X user posted, mocking Pelley’s claim of suppressed free speech.

Another labeled him a “self-important, sermonizing propagandist,” while Juanita Broaddrick, who accused former President Bill Clinton of rape in 1978, called Pelley a “pompous POS.”

As Pelley, the sanctimonious sage of CBS, preached doom and gloom to a bunch of wide-eyed grads, his bosses are sweating bullets over a lawsuit that could sink their ship

Pelley’s employer, CBS, faces a $20 billion lawsuit from Trump over alleged manipulation of a "60 Minutes" interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris in fall 2024.

The lawsuit, filed in Texas, accuses CBS of deceptively editing Harris’s responses to portray her more favorably during her failed presidential campaign.

Trump’s legal team claims the network’s actions constituted "election interference" by misleading viewers about Harris’s competence.

According to court documents, CBS selectively cut answers to obscure Harris’s "word salad" responses, a charge the network denies.

Mediation began earlier this month, but no resolution has been reached.

"Did Scott Pelley mention that 60 Minutes edited Kamala’s campaign interview, and they helped her answer questions???" an X user questioned. “Until he does that, his credibility is ZERO."

Pelley’s speech also drew historical parallels, likening the current moment to the Civil War, World War II, and the fight against segregation.

He framed graduates as modern-day Unionists, Allies, or civil rights activists, implicitly comparing Trump supporters to Confederates, Nazis, or segregationists.

"In times like these," he intoned, "our country is in peril," urging students to resist a culture where "reasonable people" can no longer differ without being "demonized" or "destroyed."

WATCH:

The outcome of Trump’s lawsuit against CBS could have significant implications for the network, with Trump seeking damages that dwarf the network’s market value.

The case may hinge on whether CBS’s edits were standard practice or deliberate misrepresentation, a question now under scrutiny in mediation.