House Speaker Mike Johnson visited Columbia University Wednesday amid the now week-long protest, where he sharply criticized the college’s handling of the demonstrations.
“We have to bring order to these campuses,” Johnson told a gaggle of media as he spoke from the steps of the campus library.
Johnson joined with fellow Republican Congress members in attendance in calling for Columbia University Minouche Shafik to resign, charging that she has lost control of her students.
“We just can’t allow this kind of hatred and antisemitism to flourish on campuses, and it must be stopped in its tracks,” said Speaker Johnson. “Those who are perpetrating this violence should be arrested. I am here today joining my colleagues and calling on Shafik to resign if she cannot immediately bring order to the chaos.
The Louisiana lawmaker went further still, going as far as to say that Hamas itself is in support of the encampment, referencing a statement published on Telegram and X (formerly Twitter) by the terrorist group’s political bureau.
“Today, Hamas issued an endorsement statement of the protesters on this campus. They call them the future leaders of America. It is detestable,” Johnson charged.
And as sharp as Johnson’s condemnation was, supporters of the camp shot back even harder.
Students met Johnson with a chorus of boos, heckling the speaker by chanting, “We can’t hear you” and “Free Palestine.”
A member of the encampment, who identified himself as Ben told amNewYork Metro that he felt as though Johnson’ remarks were way off the mark, believing that the visit was more about lobbying for financial support than concerns for students.
“These are kids with tents on the grass. They have a community. There’s a very peaceful camaraderie here,” Ben said.
In a virtual press briefing, immediately following Johnson’s remarks Columbia University Vice President of Public Affairs Ben Chang, said that are looking to return order through “dialogue” and but are not ruling out calling upon the NYPD to make another sweep.
The Working Families Party also denounced Speaker Johnson’s visit, charging that he and other politicians were using the protest to foment further division and anger.
“Mike Johnson has promoted dangerous white nationalist ‘replacement’ theories, which were the motivation for deadly mass shootings at the Tops Market in Buffalo and the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh,” Ana María Archila, Co-Director of the New York Working Families Party said in a statement. “We should be doing everything we can to protect students and their First Amendment rights. But let’s be clear, Johnson and his GOP allies are deliberately raising the political temperature at the site of a peaceful demonstration, and in doing so making all students less safe.”
