Columbia University has agreed to pay $200 million to settle a lawsuit with President Donald Trump administration, which alleges that the New York City college failed to protect Jewish students during protests over Israel's ongoing offensive in Gaza.
In an official statement, Columbia University said, "While Columbia does not admit to wrongdoing with this resolution agreement, the institution's leaders have recognized, repeatedly, that Jewish students and faculty have experienced painful, unacceptable incidents, and that reform was and is needed."
Tim Miller, a Never Trump conservative and former GOP strategist, had a scathing response to the settlement during a Thursday afternoon, July 24 appearance on MSNBC — arguing that Columbia is only encouraging the Trump administration to bully universities. And he was highly critical of Education Secretary Linda McMahon, a former wrestling promoter.
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Miller told MSNBC host Chris Jansing, "This deal does not protect their academic independence ... We have the secretary of education, a former fake wrestling executive, talking about how the federal government is forcing viewpoint balance on Columbia. I mean, that's what the [Trump] administration is saying [about] a private university. It's totally insane. It's not conservatism in any meaningful way."
The former GOP strategist continued, "I just can't even imagine any of the Republicans I worked for talking about wanting the secretary of education to intervene in what the curriculum is at a university. It's crazy."
Referencing the Lynchburg, Virginia-based Liberty University — the evangelical college the late Moral Majority leader Jerry Falwell Sr. founded with associate Elmer L. Towns in 1971 — Miller told Jansing, "What if a Democrat was trying to tell Hillsdale or Liberty what their curriculum could be? There would be mass outrage. So, I don't like this move at all."
Miller added, "Maybe it's understandable because of the importance of the research [at Columbia], but looking at it just from a free-speech standpoint and a dealing-with-the-Trump-administration standpoint…. I think it sets a dangerous precedent for the three and one-half years we have ahead of us."
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