Longtime Democratic strategist James Carville claimed during a recent podcast episode that he knew of &#8220;wealthy Jewish donors&#8221; who were willing to sell out to literal &#8220;national socialists&#8221; as log as it preserved &#8220;their f***ing tax cuts.&#8221;
Carville made the claim during a recent episode of his &#8220;Politics War Room&#8221; podcast, while complaining about the number of wealthy Jewish Americans who refused to back the Democratic Party in the wake of antisemitic protests in places such as Columbia University.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
James Carville launches into an unhinged rant, accusing wealthy Jewish donors of not wanting to give him money for the Democrat Party at fundraisers over rampant college campus anti-Semitism. Carville claims Jews will vote for Nazis just to “get their f-cking tax cuts.” <a href="https://t.co/gM5EYHWlaQ">pic.twitter.com/gM5EYHWlaQ</a>
&mdash; Bad Hombre (@joma_gc) <a href="https://twitter.com/joma_gc/status/1930416988788035950?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;I&#8217;ll tell you who this exposes in a more profound way,&#8221; Carville began. &#8220;And I hear this all the time. A lot of — you go to try to raise money from really wealthy Jewish fundraisers, and they say, &#8216;Look, James, I&#8217;m a Democrat but I can&#8217;t be a part of the party because of what happened at Columbia.'&#8221;
&#8220;What the f*** did the Democrats have to do with what happened at Columbia, by the way?&#8221; Carville asked, making no mention of the fact that multiple elected Democrats had defended the antisemitic protests — that ultimately spread across many American college campuses — from the very beginning. &#8220;They have some students at Columbia that f***ing, you know, generally made an ass of themselves.&#8221;
He pivoted back to the wealthy Jewish donors then, saying, &#8220;&#8216;Well, I can&#8217;t do that, but I can be for a party that everybody endorses the alternative for Deutschland&#8217; — read: the modern incarnation of national socialism, if you will. And I just find these kind of people — literally, my instinct is, they tell me that, look me right in the eye, and I — &#8216;No, you just want your f***ing tax cut.&#8221;
&#8220;Most Jewish people see right through that,&#8221; Carville added. &#8220;But the ones that don&#8217;t see through it, they just don&#8217;t really — at the end of the day, they just want their f***ing tax cuts.&#8221;

Politicon 2019 – Day 1

James Carville Claims ‘Wealthy Jewish Donors’ Will Vote For Nazis If It Saves ‘Their F***ing Tax Cuts’

antisemitism

Columbia University

James Carville

Jewish

Media

Politics

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he hopes to revoke more student visas from campus disruptors during a heated Senate hearing on Tuesday.
“A visa is not a right, it is a privilege,” Rubio said while testifying before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. “People apply for student visas to come into the United States and study, and if you tell me that you are coming into the United States to lead campus crusades, to take over libraries and try to burn down buildings and acts of violence, we’re not going to give you a visa.”
“The bottom line is if you come here to stir up trouble on our campuses, we will deny you a visa,” Rubio said. &#8220;These kids pay money to go to school, and they have to walk through a bunch of lunatics who are here on student visas.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
NEW: <a href="https://twitter.com/SecRubio?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecRubio</a> doubles down and says he plans to revoke more student visas.
&quot;These kids pay money to go to school and they have to walk through a bunch of lunatics who are here on student visas.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/8CILwzDs8h">pic.twitter.com/8CILwzDs8h</a>
&mdash; Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) <a href="https://twitter.com/KassyAkiva/status/1924862749642752362?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Rubio added that the State Department will continue to revoke visas and stated, “I hope we can find more of these people.”
The secretary&#8217;s comments followed a fiery exchange with Senator Chris Van Hollen, in which the Maryland Democrat told his former Senate colleague that he regretted voting to confirm him.
&#8220;I have to tell you directly and personally that I regret voting for you for Secretary of State,&#8221; Van Hollen said.
&#8220;Your regret for voting for me confirms I&#8217;m doing a good job,&#8221; Rubio shot back.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Sen. <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisVanHollen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@ChrisVanHollen</a>: &#8220;I have to tell you directly and personally that I regret voting for you for Secretary of State.&#8221;<a href="https://twitter.com/SecRubio?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@SecRubio</a>: &#8220;Your regret for voting for me confirms I&#8217;m doing a good job.&#8221;
Van Hollen: &#8220;That&#8217;s a flippant statement.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/2UHH7tkkrT" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pic.twitter.com/2UHH7tkkrT</a>
— CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1924865776801951774?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">May 20, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
Rubio also defended the Trump State Department&#8217;s attempts to cut government waste and illegal immigration.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t regret cutting $10 million for male circumcisions in Mozambique,&#8221; Rubio said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t know how that makes us stronger or more prosperous as a nation.&#8221;
&#8220;We spent $14 million for social cohesion in Mali, whatever the hell that means,&#8221; the secretary added. &#8220;I can go on and on. &#8230; I didn&#8217;t even bring the whole list.&#8221;
&#8220;And in the case of El Salvador, absolutely, we deported gang members — including the one you had a margarita with,&#8221; Rubio said, referencing Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the &#8220;Maryland Man&#8221; deported to El Salvador who has become a cause célèbre for Democrats. Van Hollen flew to El Salvador to meet with Garcia, whom Rubio called &#8220;a human trafficker&#8221; and &#8220;a gangbanger.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
NEW: <a href="https://twitter.com/SecRubio?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecRubio</a> doubles down and says he plans to revoke more student visas.
&quot;These kids pay money to go to school and they have to walk through a bunch of lunatics who are here on student visas.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/8CILwzDs8h">pic.twitter.com/8CILwzDs8h</a>
&mdash; Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) <a href="https://twitter.com/KassyAkiva/status/1924862749642752362?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-trump-and-rubio-put-america-first-in-100-days?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=How+Trump+And+Rubio+Put+America+First+In+100+Days" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HOW TRUMP AND RUBIO PUT AMERICA FIRST IN 100 DAYS</a>
Van Hollen pushed Rubio on the March arrest of Turkish Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk, who had her student visa terminated over her alleged “activities in support of Hamas.”
In 2024, Ozturk wrote an op-ed calling on her university to acknowledge the &#8220;Palestinian genocide” and to divest from companies with ties to Israel.
The Department of Homeland Security previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/morning-brief-trumps-liberation-day-doge-pr-battle-self-deportation-push" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said it had found</a> Ozturk to have &#8220;engaged in activities in support of Hamas,&#8221; though details are scarce, and a federal judge ordered her release on May 9.
The fiery interaction comes as the Trump administration continues to crack down on foreign visa holders participating in activities aligned with terrorist organizations, such as the antisemitic protests on college campuses.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/homeland-security-to-screen-immigrants-and-foreign-students-social-media-for-anti-semitism?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=29&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Homeland+Security+To+Screen+Immigrants+And+Foreign+Students%E2%80%99+Social+Media+For+Anti-Semitism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HOMELAND SECURITY TO SCREEN IMMIGRANTS AND FOREIGN STUDENTS’ SOCIAL MEDIA FOR ANTI-SEMITISM</a>
Earlier this month, Rubio said he was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rubio-threatens-to-snatch-visas-from-pro-hamas-thugs-at-columbia-university?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Rubio+Threatens+To+Snatch+Visas+From+%E2%80%98Pro-Hamas+Thugs%E2%80%99+At+Columbia+University" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reviewing the visa status</a> of masked anti-Israel protesters arrested for occupying Columbia University’s Butler Library.
“We are reviewing the visa status of the trespassers and vandals who took over Columbia University’s library,” <a href="https://x.com/SecRubio/status/1920293818194178397" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rubio posted to X</a>. “Pro-Hamas thugs are no longer welcome in our great nation.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/zionists-dont-deserve-to-live-meet-the-leader-of-columbia-universitys-anti-israel-encampment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘ZIONISTS DON’T DESERVE TO LIVE’: MEET THE LEADER OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY’S ANTI-ISRAEL ENCAMPMENT</a>
The keffiyeh-wearing protesters, carrying large signs and chanting, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/masked-anti-israel-activists-take-over-columbia-u-library-during-finals-no-one-expels-them?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Masked+Anti-Israel+Activists+Take+Over+Columbia+U+Library+During+Finals.+No+One+Expels+Them" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invaded the library</a> to disrupt students studying for finals. While inside, the protesters vandalized walls and furniture <a href="https://x.com/CU_JewishAlumni/status/1920278419113124257" target="_blank" rel="noopener">and</a> graffitied “Columbia will burn for the martyrs” on a glass case.
When protesters tried to leave, they were denied by public safety officers who requested to see their IDs before leaving, causing the protest to intensify. For about five hours, the disruption continued until about 80 protesters were taken into custody by law enforcement officers and placed on police buses, <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/05/07/us-news/masked-anti-israel-protesters-storm-columbia-library-shove-past-security-as-ivy-leaguers-prep-for-finals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the New York Post reported</a>.

Marco Rubio and Columbia University Protesters

Rubio Shares Plans For Campus Protesters In Fiery Senate Hearing

Marco Rubio

State Department

A graphics reporter who was working for Bloomberg News and formerly worked at The New York Times was arrested when anti-Israel activists seized control of Columbia University’s Butler Library earlier this month.
Jason Kao, who graduated from Columbia in 2022, was charged with criminal trespass and given a desk appearance ticket as a result of his actions on May 7. Eighty-one activists were arrested.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Bloomberg reporter arrested during anti-Israel protesters’ takeover of Columbia University library — and is no longer employed by outlet <a href="https://t.co/flQD0VqrwR">https://t.co/flQD0VqrwR</a> <a href="https://t.co/VaavsjR8qp">pic.twitter.com/VaavsjR8qp</a>
— New York Post (@nypost) <a href="https://twitter.com/nypost/status/1924659428155892000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“During the unrest, rioters injured two, passed out pamphlets endorsing Hamas&#8217;s violence, vandalized and damaged the library, and renamed the building after Basel al-Araj, a Palestinian terrorist killed in a 2017 shootout with the Israel Defense Forces,” the Washington Free Beacon, which <a href="https://freebeacon.com/campus/bloomberg-journalist-among-anti-israel-radicals-arrested-for-storming-columbia-library/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broke the news</a> of Kao’s arrest, noted, adding, “Kao&#8217;s personal <a href="https://jasonkao.net/">website</a> is exclusively devoted to negative coverage of Israel&#8217;s war in Gaza.
Bloomberg News told the Free Beacon that Kao is no longer employed at the outlet.
Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), the campus coalition of leftists, released a <a href="https://x.com/ColumbiaBDS/status/1920199061950329089">video</a> in which they stated, “BREAKING: THE BASEL AL-ARAJ POPULAR UNIVERSITY HAS JUST LAUNCHED, RECLAIMING BUTLER LIBRARY FOR THE PEOPLE &#8230; Over 100 people have just flooded Columbia University for Palestine.”
The group issued a <a href="https://x.com/ColumbiaBDS/status/1920211153214476471">list of demands</a>, including: “Full financial divestment from zionist occupation, apartheid and genocide. Academic boycott of all complicit institutions, including the cancellation of the Tel Aviv Global Center. Cops and ICE off our campus. &#8230; Amnesty for all students, staff, faculty and workers targeted by Columbia University’s discipline.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
We reject an imperialist economy of knowledge. We evoke the legacy of liberation and the philosophy of direct action of Basel al-Araj. 
OUR DEMANDS: <a href="https://t.co/gwKVnowrXu">pic.twitter.com/gwKVnowrXu</a>
&mdash; CU Apartheid Divest (CUAD) (@ColumbiaBDS) <a href="https://twitter.com/ColumbiaBDS/status/1920211153214476471?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Last year, the Columbia University Apartheid Divest coalition publicly acknowledged a deeper truth: they are fighting to “eradicate” Western civilization. They joined with the university’s Bengali Student Association to post a statement on Instagram, as Campus Reform <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article/columbia-university-anti-israel-group-says-fighting-total-eradication-western-civilization/26077" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
“We are Westerners fighting for the total eradication of Western civilization,” they stated. “We stand in full solidarity with every movement for liberation in the Global South. Our Intifada is an internationalist one—we are fighting for nothing less than the liberation of all people. We reject every genocidal, eugenicist regime that seeks to undermine the personhood of the colonized.”
”As the fascism ingrained in the American consciousness becomes ever more explicit and irrefutable, we seek community and instruction from militants in the Global South, who have been on the frontlines in the fight against tyranny and domination which undergird the imperialist world order,” they continued.

Pro-Palestine Protesters Take Over Columbia University’s Butler Library

Bloomberg Reporter Arrested With Anti-Israel Group That Seized Columbia Library

anti-Israel

Bloomberg News

New York Times

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said his office is reviewing the visa status of the masked anti-Israel protesters who were arrested after occupying Columbia University’s Butler Library
“We are reviewing the visa status of the trespassers and vandals who took over Columbia University’s library,” <a href="https://x.com/SecRubio/status/1920293818194178397" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rubio posted to X</a>. “Pro-Hamas thugs are no longer welcome in our great nation.”
The announcement comes as the Trump administration continues to crack down on foreign visa holders participating in activities aligned with terrorist organizations, such as the antisemitic protests on college campuses.
The keffiyeh-wearing protesters, carrying large signs and chanting, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/masked-anti-israel-activists-take-over-columbia-u-library-during-finals-no-one-expels-them?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Masked+Anti-Israel+Activists+Take+Over+Columbia+U+Library+During+Finals.+No+One+Expels+Them" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invaded the library</a> to disrupt students studying for finals. While inside, the protesters vandalized walls and furniture <a href="https://x.com/CU_JewishAlumni/status/1920278419113124257" target="_blank" rel="noopener">and</a> graffitied “Columbia will burn for the martyrs” on a glass case.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/zionists-dont-deserve-to-live-meet-the-leader-of-columbia-universitys-anti-israel-encampment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘ZIONISTS DON’T DESERVE TO LIVE’: MEET THE LEADER OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY’S ANTI-ISRAEL ENCAMPMENT</a>
The school’s anti-Israel group, Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), posted a <a href="https://x.com/ColumbiaBDS/status/1920199061950329089" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> declaring that “over 100 protesters have just flooded Columbia University for Palestine.” The <a href="https://cuapartheiddivest.substack.com/p/flood-butler-now-disruption-until">language</a> seems to be a nod to Hamas’s name for its October 7 massacre of over 1,000 Israeli civilians, dubbed “Operation Al-Aqsa flood.”
The group declared <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-israels-national-security-minister-responds-to-bottle-throwing-yale-crowd?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=15&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=EXCLUSIVE%3A+Israel’s+National+Security+Minister+Responds+To+Bottle-Throwing+Yale+Crowd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">that the protesters</a> were “reclaiming” the library “for the people” and renaming it “Basel Al-Araj Popular University.” Basel Al-Araj was a Palestinian revolutionary writer who was killed in 2017 during a firefight with the Israeli Defense Forces after opening fire and running out of ammunition, <a href="https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/palestinian-killed-after-opening-fire-on-idf-forces-in-ramallah-483341#google_vignette" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to the Jerusalem Post</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Watch this entitled brat vandalize the <a href="https://twitter.com/Columbia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@Columbia</a> library &#8211; without a single thought or care for the wage-earning custodians who will inevitably be called in to clean up this appalling damage. <a href="https://t.co/wJgGTfbWpY" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pic.twitter.com/wJgGTfbWpY</a>
— Columbia Jewish Alumni Assoc. (@CU_JewishAlumni) <a href="https://twitter.com/CU_JewishAlumni/status/1920249214707380431?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">May 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
When protesters tried to leave, they were denied by public safety officers who requested to see their IDs before leaving, causing the protest to intensify. For about five hours, the disruption continued until about 80 protesters were taken into custody by law enforcement officers and placed on police buses, <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/05/07/us-news/masked-anti-israel-protesters-storm-columbia-library-shove-past-security-as-ivy-leaguers-prep-for-finals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the New York Post </a><a href="https://nypost.com/2025/05/07/us-news/masked-anti-israel-protesters-storm-columbia-library-shove-past-security-as-ivy-leaguers-prep-for-finals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
<a href="https://x.com/ColumbiaBDS/status/1920472867206058486" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CUAD announced</a> on Thursday that all of their “comrades” who were arrested are now “free.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-trump-and-rubio-put-america-first-in-100-days?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=How+Trump+And+Rubio+Put+America+First+In+100+Days" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HOW TRUMP AND RUBIO PUT AMERICA FIRST IN 100 DAYS</a>
“Requesting the presence of the NYPD is not the outcome we wanted, but it was absolutely necessary to secure the safety of our community,” acting Columbia president Claire Shipman said in <a href="https://x.com/CUJewsIsraelis/status/1920369526484484167" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a statement</a>.
Shipman added that two public safety officers were injured by the mob and that some of the demonstrators were not affiliated with Columbia University.
<a href="https://x.com/NYCMayor/status/1920254951139283103" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In a statement</a>, New York City Mayor Eric Adams encouraged the parents of the protesters to “call your children and make clear that breaking the law is wrong and they should exit the building immediately.&#8221; He added that those who do not attend Columbia should exit immediately or face arrest.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/homeland-security-to-screen-immigrants-and-foreign-students-social-media-for-anti-semitism?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=29&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Homeland+Security+To+Screen+Immigrants+And+Foreign+Students’+Social+Media+For+Anti-Semitism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HOMELAND SECURITY TO SCREEN IMMIGRANTS AND FOREIGN STUDENTS’ SOCIAL MEDIA FOR ANTI-SEMITISM</a>
“To our Jewish New Yorkers, especially the students at Columbia University who feel threatened or unsafe attending class because of these events: know that your mayor stands with you and will always work to keep you safe.”
House Speaker <a href="https://x.com/SpeakerJohnson/status/1920458665179435091" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mike Johnson</a> thanked Rubio and President Donald Trump for cracking down on the protesters, adding that “America will no longer tolerate your <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/university-apologizes-for-inaction-after-students-antisemitic-abuser-pleads-guilty?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=35&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=University+Apologizes+For+Inaction+After+Student’s+Antisemitic+Abuser+Pleads+Guilty" target="_blank" rel="noopener">antisemitic violence</a>, destruction, harassment, and intimidation.”

Rubio Threatens To Snatch Visas From ‘Pro-Hamas Thugs’ At Columbia University

Hamas

Protests

Masked anti-Israel activists, some of them possibly students, occupied Columbia University’s Butler Library, where students were trying to prepare for finals, leaving the frustrated students outside.
No one expelled them.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
RIGHT NOW AT COLUMBIA: Masked anti-Israel students just broke into the library during finals week. 
Columbia Public Safety unsuccessfully attempted to stop them. <a href="https://t.co/vBfkQFlwUW">pic.twitter.com/vBfkQFlwUW</a>
&mdash; Eden Yadegar (@edenyadegar) <a href="https://twitter.com/edenyadegar/status/1920196848523833405?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
WATCH: Anti-Israeli protesters have stormed the Butler Library at Columbia University and are now occupying it. 
Make an example of these people. <a href="https://t.co/asiA8YMm3U">pic.twitter.com/asiA8YMm3U</a>
&mdash; RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) <a href="https://twitter.com/RedWave_Press/status/1920208253494964262?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
⚠️BREAKING: Pro-Hamas fanatics have taken over Columbia University, terrorizing everyone while masked with keffiyehs, as usual.
Public safety has cleared all other rooms because of these radicals.
Why is this allowed? Why aren&#39;t they being arrested?<a href="https://t.co/J4GILh5tdP">pic.twitter.com/J4GILh5tdP</a>
&mdash; Vivid.🇮🇱 (@VividProwess) <a href="https://twitter.com/VividProwess/status/1920202182093070371?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Students who could not enter the library gathered outside.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
BREAKING: Over 100 students have OCCUPIED Columbia University Butler Library, stating &quot;THE BASEL AL-ARAJ POPULAR UNIVERSITY has just launched, reclaiming BUTLER LIBRARY FOR THE PEOPLE&quot;.
Students are gathered outside of the library unable to go in.
Video by <a href="https://twitter.com/a_lkoakes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@a_lkoakes</a>… <a href="https://t.co/pwQOeyGs34">pic.twitter.com/pwQOeyGs34</a>
&mdash; Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) <a href="https://twitter.com/ScooterCasterNY/status/1920204903215227246?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), the campus coalition of leftists, issued a <a href="https://x.com/ColumbiaBDS/status/1920199061950329089">video</a> in which they stated, “BREAKING: THE BASEL AL-ARAJ POPULAR UNIVERSITY HAS JUST LAUNCHED, RECLAIMING BUTLER LIBRARY FOR THE PEOPLE &#8230; Over 100 people have just flooded Columia University for Palestine.”
The group issued a <a href="https://x.com/ColumbiaBDS/status/1920211153214476471">list of demands</a>, including, “Full financial divestment from zionist occupation, apartheid and genocide. Academic boycott of all complicit institutions, including the cancellation of the Tel Aviv Global center. Cops and ICE off our campus. &#8230; Amnesty for all students, staff, faculty and workers targeted by Columbia University’s discipline.”
Last year the Columbia University Apartheid Divest coalition publicly acknowledged a deeper truth: they are fighting to “eradicate” Western civilization. They joined with the university’s Bengali Student Association to post a statement on Instagram, as Campus Reform <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article/columbia-university-anti-israel-group-says-fighting-total-eradication-western-civilization/26077">reported</a>.
“We are Westerners fighting for the total eradication of Western civilization,” they stated. “We stand in full solidarity with every movement for liberation in the Global South. Our Intifada is an internationalist one—we are fighting for nothing less than the liberation of all people. We reject every genocidal, eugenicist regime that seeks to undermine the personhood of the colonized.”
”As the fascism ingrained in the American consciousness becomes ever more explicit and irrefutable, we seek community and instruction from militants in the Global South, who have been on the frontlines in the fight against tyranny and domination which undergird the imperialist world order,” they continued.
Columbia University also administers the Pulitzer prizes, awards that recognize excellence in American journalism, arts, and letters, named after newspaper Joseph Pulitzer, who was Jewish.
This year, the Pulitzer committee awarded a Pulitzer to Palestinian Mosab Abu Toha, who denied that Israelis taken and kept by Hamas in the October 7, 2023 massacre of over 1200 Israelis were hostages. Toha claimed that an Israeli civilian who was shot twice and abducted from her home was not a hostage; referred to another young woman abducted by Hamas as a “hostage,”: with quote marks around the word, and declared Israeli soldiers celebrating Hanukkah was “what true antisemitism looks like,”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Meet Pulitzer Prize winner Mosab Abu Toha. He justifies the kidnapping of Israelis on Oct. 7. 
We aren&#39;t going to congratulate him for his prize. Instead, we&#39;re going to ask <a href="https://twitter.com/PulitzerPrizes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PulitzerPrizes</a> whether they bothered to check his social media.
Because we did, and it&#39;s not pretty. 🧵 <a href="https://t.co/qQAMQGi0IK">pic.twitter.com/qQAMQGi0IK</a>
&mdash; HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) <a href="https://twitter.com/HonestReporting/status/1919972603545973171?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Hamas held Agam Berger hostage with none of the rights due to a prisoner who has gone through a legal process.
But that doesn&#39;t matter to Mosab Abu Toha. Because no Israeli could be a hostage in his eyes. <a href="https://t.co/w2tSLNrfO9">pic.twitter.com/w2tSLNrfO9</a>
&mdash; HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) <a href="https://twitter.com/HonestReporting/status/1919972606704308686?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
According to Mosab Abu Toha, Israeli &quot;terror soldiers&quot; celebrating the Jewish festival of Hanukkah is &quot;what true antisemitism looks like.&quot; 🤨
Maybe he should ask Hamas what true antisemitism is. <a href="https://t.co/r5d3oOeD3Z">pic.twitter.com/r5d3oOeD3Z</a>
&mdash; HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) <a href="https://twitter.com/HonestReporting/status/1919972609401249891?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Pro-Palestine Protesters Takeover Columbia University’s Butler Library

Masked Anti-Israel Activists Take Over Columbia U Library During Finals. No One Expels Them.

Columbia University laid off nearly 180 staff members on Tuesday due to the Trump administration&#8217;s decision to cut $400 million in federal funding over what officials described as the school&#8217;s “continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”
&#8220;We understand this news will be hard,&#8221; Claire Shipman, Columbia University&#8217;s acting president, <a href="https://president.columbia.edu/news/preserving-columbias-critical-research-capabilities">wrote</a> in a statement with other top officials, citing &#8220;intense strain on Columbia&#8217;s finances and research mission&#8221; as a result of Trump&#8217;s cuts to federal funding.
The funding <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-slashes-columbia-funding-citing-inaction-on-anti-semitic-harassment-on-campus">cuts</a> came in early March after Trump’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism determined the Ivy League institution had failed to adequately protect Jewish students from harassment.
“Since October 7, Jewish students have faced relentless violence, intimidation, and anti-Semitic harassment on their campuses — only to be ignored by those who are supposed to protect them,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/doj-hhs-ed-and-gsa-announce-initial-cancelation-of-grants-and-contracts-columbia-university-worth-400-million">said</a> in a statement at the time.
According to The New York Times, more than 300 multi-year research grants have been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/06/us/politics/columbia-layoffs-trump-research-cuts.html?smid=url-share">slashed</a>, shrinking their approximately $1.3 billion in federal research funds in 2023 to practically nothing.
Among the cut grants was a project examining &#8220;the consequences of structural racism on substance use risk in Puerto Rican adolescents,” as the Times puts it, with a researcher lamenting that it was &#8220;very disheartening to see the wheels of science kind of grinding to a halt in certain ways.&#8221;
Columbia had been temporarily paying the salaries of some affected researchers while departments developed plans to navigate the cuts, although Tuesday&#8217;s layoffs signal an apparent end to this approach.
The layoffs <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/columbia-university-cuts-180-staffers-funded-federal-grants-revoked-tr-rcna205080">affect</a> roughly 20% of research staff &#8220;who have been working, in whole or in part, on impacted federal grants.&#8221;
&#8220;Columbia’s leadership continues discussions with the federal government in support of resuming activity on these research awards and additional other awards that have remained active, but unpaid,&#8221; the Tuesday statement reads. &#8220;We are working on and planning for every eventuality, but the strain in the meantime, financially and on our research mission, is intense.&#8221;
Moving forward, scientists at the university can apply for limited grants to complete their research and support graduate students who would otherwise be terminated, although the university added that it would be &#8220;running lighter footprints of research infrastructure.&#8221;
Columbia has <a href="https://president.columbia.edu/content/fulfilling-our-commitments">attempted</a> to comply with the administration&#8217;s first round of demands, but negotiations to restore the funding remain ongoing.
&#8220;In the coming weeks and months, we will need to continue to take actions that preserve our financial flexibility and allow us to invest in areas that drive us forward,&#8221; officials said.
The cuts are part of a broader effort by the Trump administration targeting universities over allegations of anti-Semitism, with dozens of other institutions facing similar scrutiny.

Pro-Palestinian Protests Continue At Columbia University In New York City

Columbia Axes 180 Staff After Trump Cuts $400 Million In Federal Funding

Anti-Semitism

Education

Pro-Hamas

Protest

Trump Administration

U.S.

Homeland Security <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/morning-brief-trumps-liberation-day-doge-pr-battle-self-deportation-push" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently arrested</a> a Tufts University student, Rumeysa Ozturk, for engaging in “activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans.”
While the Trump administration&#8217;s arrest of Ozturk is a move in the right direction, she is just one of countless students across the country who share a radical ideology.
Days after the first anniversary of the October 7 massacre which left 1,200 civilians dead, including 40 Americans, the New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/09/nyregion/columbia-pro-palestinian-group-hamas.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> a chilling headline: &#8220;Pro-Palestinian Group at Columbia Now Backs ‘Armed Resistance’ by Hamas.&#8221;
The article claims a pro-Hamas student group at Columbia University marked the anniversary by distributing a <a href="https://newyorkwarcrimes.com/print-issue-vol-iii-no-13" target="_blank" rel="noopener">newspaper</a> titled “One Year Since Al-Aqsa Flood, Revolution Until Victory.” The headline was placed over an image of Hamas fighters breaching Israel&#8217;s security fence. Additionally, the student group published an essay describing the attack as a “moral, military, and political victory” and citing Ismail Haniyeh, the former political leader of Hamas hiding in Qatar who would later be assassinated. 
In 2024, encampments held by these same student groups multiplied on campuses across the country, from New York University to Harvard, Yale, UCLA, and many others.
How have American institutions come to the place where the mass slaughter of Westerners is celebrated on campus? 
A cursory glance at recent history reveals two driving factors: Mass Islamic migration to the West and mass funding from Islamic countries.
First, some clarification and some definitions. Radical Islam, or Islamism, is not the same as Islam. Rather, it is a radical offshoot that seeks, through political and often violent means, to establish a global caliphate where all citizens, Muslim or not, would be governed by a radical interpretation of Sharia law. While not all Muslims are Islamists, many who migrate are.
<h3>The Crusades</h3>
To truly understand the mindset of Islamists today, it is important to look back at the history of the Islamic empire. Since its rapid and bloody expansion in the 7th Century, the empire has clashed with the Western world a great many times in its pursuit for global dominance. The most famous example being the Crusades (1095-1300AD).
As Daily Wire commentator Michael Knowles <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAPeToyagqA">described</a> on a recent Piers Morgan panel, “The Crusades started because the Eastern Emperor requested help from the Western Pope. The Seljuk Turks were slaughtering Christians in the Holy Land, which had been Christian territory before the Muslim invasion in the 7th century.”
While the Holy Land may have remained in Muslim control at the conclusion of the Crusades, a greater victory was secured by the West that continues to define our world to this day: Islamic expansion was stopped from conquering all of Europe.
Fast forward nearly 1,300 years, and Islamists have yet to give up on the ambitions of their ancestors. Take Lebanon, for example. Once dominated by Maronite Christians, the mass migration and high birthrates of Muslim Arabs in Lebanese society over the 20th century eventually changed that. Today, Maronite Christians are a minority, and the nation is predominantly controlled by Hezbollah, a Shia Muslim terrorist organization.
They have now taken a new, alternative strategy when it comes to Europe and the West: mass migration.
<h3>Mass Migration</h3>
Over the past few decades, mass migration has overwhelmed many European countries.
In 2014, England’s Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2755654/The-changing-face-Britain-A-child-Birmingham-likely-Muslim-Christian.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published</a> a chilling headline; “The changing face of Britain: A child in Birmingham is now more likely to be a Muslim than Christian”. According to the 2011 census, the second largest city in England with a rich Christian history, had 97,099 Muslim Children growing up there, compared to 93,828 Christian children. 
Radical progressive and generous immigration policies, including England&#8217;s, are to blame for this trend. During a recent Q&amp;A session, Parliament Member and leader of Reform UK Nigel Farage did not <a href="https://youtube.com/shorts/HidQi4mq71U?si=jVaqhsDBuZqMvqgY" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hold back</a> when addressing the state of immigration in the UK:
<blockquote>From after the war up until the millennium, net immigration ran at 30,000 to 40,000 a year. And yes, it worked. In fact, we had the most successful immigration policies of any country in the whole of Europe—no question. Now, it is totally out of control. Just think about this: two and a half million people have come in the last two years … The numbers are now literally unimaginable and are diminishing the quality of life for everyone in this country.</blockquote>
Farage is correct. These policies have significantly worsened life for everyone living in England. A 2018 YouGov poll <a href="https://www.the-independent.com/news/uk/home-news/uk-no-go-zones-muslim-sharia-law-third-poll-hope-not-hate-far-right-economic-inequality-a8588226.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> that a third of England’s population believed there were areas in the UK they could not enter if they were not Muslim. Now, reports of predominantly Muslim grooming gangs allegedly <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uk-new-inquiries-child-sexual-grooming-pressure-elon-musk-tweet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">terrorizing</a> young girls across the country for over a decade have made headlines, while the government turned a blind eye. Meanwhile, Islamic terror attacks remain a grim reality, with the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4ngx3341ldo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">last</a> major incident occurring as recently as 2023.
England is not the only European country dealing with an immigration influx. A recent <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2024/08/19/muslim-migrants-around-the-world/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pew Research study</a> shows the top two European destinations for migrating Muslims are Germany and France. In both <a href="https://miwi-institut.de/archives/2461?_sm_nck=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Germany</a> and <a href="https://www.thelocal.fr/20171201/how-frances-muslim-population-will-grow-in-the-future" target="_blank" rel="noopener">France</a>, some estimates hold that by 2050 nearly one fifth of their respective populations will be Muslim if record high immigration patterns persist. 
North America is also grappling with mass Muslim migration. According to a <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2011/01/27/the-future-of-the-global-muslim-population/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2011 study</a> by Pew Research:
<blockquote>The number of Muslims in Canada is expected to nearly triple in the next 20 years, from about 940,000 in 2010 to nearly 2.7 million in 2030. Muslims are expected to make up 6.6% of Canada’s total population in 2030, up from 2.8%.</blockquote>
When an Islamist migrant was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuL5pgW9f7g" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a> by a Rebel Media reporter if he would like to see Sharia law implemented in Canada, he replied:
<blockquote>At some point it will! You know because we are having families, we are making babies. You’re not. Your population is going down the slum, right? And by 2060 according to Pew Research institute, your research, by 2060, Muslims will be the biggest religious group.</blockquote>
<h3>Mass Funding</h3>
A key player in subverting their minds is funding. While some universities receive funding from the U.S. government, large dollar amounts are funneled in from foreign governments like Qatar, a major <a href="https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2023/12/19/10-things-to-know-about-hamas-and-qatar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">funder</a> of Hamas.
According to a 2022 study <a href="https://www.nas.org/reports/outsourced-to-qatar/full-report#_ftn1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> by the National Association of Scholars, from 2001-2022 Qatar donated $4.7 billion into universities across the United States. As a direct result of Qatar’s funding, according to <a href="https://www.thelawfareproject.org/campus-discrimination/2020/5/15/qatari-influencing-american-education-system" target="_blank" rel="noopener">research</a> from the Lawfare Project, students across America are “learning about the Middle East in a biased way that emphasizes only the positive aspects of Islam while omitting a balanced discussion of other religions or belief systems, most notably Judaism.”
Imam Hasan al-Banna, the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hassan-al-Banna" target="_blank" rel="noopener">founder</a> of the Muslim brotherhood, an influential Islamist organization from Egypt, once shared his commitment to the next generation, “The youth are our hope and the backbone of our movement; train them in the principles of Islam, and they will carry the banner of reform into the future.”
If universities remain under the influence of foreign entities like Qatar, the next generation of college educated Westerners will not only fail to stop the spread of radical Islamists, they will inadvertently support their efforts.
Whether it be through mass migration, funding, or ideological subversion, Islamism is a force the West cannot afford to ignore. World leaders would do well to follow the actions of the Trump administration who have been cracking down on the threat since day one. The West deserves to stay Western, and only through political action can current pushes for a global caliphate be subdued.
* * *
Jacob Falach is an associate producer at The Daily Wire. You can find him on Instagram at: @jacobfalach.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

TOPSHOT-US-ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-EDUCATION-PROTEST

Money And Migration: How Radical Islam Gained A Foothold On Western Campuses

Harvard

migration

Muslim Immigration

Opinion

Qatar

Radical Islam

Students

UCLA

Yale

An immigration judge ruled on Friday that Mahmoud Khalil – who was detained over his actions leading anti-Israel protests at Columbia University — can be deported, giving him until April 23 to appeal the decision.
Judge Jamee Comans <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/columbia-anti-israel-protester-mahmoud-khalil-can-deported-judge-rules" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gave the ruling</a> in a Louisiana court, declaring that the federal government had met the necessary burden of proof to justify removing Khalil from the country.
Judge Comans had requested such proof from the United States government by Wednesday as he was considering the case, and had received a letter from Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rubio wrote that Khalil had led &#8220;antisemitic protests and disruptive activities, which fosters a hostile environment for Jewish students in the United States.&#8221;
&#8220;Condoning antisemitic conduct and disruptive protests in the United States would severely undermine that significant foreign policy objective,&#8221; he added, citing the 1952 Immigration and Naturalization Act, which gives the U.S. Secretary of State authorization to deport anyone whose continued presence in the country &#8220;would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences.&#8221;
Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum gave the breaking news update during &#8220;The Story&#8221; on Friday afternoon, getting the live report from National Correspondent Brooke Taylor.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
BREAKING: A judge rules that the Trump administration can move forward with deportation efforts for Mahmoud Khalil. | <a href="https://twitter.com/Brooketaylortv?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@brooketaylortv</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/marthamaccallum?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@marthamaccallum</a> <a href="https://t.co/JmAGnd3RPu">pic.twitter.com/JmAGnd3RPu</a>
&mdash; Fox News (@FoxNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/FoxNews/status/1910787248255025369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;
Khalil spoke after the ruling, complaining that President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration had specifically sent him to another jurisdiction to ensure that the ruling would not be fair.
&#8220;I would like to quote what you said last time that there&#8217;s nothing that&#8217;s more important to this court than due process rights and fundamental fairness. Clearly, what we witnessed today, neither of these principles were present today or in this whole process,&#8221; he claimed.
&#8220;This is exactly why the Trump administration has sent me to this court, 1,000 miles away from my family. I just hope that the urgency that you deemed fit for me are afforded to the hundreds of others who have been here without hearing for months,&#8221; he added.

Pro-Palestinian rally in New York City

Judge Rules Columbia’s Pro-Hamas Agitator Mahmoud Khalil Can Be Deported

Courts

Now that President Donald Trump has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-pulls-stefanik-nomination-united-nations-ambassador" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pulled</a> her nomination to become U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) is back to putting higher-education institutions on notice over their responses to displays of anti-Semitism on campus. She even predicted that yet another university president will soon be forced to step aside.
During a Fox News interview on &#8220;Sunday Morning Futures,&#8221; host Maria Bartiromo asked Stefanik for a response to another Columbia University president <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/columbia-president-steps-down-amid-turmoil-with-trump-admin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resigning</a> and President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-vows-to-strip-federal-funding-from-colleges-that-allow-illegal-protests" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threatening</a> to stop federal funding for schools and universities &#8220;that allow illegal protests&#8221; on their campuses.
&#8220;We have seen six high-profile university presidents resign, two of which are from Columbia, because these university presidents have failed to show moral strong leadership, and President Trump, as he campaigned on, is holding them accountable,&#8221; Stefanik said.
&#8220;The decision to withhold federal funding from Columbia, that&#8217;s what the American people wanted,&#8221; she added. &#8220;That is what they voted for, because these universities have failed to make sure that they are following their own rules. They have failed to protect Jewish students, and we will continue to highlight and spotlight.&#8221;
During a 2023 hearing following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the presidents of prestigious universities <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-top-university-presidents-balk-when-asked-if-genocidal-chants-against-jews-violate-codes-of-conduct" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dodged</a> on Stefanik&#8217;s question of whether calling for the genocide of Jews on campuses violated their schools’ policies on bullying and harassment. Columbia University’s newest interim president, Claire Shipman, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/columbias-new-prez-doesnt-appear-to-be-much-better-than-the-last-one" target="_blank" rel="noopener">referred</a> to congressional hearings over antisemitism on college campuses as &#8220;Capitol Hill nonsense,&#8221; as shown in a House Committee on Education and the Workforce report.
&#8220;The fact that we&#8217;re on the third Columbia University president, and this one, let&#8217;s be honest, Maria, is not going to last as well,&#8221; Stefanik told Bartiromo. &#8220;It&#8217;s already come out that she has criticized and belittled the House investigation and the accountability measures and has failed to protect Jewish students. So again, this is strong leadership from President Trump.&#8221;
She added: &#8220;I&#8217;m going to continue to lead this effort in holding higher ed accountable, standing up to be good stewards of U.S. taxpayer dollars, and combating the rot and the scourge of antisemitism in higher ed.&#8221;
Pressed to respond to Shipman&#8217;s dismissal of the congressional hearings on anti-Semitism on college campuses, Stefanik went on to say, &#8220;It&#8217;s untenable for her to be in this position, and I think it is going to be a matter of weeks before she is forced to step down as well. They still don&#8217;t get it. The faculty doesn&#8217;t get it. These radical, far-left students don’t get it.&#8221;
Stefanik said Trump is &#8220;revoking the visas for the pro-Hamas, foreign agitators and anti-Semites on campus&#8221; and &#8220;withholding those federal dollars. These universities are not entitled to those federal dollars. They have to ensure that they are protecting Jewish students on campus. So again, we are just seeing a failure within higher education. The Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, has done a tremendous job forcing these universities to address this crisis on campus, and we&#8217;re going to continue to use our ability on Capitol Hill and our appropriations and our oversight of these higher ed dollars to hold them accountable.&#8221;
<iframe loading="lazy" title="ICYMI: Stefanik Joins Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures To Discuss Advancing President Trump’s Agenda" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ag1aZ0i9-Ew?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Rep. Elise Stefanik

‘Untenable’: Stefanik Predicts Downfall Of Another University President

College

Congress

Elise Stefanik

U.S. House of Representatives

Columbia University&#8217;s new interim president referred to Congressional hearings over antisemitism on college campuses as “Capitol Hill nonsense.”
Claire Shipman, a former CNN correspondent, co-chaired Columbia’s board of trustees before she stepped into the role of interim president on Friday. The previous interim president, Katrina Armstrong, stepped down amid a struggle with the Trump administration over the college’s handling of antisemitism on campus.
The new university head takes over as the school negotiates for $400 million in taxpayer funding rescinded by the Trump administration. While her effectiveness remains to be seen, Shipman appears to have been at odds with Republicans on Congressional hearings on antisemitism in December 2023.
On December 28, 2023, Shipman sent a message to then-university president Minouche Shafik calling the congressional hearings “Capitol Hill nonsense,” according to <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/03/29/us-news/columbias-new-prez-called-congressional-hearings-nonsense/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Post</a>. The hearings focused on pro-Palestinian and pro-Hamas protests and antisemitism that had broken out on college campuses after the October 7 terror attack on Israel. The presidents of Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, and MIT testified.
Shipman told Shafik that she believed Columbia would be spared from the scandal that erupted over the hearings and preceded the exit of both Harvard’s and Penn’s presidents. Shipman also encouraged Shafik to show leniency to student groups banned during the raucous protests, which included illegal actions such as vandalism and taking over campus buildings.
“I do think we should think about unsuspending the groups before semester starts to take the wind out of that,” Shipman said.
Shipman’s sentiments at the time were revealed in an October <a href="https://edworkforce.house.gov/uploadedfiles/10.30.24_committee_on_education_and_the_workforce_republican_staff_report_-_antisemitism_on_college_campuses_exposed.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Republican House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
The Trump administration has stripped Columbia University of hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funding over its policies and practices regarding antisemitism on campus. Under Armstrong, Columbia agreed to reform its policies, reportedly sparking blowback from faculty and staff that the university had conceded too much.
The university <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/columbia-president-steps-down-amid-turmoil-with-trump-admin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> Armstrong’s replacement last week.
“I assume this role with a clear understanding of the serious challenges before us and a steadfast commitment to act with urgency, integrity, and work with our faculty to advance our mission, implement needed reforms, protect our students, and uphold academic freedom and open inquiry,” Shipman said in a statement. “Columbia’s new permanent president, when that individual is selected, will conduct an appropriate review of the University’s leadership team and structure to ensure we are best positioned for the future.”

Claire Shipman

Columbia’s New Prez Doesn’t Appear To Be Much Better Than The Last One

Columbia University’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, has resigned as the university struggles under pressure from the Trump administration stripping its federal funding.
Armstrong is the second president to vacate the role at the university in seven months. Columbia has been rocked by backlash to its handling of pro-Palestinian and pro-Hamas protests that erupted on campus.
“Dr. Armstrong accepted the role of interim president at a time of great uncertainty for the University and worked tirelessly to promote the interests of our community,” said David Greenwald, chair of the board of trustees. “Katrina has always given her heart and soul to Columbia. We appreciate her service and look forward to her continued contributions to the University.”
Armstrong will return to lead the school’s Irving Medical Center, Columbia said in a <a href="https://communications.news.columbia.edu/news/shipman-named-acting-president" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. Claire Shipman, the co-chair of the board of trustees, will take over as the university’s interim president.
“I assume this role with a clear understanding of the serious challenges before us and a steadfast commitment to act with urgency, integrity, and work with our faculty to advance our mission, implement needed reforms, protect our students, and uphold academic freedom and open inquiry,” Shipman said. “Columbia’s new permanent president, when that individual is selected, will conduct an appropriate review of the University’s leadership team and structure to ensure we are best positioned for the future.”
The Trump administration has stripped $400 million in taxpayer funding from Columbia. The university had received more than $1 billion in federal funds annually before the Trump administration crackdown over its protest policies.
The university last week agreed to make significant changes to its protest policies and security practices. The school made the concessions without securing any pledge from the Trump administration to restore the hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds that have been cut off.
Armstrong has received blowback on campus from the agreement, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/columbia-university-interim-president-katrina-armstrong-is-stepping-down-7644f880?mod=hp_lead_pos5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wall Street Journal</a>. In the days ahead of her resignation announcement, she met with faculty and staff who thought the university had given up too much in the agreement.
The battle between the Trump administration and Columbia University has been over what the federal government has said is a double standard by the university to enable its pro-Palestinian students while allowing a hostile environment to threaten its Jewish students.
The Trump administration’s anti-Semitism taskforce said in a statement after Armstrong’s resignation: “The action taken by Columbia’s trustees today, especially in light of this week’s concerning revelation, is an important step toward advancing negotiations as set forth in the pre-conditional understanding reached last Friday between the University and the Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism,” according to WSJ.

Columbia President Steps Down Amid Turmoil With Trump Admin

Columbia University made <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/columbia-u-prez-gets-flak-from-faculty-for-not-fighting-harder-against-trump">headlines</a> for accepting the Trump administration’s <a href="https://president.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/content/03.21.2025%20Columbia%20-%20FINAL.pdf">demands</a>: in exchange for the restoration of over $400 million in federal funding — which the federal government revoked from Columbia due to its failure to address violent campus anti-Semitism, a violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 — the university will expel disruptive students, increase campus security, review its admissions policy, and place certain departments under academic receivership.
The mainstream is, unsurprisingly, aghast. “Columbia has capitulated to the bullies,” <a href="https://www.nyclu.org/press-release/columbia-university-gives-in-to-trump-admin-demands-eroding-academic-freedom-and-student-speech" target="_blank" rel="noopener">read</a> a statement from the ACLU of New York.
It’s an interesting choice of word, “bullies,” and, for Columbia, rather convenient. Based on <a href="https://freebeacon.com/campus/what-columbia-university-president-really-told-faculty-members/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">leaked internal conversations</a> from Columbia, administrators likely would prefer to seem as though they were rapidly bullied into submission by the big bad Republican President of the United States than be forced to admit the reality: that they had been bullied into submission by their own students and faculty over the course of a decade, and now finally have an opportunity to excise extremism from their ranks.
Indeed, the story of the past 15 years or so of American academic life is a story of profound cowardice: people who should have known better and who, in the case of tenured faculty, had the power to act per their conscience without risking their livelihoods, chose instead to give in to a small group of entitled campus radicals who made increasingly deranged demands — campus inquisitions for the accused, struggle sessions for dissidents, a near-total shutdown of academic freedom — while demonstrating poor behavior and poor scholarship that in a saner era would not only have gotten them expelled or fired, but publicly ridiculed.
Eventually, as the dust from the COVID era began to settle and the failures of liberal orthodoxy became apparent, it became more acceptable to discuss internal problems. By 2022, professors began to admit publicly that their students were <a href="https://www.chronicle.com/article/a-stunning-level-of-student-disconnection" target="_blank" rel="noopener">worse off</a> emotionally and academically after the pandemic, and that colleges had tossed out expectations for them, beginning in the <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/05/on-college-admissions-its-the-woke-fringe-vs-everyone-else/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admissions department</a>; that spring, MIT became the first elite university to <a href="https://news.mit.edu/2022/stuart-schmill-sat-act-requirement-0328" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bring</a> back its standardized testing requirement after relaxing it during the pandemic.
But the real watershed moment on American campuses was October 7, 2023, as college students across the country cheered for murderous Hamas terrorists. For the first time since the Obama administration, there was real internal debate within the liberal mainstream about what had happened to academia, not just with respect to Israel but with respect to the entire toxic sludge of ideology that long preceded the Hamas attack. In December of 2023, the Chronicle of Higher Education, perhaps the nation’s most prominent academic newspaper, <a href="https://www.chronicle.com/article/a-decade-of-ideological-transformation-comes-undone" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published</a> a story titled, “A Decade of Ideological Transformation Comes Undone.” Wrote Lee Gutkin, “College leaders have discovered, maybe too late, that the habit of validation has left them incapable of managing institutions in which real and deep disagreements exist.”
Gutkin was right: when Columbia and other universities were confronted in the spring of the 2023-24 academic year with protests far more objectionable than in the fall, administrators failed to act. At Columbia, things got so bad that even non-Jewish janitors are now filing a Title VI complaint, claiming they were <a href="https://www.thejc.com/news/world/columbia-university-janitors-claim-anti-israel-encampment-accused-them-of-being-jew-lovers-and-spray-painted-swastikas-around-campus-aegd9g7s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> “Jew lovers” by an antisemitic mob and forced to scrub swastikas and other antisemitic graffiti.
Columbia, specifically, did too little too late, disciplining only 40 of the hundreds of students involved and then <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/suspension-most-columbia-students-disciplined-over-gaza-protests-is-removed-2024-08-20/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">restoring</a> 38 of them to campus the following academic year. While the university’s schizophrenic actions led to allegations of unfair treatment by both sides, they mostly just showed spinelessness.
It appears now that administrators had been hoping for an out. <a href="https://president.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/content/03.21.2025%20Columbia%20-%20FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Columbia’s plan</a> goes far deeper than the Trump administration’s demands of cracking down on anti-Semitism and physical violence: the university is also committing to institutional neutrality, hiring more intellectually diverse faculty, creating spaces for open discourse, and reviewing its admissions practices.
These are not the actions of a university that is begrudgingly complying with a hostile government; they are the actions of administrators who have found an excellent excuse — money — to disregard the activists they were previously beholden to and recommit themselves to the teaching and research that they should have been focusing on all along. As the co-chair of Columbia’s anti-Semitism task force <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/21/nyregion/columbia-response-trump-demands.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The New York Times, “What’s fascinating to me is a lot of these are things we needed to get done and were getting done, but now we’ve gotten done more quickly.”
While there is not a single university that actively wants its federal funding revoked, the looming threat of losing federal funding — one that the Trump administration has now made clear it is willing to make good on — may be excuse enough for the saner voices in universities to attempt to deradicalize. Whatever university administrators may say publicly, they may very well silently be thanking the Trump administration.
* * *
Neeraja Deshpande is an education policy analyst at Independent Women’s Forum (iwf.org).
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Menu