Research/Study Right-wing media are using pro-Palestinian protests to further their attacks on higher education and diversity Published
Right-wing media figures are using pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses to call for defunding education and diversity initiatives and deporting students studying here on visas, as well as to promote claims of “indoctrination” on college campuses. This is just the latest in right-wing media’s attempts to attack higher education.
Right-wing media call for defunding educational institutions and diversity initiatives on campus
Discussing universities in an interview with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), radio host Mark Levin said, “If we can’t take them back, shouldn’t we start defunding aspects of them?” Cruz agreed, saying, “Yes, yes — cut off the money.” [Westwood One, The Mark Levin Show , 11/7/23] Discussing pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses, Fox host Sean Duffy called to “take money away” from colleges because they are “little commie camps where we’re teaching young minds to be little communist activists across the country.” Duffy said that we should “rethink how we fund them and whether they have to be completely gutted and remade to make sure we educate instead of indoctrinate the young minds of America.” [Fox News, The Faulkner Focus , 12/15/23] Fox News contributor Steve Hilton called for shutting down universities and defunding colleges in response to the pro-Palestinian protests . Hilton argued, “We need to finally wake up and realize what we have allowed to happen under our noses as we have surrendered ideologically to the hard left for decades in our universities, and now we see the consequence with this absolutely obscene antisemitism and hate from campuses. So in the long term, we need to look at policies, for example, like defunding these places.” [Fox News, The Faulkner Focus , 11/3/23] Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo advocated for ending federal loans and grants to “elite colleges,” declaring, “We have to stop funding this kind of speech.” Arroyo complained that universities prioritize activists in their enrollment and claimed that pro-Palestinian sentiments are “programmed speech, invited speech … and now we see bubbling to the surface an antisemitism, an anti-Christianity, an anti-Americanism that’s hostile to the very nature of America.” [Fox News, The Faulkner Focus , 11/16/23] Fox & Friends guest Erielle Davidson claimed universities “are in the business of producing activists” and “we need to defund them.” Fox & Friends , 11/2/23] Fox News guest George P. Bush called for defunding diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in universities. Bush said DEI has “resulted in administrative lack of moral clarity,” adding that “it is time for the federal government to reexamine its role in creating a safe learning institute for our next generation of leaders.” [Fox News, Outnumbered , 11/8/23] Levin: “I’ve been talking about defunding, defunding these colleges and universities.” Levin also advocated for deporting people who work for the nonprofit Council on American-Islamic Relations “back to Gaza” and said the organization itself should be “eliminated.” [Westwood One, The Mark Levin Show , 10/31/23] Discussing universities in an interview with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), radio host Mark Levin said, “If we can’t take them back, shouldn’t we start defunding aspects of them?” Cruz agreed, saying, “Yes, yes — cut off the money.” [Westwood One, The Mark Levin Show , 11/7/23] Discussing pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses, Fox host Sean Duffy called to “take money away” from colleges because they are “little commie camps where we’re teaching young minds to be little communist activists across the country.” Duffy said that we should “rethink how we fund them and whether they have to be completely gutted and remade to make sure we educate instead of indoctrinate the young minds of America.” [Fox News, The Faulkner Focus , 12/15/23] Fox News contributor Steve Hilton called for shutting down universities and defunding colleges in response to the pro-Palestinian protests . Hilton argued, “We need to finally wake up and realize what we have allowed to happen under our noses as we have surrendered ideologically to the hard left for decades in our universities, and now we see the consequence with this absolutely obscene antisemitism and hate from campuses. So in the long term, we need to look at policies, for example, like defunding these places.” [Fox News, The Faulkner Focus , 11/3/23] Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo advocated for ending federal loans and grants to “elite colleges,” declaring, “We have to stop funding this kind of speech.” Arroyo complained that universities prioritize activists in their enrollment and claimed that pro-Palestinian sentiments are “programmed speech, invited speech … and now we see bubbling to the surface an antisemitism, an anti-Christianity, an anti-Americanism that’s hostile to the very nature of America.” [Fox News, The Faulkner Focus , 11/16/23] Fox & Friends guest Erielle Davidson claimed universities “are in the business of producing activists” and “we need to defund them.” Fox & Friends , 11/2/23] Fox News guest George P. Bush called for defunding diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in universities. Bush said DEI has “resulted in administrative lack of moral clarity,” adding that “it is time for the federal government to reexamine its role in creating a safe learning institute for our next generation of leaders.” [Fox News, Outnumbered , 11/8/23] Levin: “I’ve been talking about defunding, defunding these colleges and universities.” Levin also advocated for deporting people who work for the nonprofit Council on American-Islamic Relations “back to Gaza” and said the organization itself should be “eliminated.” [Westwood One, The Mark Levin Show , 10/31/23] Discussing universities in an interview with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), radio host Mark Levin said, “If we can’t take them back, shouldn’t we start defunding aspects of them?” Cruz agreed, saying, “Yes, yes — cut off the money.” [Westwood One, The Mark Levin Show , 11/7/23]
Right-wing media advocate for students on visas to be barred from U.S. universities
Fox News contributor Dagen McDowell threatened punishment against universities that refuse to deport pro-Palestinian students. McDowell said universities are knowingly admitting students “brimming with dreams of global intifada, or they have indoctrinated these students into this hate cult. It’s one or the other.” [Fox News, Outnumbered , 11/15/23] Right-wing radio host Charlie Kirk advocated for students on visas to be deported if they participate in pro-Palestinian protests. Kirk said, “If they’re here on a foreign student visa, they should be deported back to their home country.” [Turning Point USA live event, 11/10/23] Fox News contributor Newt Gingrich said the left wants to “drown America with foreigners” and that student protesters “should all be deported” if they are here on a visa. Gingrich said, “They have no right to be in America if they’re in favor of evil.” [Fox News, Hannity , 11/16/23] Gingrich advocated for being “much more aggressive in deporting” students who are pro-Palestinian. Gingrich also said, “We should be investigating our universities that have basically been hothouses for growing people who I think are crazy.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends , 12/4/23] Fox News contributor Dagen McDowell threatened punishment against universities that refuse to deport pro-Palestinian students. McDowell said universities are knowingly admitting students “brimming with dreams of global intifada, or they have indoctrinated these students into this hate cult. It’s one or the other.” [Fox News, Outnumbered , 11/15/23] Right-wing radio host Charlie Kirk advocated for students on visas to be deported if they participate in pro-Palestinian protests. Kirk said, “If they’re here on a foreign student visa, they should be deported back to their home country.” [Turning Point USA live event, 11/10/23] Fox News contributor Newt Gingrich said the left wants to “drown America with foreigners” and that student protesters “should all be deported” if they are here on a visa. Gingrich said, “They have no right to be in America if they’re in favor of evil.” [Fox News, Hannity , 11/16/23] Gingrich advocated for being “much more aggressive in deporting” students who are pro-Palestinian. Gingrich also said, “We should be investigating our universities that have basically been hothouses for growing people who I think are crazy.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends , 12/4/23] Fox News contributor Dagen McDowell threatened punishment against universities that refuse to deport pro-Palestinian students. McDowell said universities are knowingly admitting students “brimming with dreams of global intifada, or they have indoctrinated these students into this hate cult. It’s one or the other.” [Fox News, Outnumbered , 11/15/23]
Right-wing media claim universities are “indoctrinating” students in response to student-led ceasefire protests
Fox contributor Tammy Bruce blamed DEI and other left-wing “indoctrination” for “Jew hatred” on college campuses. Bruce claimed DEI is teaching “that other people, because of their race, or because of their religion, or even because of their politics are evil and are dangerous and need to be stopped.” [Fox News, The Faulkner Focus , 10/20/23] Fox contributor and former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer advocated for ending tenure, saying it leads to “indoctrination and identity politics” because faculty are too strong. Fleischer said, “The heart of it is the liberal academic faculty, this is where they are socialist, they are progressive, they are Marxist, and they cannot be fired, so they play politics … in the worst Marxist, antisemitic way imaginable, and that encourages the students.” [Fox News, Outnumbered , 11/17/23] Fox guest and attorney Brooke Goldstein attacked “DEI departments, critical race theory, [and] Middle Eastern studies departments” for “radicalization happening on American college campuses.” Goldstein claimed Qatar is funding these departments, “often unlawfully, with the sole purpose of radicalizing American youth, not just to be against Israel, but to be against America. To be against democracy and to be pro-terror.” [Fox News, The Story with Martha MacCallum , 11/14/23] Fox host Pete Hegseth said student protesters “were prepped for this moment” by universities teaching “the oppressor-oppressed continuum in their view of the Middle East in their anti-Western, anti-American, anti-Israel classrooms.” Hegseth said, “October 7, regardless of who perpetrated it, lit a match on a worldview that they already have and now they are willing to just embrace intifada, revolution, from the river to the sea.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends , 11/10/23] Fox contributor Tammy Bruce blamed DEI and other left-wing “indoctrination” for “Jew hatred” on college campuses. Bruce claimed DEI is teaching “that other people, because of their race, or because of their religion, or even because of their politics are evil and are dangerous and need to be stopped.” [Fox News, The Faulkner Focus , 10/20/23] Fox contributor and former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer advocated for ending tenure, saying it leads to “indoctrination and identity politics” because faculty are too strong. Fleischer said, “The heart of it is the liberal academic faculty, this is where they are socialist, they are progressive, they are Marxist, and they cannot be fired, so they play politics … in the worst Marxist, antisemitic way imaginable, and that encourages the students.” [Fox News, Outnumbered , 11/17/23] Fox guest and attorney Brooke Goldstein attacked “DEI departments, critical race theory, [and] Middle Eastern studies departments” for “radicalization happening on American college campuses.” Goldstein claimed Qatar is funding these departments, “often unlawfully, with the sole purpose of radicalizing American youth, not just to be against Israel, but to be against America. To be against democracy and to be pro-terror.” [Fox News, The Story with Martha MacCallum , 11/14/23] Fox host Pete Hegseth said student protesters “were prepped for this moment” by universities teaching “the oppressor-oppressed continuum in their view of the Middle East in their anti-Western, anti-American, anti-Israel classrooms.” Hegseth said, “October 7, regardless of who perpetrated it, lit a match on a worldview that they already have and now they are willing to just embrace intifada, revolution, from the river to the sea.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends , 11/10/23] Fox contributor Tammy Bruce blamed DEI and other left-wing “indoctrination” for “Jew hatred” on college campuses. Bruce claimed DEI is teaching “that other people, because of their race, or because of their religion, or even because of their politics are evil and are dangerous and need to be stopped.” [Fox News, The Faulkner Focus , 10/20/23]
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