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Comedian Michelle Wolf spoke at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday April 28, 2018.
(Photo: C-SPAN)
Comedian Michelle Wolf Delivers 'Scathing' Roast of Trump and His Cronies at Correspondents' Dinner
"She heaped irreverent contempt on D.C. power centers because that's what good comedians do," remarked Glenn Greenwald
Apr 29, 2018
At the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday night, comedian Michelle Wolf roasted President Donald Trump and members of his administration in what's been described as a "scathing" speech.
In a series of tweets, journalist Glenn Greenwald criticized the event but commended Wolf for her comedy routine, declaring that she "was hilarious & struck exactly the right tone from start to finish. She heaped irreverent contempt on D.C. power centers because that's what good comedians do (& they deserve it)."
Wolf cracked jokes about the president's lawyer paying off a porn star to keep quiet about an alleged affair ("It's 2018 and I am a woman, so you cannot shut me up--unless you have Michael Cohen wire me $130,000") and Trump's disputed financial troubles ("Trump is so broke...He looked for foreign oil in Don Jr.'s hair").
She said she wanted to address Democrats too, but "Democrats are harder to make fun of because you guys don't do anything."
Her routine also featured jabs at the corporate news media: "There's a ton of news right now; a lot is going on, and we have all these 24-hour news networks, and we could be covering everything. But, instead, we're covering like three topics. Every hour, it's Trump, Russia, Hillary and a panel of four people who remind you why you don't go home for Thanksgiving."
Watch Wolf's complete remarks:
Wolf's speech--particularly the portion targeting the women of the Trump administration--triggered a slew of sharp headlines on Sunday. In response, Greenwald challenged claims that the dinner should not include attacks of the D.C. elite, tweeting:
Journalists John Nichols and Paul Farhi noted the state of the news media in the Trump era, about which Wolf said: "You guys are obsessed with Trump. ...He's helped you sell your papers and your books and your TV. You helped create this monster and now you're profiting off of him."
\u201cAmerican journalism is in crisis, under attack and literally shutting down across the vast news deserts of a country where citizens are no longer getting coverage that is sufficient to sustain democracy. So DC journalists have rallied after the #WHCD to condemn... a comedian.\u201d— John Nichols (@John Nichols) 1525021847
\u201cI\u2019m afraid all the debate over whether Michelle Wolf was too mean to Sarah Sanders is going to overshadow this juicy bit of media criticism in her #whca monologue:\u201d— Paul Farhi (@Paul Farhi) 1524983753
Wolf also slammed Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, and White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders for being dishonest with the American public.
"Man, she has the perfect last name for what she does: Conway. It's like if my name was Michelle Jokes Frizzy Hair Small Tits," Wolf said, adding: "You guys gotta stop putting Kellyanne on your shows. All she does is lie."
Of Sanders, Wolf said:
And, of course, we have Sarah Huckabee Sanders. We're graced with Sarah's presence tonight. I have to say I'm a little star-struck. I love you as Aunt Lydia in "The Handmaid's Tale." Mike Pence, if you haven't seen it, you would love it.
Every time Sarah steps up to the podium, I get excited because I'm not really sure what we're going to get: you know, a press briefing, a bunch of lies or divided into softball teams. "It's shirts and skins, and this time, don't be such a little bitch, Jim Acosta."
I actually really like Sarah. I think she's very resourceful. Like, she burns facts, and then she uses the ash to create a perfect smoky eye. Like, maybe she's born with it; maybe it's lies. It's probably lies.
And I'm never really sure what to call Sarah Huckabee Sanders. You know, is it Sarah Sanders? Is Sarah Huckabee Sanders? Is it Cousin Huckabee? Is it Auntie Huckabee Sanders? Like, what's Uncle Tom but for white women who disappoint other white women? Oh, I know: Aunt Coulter.
While Wolf's comments that were perceived as attacks on the women's physical appearances garnered intense criticism, some were quick to come to her defense.
Jessica Valenti, who writes about women's rights, tweeted:
The New Yorker's television critic Emily Nussbaum broke down the remarks about Sanders in a series of tweets:
\u201c@asvokos That was PRAISE for her eyeshadow technique: she called it a "perfect smokey eye." The insult was saying that she was resourceful enough to burn facts, then use the ashes skillfully, as makeup\u2014the point was that she's a non-stop liar.\u201d— Emily Nussbaum (@Emily Nussbaum) 1525012042
\u201c@7373tinkerbell @asvokos No. Her job is *exactly* like Aunt Lydia: she is the frowning female enforcer for a fascist patriarchal society, punishing those who resist her lies. it has a tinge of the looks element, but that's not the point of the joke, at all\u2014it's aimed at her job.\u201d— Emily Nussbaum (@Emily Nussbaum) 1525012042
\u201c@TheWhackyPaki It was a literal imitation of how she acts\u2014she yells at people like a bossy disciplinary teacher. It has nothing to do with her looks. She DOES this, it's not a made-up thing. It's practically her brand.\u201d— Emily Nussbaum (@Emily Nussbaum) 1525012042
Wolf even took to Twitter on Sunday to confirm that her comments were about Sanders' "despicable behavior."
\u201cHey mags! All these jokes were about her despicable behavior. Sounds like you have some thoughts about her looks though? \ud83d\ude18 https://t.co/JRzzvhBuey\u201d— Michelle Wolf (@Michelle Wolf) 1524984704
\u201cWhy are you guys making this about Sarah\u2019s looks? I said she burns facts and uses the ash to create a *perfect* smoky eye. I complimented her eye makeup and her ingenuity of materials. https://t.co/slII9TYdYx\u201d— Michelle Wolf (@Michelle Wolf) 1525014852
The Washington Post published a full transcript of Wolf's speech.
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glenn greenwaldjohn nicholskellyanne conwaysarah huckabee sanderstrumpismdonald trumpmichelle wolfwhite house correspondents dinner
At the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday night, comedian Michelle Wolf roasted President Donald Trump and members of his administration in what's been described as a "scathing" speech.
In a series of tweets, journalist Glenn Greenwald criticized the event but commended Wolf for her comedy routine, declaring that she "was hilarious & struck exactly the right tone from start to finish. She heaped irreverent contempt on D.C. power centers because that's what good comedians do (& they deserve it)."
Wolf cracked jokes about the president's lawyer paying off a porn star to keep quiet about an alleged affair ("It's 2018 and I am a woman, so you cannot shut me up--unless you have Michael Cohen wire me $130,000") and Trump's disputed financial troubles ("Trump is so broke...He looked for foreign oil in Don Jr.'s hair").
She said she wanted to address Democrats too, but "Democrats are harder to make fun of because you guys don't do anything."
Her routine also featured jabs at the corporate news media: "There's a ton of news right now; a lot is going on, and we have all these 24-hour news networks, and we could be covering everything. But, instead, we're covering like three topics. Every hour, it's Trump, Russia, Hillary and a panel of four people who remind you why you don't go home for Thanksgiving."
Watch Wolf's complete remarks:
Wolf's speech--particularly the portion targeting the women of the Trump administration--triggered a slew of sharp headlines on Sunday. In response, Greenwald challenged claims that the dinner should not include attacks of the D.C. elite, tweeting:
Journalists John Nichols and Paul Farhi noted the state of the news media in the Trump era, about which Wolf said: "You guys are obsessed with Trump. ...He's helped you sell your papers and your books and your TV. You helped create this monster and now you're profiting off of him."
\u201cAmerican journalism is in crisis, under attack and literally shutting down across the vast news deserts of a country where citizens are no longer getting coverage that is sufficient to sustain democracy. So DC journalists have rallied after the #WHCD to condemn... a comedian.\u201d— John Nichols (@John Nichols) 1525021847
\u201cI\u2019m afraid all the debate over whether Michelle Wolf was too mean to Sarah Sanders is going to overshadow this juicy bit of media criticism in her #whca monologue:\u201d— Paul Farhi (@Paul Farhi) 1524983753
Wolf also slammed Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, and White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders for being dishonest with the American public.
"Man, she has the perfect last name for what she does: Conway. It's like if my name was Michelle Jokes Frizzy Hair Small Tits," Wolf said, adding: "You guys gotta stop putting Kellyanne on your shows. All she does is lie."
Of Sanders, Wolf said:
And, of course, we have Sarah Huckabee Sanders. We're graced with Sarah's presence tonight. I have to say I'm a little star-struck. I love you as Aunt Lydia in "The Handmaid's Tale." Mike Pence, if you haven't seen it, you would love it.
Every time Sarah steps up to the podium, I get excited because I'm not really sure what we're going to get: you know, a press briefing, a bunch of lies or divided into softball teams. "It's shirts and skins, and this time, don't be such a little bitch, Jim Acosta."
I actually really like Sarah. I think she's very resourceful. Like, she burns facts, and then she uses the ash to create a perfect smoky eye. Like, maybe she's born with it; maybe it's lies. It's probably lies.
And I'm never really sure what to call Sarah Huckabee Sanders. You know, is it Sarah Sanders? Is Sarah Huckabee Sanders? Is it Cousin Huckabee? Is it Auntie Huckabee Sanders? Like, what's Uncle Tom but for white women who disappoint other white women? Oh, I know: Aunt Coulter.
While Wolf's comments that were perceived as attacks on the women's physical appearances garnered intense criticism, some were quick to come to her defense.
Jessica Valenti, who writes about women's rights, tweeted:
The New Yorker's television critic Emily Nussbaum broke down the remarks about Sanders in a series of tweets:
\u201c@asvokos That was PRAISE for her eyeshadow technique: she called it a "perfect smokey eye." The insult was saying that she was resourceful enough to burn facts, then use the ashes skillfully, as makeup\u2014the point was that she's a non-stop liar.\u201d— Emily Nussbaum (@Emily Nussbaum) 1525012042
\u201c@7373tinkerbell @asvokos No. Her job is *exactly* like Aunt Lydia: she is the frowning female enforcer for a fascist patriarchal society, punishing those who resist her lies. it has a tinge of the looks element, but that's not the point of the joke, at all\u2014it's aimed at her job.\u201d— Emily Nussbaum (@Emily Nussbaum) 1525012042
\u201c@TheWhackyPaki It was a literal imitation of how she acts\u2014she yells at people like a bossy disciplinary teacher. It has nothing to do with her looks. She DOES this, it's not a made-up thing. It's practically her brand.\u201d— Emily Nussbaum (@Emily Nussbaum) 1525012042
Wolf even took to Twitter on Sunday to confirm that her comments were about Sanders' "despicable behavior."
\u201cHey mags! All these jokes were about her despicable behavior. Sounds like you have some thoughts about her looks though? \ud83d\ude18 https://t.co/JRzzvhBuey\u201d— Michelle Wolf (@Michelle Wolf) 1524984704
\u201cWhy are you guys making this about Sarah\u2019s looks? I said she burns facts and uses the ash to create a *perfect* smoky eye. I complimented her eye makeup and her ingenuity of materials. https://t.co/slII9TYdYx\u201d— Michelle Wolf (@Michelle Wolf) 1525014852
The Washington Post published a full transcript of Wolf's speech.
At the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday night, comedian Michelle Wolf roasted President Donald Trump and members of his administration in what's been described as a "scathing" speech.
In a series of tweets, journalist Glenn Greenwald criticized the event but commended Wolf for her comedy routine, declaring that she "was hilarious & struck exactly the right tone from start to finish. She heaped irreverent contempt on D.C. power centers because that's what good comedians do (& they deserve it)."
Wolf cracked jokes about the president's lawyer paying off a porn star to keep quiet about an alleged affair ("It's 2018 and I am a woman, so you cannot shut me up--unless you have Michael Cohen wire me $130,000") and Trump's disputed financial troubles ("Trump is so broke...He looked for foreign oil in Don Jr.'s hair").
She said she wanted to address Democrats too, but "Democrats are harder to make fun of because you guys don't do anything."
Her routine also featured jabs at the corporate news media: "There's a ton of news right now; a lot is going on, and we have all these 24-hour news networks, and we could be covering everything. But, instead, we're covering like three topics. Every hour, it's Trump, Russia, Hillary and a panel of four people who remind you why you don't go home for Thanksgiving."
Watch Wolf's complete remarks:
Wolf's speech--particularly the portion targeting the women of the Trump administration--triggered a slew of sharp headlines on Sunday. In response, Greenwald challenged claims that the dinner should not include attacks of the D.C. elite, tweeting:
Journalists John Nichols and Paul Farhi noted the state of the news media in the Trump era, about which Wolf said: "You guys are obsessed with Trump. ...He's helped you sell your papers and your books and your TV. You helped create this monster and now you're profiting off of him."
\u201cAmerican journalism is in crisis, under attack and literally shutting down across the vast news deserts of a country where citizens are no longer getting coverage that is sufficient to sustain democracy. So DC journalists have rallied after the #WHCD to condemn... a comedian.\u201d— John Nichols (@John Nichols) 1525021847
\u201cI\u2019m afraid all the debate over whether Michelle Wolf was too mean to Sarah Sanders is going to overshadow this juicy bit of media criticism in her #whca monologue:\u201d— Paul Farhi (@Paul Farhi) 1524983753
Wolf also slammed Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, and White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders for being dishonest with the American public.
"Man, she has the perfect last name for what she does: Conway. It's like if my name was Michelle Jokes Frizzy Hair Small Tits," Wolf said, adding: "You guys gotta stop putting Kellyanne on your shows. All she does is lie."
Of Sanders, Wolf said:
And, of course, we have Sarah Huckabee Sanders. We're graced with Sarah's presence tonight. I have to say I'm a little star-struck. I love you as Aunt Lydia in "The Handmaid's Tale." Mike Pence, if you haven't seen it, you would love it.
Every time Sarah steps up to the podium, I get excited because I'm not really sure what we're going to get: you know, a press briefing, a bunch of lies or divided into softball teams. "It's shirts and skins, and this time, don't be such a little bitch, Jim Acosta."
I actually really like Sarah. I think she's very resourceful. Like, she burns facts, and then she uses the ash to create a perfect smoky eye. Like, maybe she's born with it; maybe it's lies. It's probably lies.
And I'm never really sure what to call Sarah Huckabee Sanders. You know, is it Sarah Sanders? Is Sarah Huckabee Sanders? Is it Cousin Huckabee? Is it Auntie Huckabee Sanders? Like, what's Uncle Tom but for white women who disappoint other white women? Oh, I know: Aunt Coulter.
While Wolf's comments that were perceived as attacks on the women's physical appearances garnered intense criticism, some were quick to come to her defense.
Jessica Valenti, who writes about women's rights, tweeted:
The New Yorker's television critic Emily Nussbaum broke down the remarks about Sanders in a series of tweets:
\u201c@asvokos That was PRAISE for her eyeshadow technique: she called it a "perfect smokey eye." The insult was saying that she was resourceful enough to burn facts, then use the ashes skillfully, as makeup\u2014the point was that she's a non-stop liar.\u201d— Emily Nussbaum (@Emily Nussbaum) 1525012042
\u201c@7373tinkerbell @asvokos No. Her job is *exactly* like Aunt Lydia: she is the frowning female enforcer for a fascist patriarchal society, punishing those who resist her lies. it has a tinge of the looks element, but that's not the point of the joke, at all\u2014it's aimed at her job.\u201d— Emily Nussbaum (@Emily Nussbaum) 1525012042
\u201c@TheWhackyPaki It was a literal imitation of how she acts\u2014she yells at people like a bossy disciplinary teacher. It has nothing to do with her looks. She DOES this, it's not a made-up thing. It's practically her brand.\u201d— Emily Nussbaum (@Emily Nussbaum) 1525012042
Wolf even took to Twitter on Sunday to confirm that her comments were about Sanders' "despicable behavior."
\u201cHey mags! All these jokes were about her despicable behavior. Sounds like you have some thoughts about her looks though? \ud83d\ude18 https://t.co/JRzzvhBuey\u201d— Michelle Wolf (@Michelle Wolf) 1524984704
\u201cWhy are you guys making this about Sarah\u2019s looks? I said she burns facts and uses the ash to create a *perfect* smoky eye. I complimented her eye makeup and her ingenuity of materials. https://t.co/slII9TYdYx\u201d— Michelle Wolf (@Michelle Wolf) 1525014852
The Washington Post published a full transcript of Wolf's speech.
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LATEST NEWS
'Wrongheaded Cruelty': Observers Bash Rubio Decision to Revoke All Visas Held by South Sudanese
"South Sudan is about to blow up into potentially another country-wide civil war, putting civilians at risk. But yea let's force people to go back now," wrote one professor.
Apr 07, 2025
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday announced that the United States is revoking visas for all South Sudanese passport holders, "effective immediately"—sparking criticism from several observers, including those who pointed out that the country could soon tip into another civil war.
Rubio announced on X that the move, which includes restricting any "further issuance" of visas, comes in response to the South Sudanese government's failure to return "its repatriated citizens in a timely manner."
"This is wrongheaded cruelty," wrote Rebecca Hamilton, a professor at American University Washington College of Law and executive editor at the digital law and policy journal Just Security, on X on Saturday. "The vast majority of South Sudanese in this country (or, frankly inside South Sudan, right now) have no say in what their government does. They are here working, studying, building skills essential for their nascent country."
Mike Brand, an adjunct professor at the University of Connecticut and Georgetown University who focuses on human rights and atrocities prevention, wrote on Saturday: "South Sudan is about to blow up into potentially another country-wide civil war, putting civilians at risk. But yea let's force people to go back now."
South Sudan is the world's youngest country, having only declared independence from Sudan in 2011 following two lengthy civil wars.
The young nation was once again plunged into civil war in 2013 due to violence between warring factions backing President Salva Kiir and his deputy, Riek Machar. A peace deal was brokered in 2018, though the country has still not held a long-delayed presidential election and Kiir remains in power today, according to Time.
Fears of full-on civil war returned when, last month, Machar was arrested and his allies in government were also detained. Machar's opposition political party declared the country's peace deal effectively over, per Time.
Shortly after Rubio's announcement on Saturday, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau wrote on X that the government of South Sudan had refused to accept a South Sudanese national who was "certified by their own embassy in Washington" and then repatriated. "Our efforts to engage diplomatically with the South Sudanese government have been rebuffed," Landau wrote.
On Monday, the government of South Sudan released a statement saying that the deportee who was not permitted entry is a citizen of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, not South Sudan. The government also said it has maintained consistent communication and cooperation with the U.S. government regarding "immigration and deportation matters."
In the early 2000s, thousands of "lost boys" stemming from a civil war in Sudan that began in the 1980s and eventually led to South Sudan's independence were resettled in the United States.
John Skiles Skinner, a software engineer based in California, reacted to Rubio's announcement by writing on Bluesky: "I taught a U.S. citizenship class to South Sudanese refugees in Nebraska, 2006-2007. Fleeing civil war, they worked arduous jobs at a meat packing plant. Many had no literacy in any language. But they studied hard for a citizenship exam which many native-born Americans would not be able to pass."
In 2011, the Obama administration granted South Sudan nationals in the United States "temporary protected status" (TPS)—a designation that shields foreign-born people from deportation because they cannot return home safely due to war, natural disasters, or other "extraordinary" circumstances. The Biden administration extended it, but the designation is set to expire early next month.
As of September 2024, the U.S. provides TPS protections to 155 people from South Sudan.
In a Monday post for Just Security, Hamilton of American University and a co-author wrote that "while there has been no public determination by the secretary of homeland security regarding an extension of TPS for South Sudanese, Rubio's announcement presumably means [U.S. Department of Homeland Security] Secretary Kristi Noem is planning to terminate their TPS."
Observers online also highlighted that Duke University star basketball player Khaman Maluach, whose family left South Sudan for Uganda when he was a child, could be impacted by the State Department's ruling.
Trump Backs 'Blatantly Unconstitutional' Proposal to Send US Citizen Inmates to El Salvador Prisons
"You may not deport a U.S. citizen, period," said one legal expert.
Apr 07, 2025
With a deadline looming for the Trump administration to return a Maryland resident to the U.S. after expelling him along with hundreds of other people to an El Salvador detention center under a shadowy deal with the Central American country, U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday stunned observers by expressing a desire to send U.S. citizens into El Salvador's prison system.
In a press briefing aboard Air Force One Sunday evening, Trump was asked by a reporter about an offer made by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to accept prisoners sent by the U.S. from its federal prison population.
"I love that," Trump said. "If we could take some of our 20-time wise guys that push people into subways and hit people over the back of the head and purposely run people over in cars, if he would take them, I would be honored to give them."
"I don't know what the law says on that," he added. "I have suggested that, why should we stop at people who cross the border illegally?"
Podcaster and former Obama administration staffer Jon Favreau said Trump's remarks could be summed up as: "He wants to send American citizens to a foreign gulag."
Trump has invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which permits the U.S. government to detain and deport noncitizens during wartime, to expel 238 Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador, where they are being held in the country's Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). About two dozen people who were originally from El Salvador were also sent to the prison, including Kilmar Abrego Garcia—a Maryland man who had legal protected status, was not convicted of a crime, and had previously received a court order barring the U.S. from deporting him to his home country for fear of persecution and torture.
Trump said several times in his comments Sunday that he was unsure of the legality of sending U.S. federal prison inmates to a foreign prison system.
In February, after Bukele first offered to imprison U.S. citizens, Lee Gelernt of the ACLU told NPR that the idea was a "non-starter."
"You may not deport a U.S. citizen, period," Gelernt, deputy director of the group's Immigrants' Rights Project, told the outlet. "The courts have not allowed that, and they would not allow it... It would be blatantly unconstitutional to deport a U.S. citizen."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also touted Bukele's offer at the time, calling it "an extraordinary gesture never before extended by any country."
Trump's remarks on potentially expanding his deal with the Salvadoran president to include U.S. citizens followed U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis's order mandating the return of Abrego Garcia to the U.S. with a deadline of 11:59 pm Monday.
Xinis on Sunday rejected the administration's request to lift the order, saying Abrego Garcia's expulsion had been "wholly lawless" and that the "risk of harm shocks the conscience."
On Monday, the administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block Xinis' order, saying her demand that the White House adhere to the Constitution was "district-court diplomacy" and accusing the judge of trying to "seize control over foreign relations."
The administration has attacked the district court in Washington, D.C. in recent days over the order, with homeland security adviser Stephen Miller calling on Congress last week to "step up" and abolish the panel by refusing to fund it.
The White House has called Abrego Garcia's expulsion and imprisonment in El Salvador an "administrative error" and claimed the Maryland father is no longer under U.S. jurisdiction, so the administration cannot order him to be returned.
"We suggest the judge contact President Bukele because we are unaware of the judge having jurisdiction or authority over the country of El Salvador," said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt last week.
Washington Monthly contributor David Atkins said that under the same logic, "there is also nothing that prevents them from shipping American citizens to a gulag in El Salvador and saying, 'Nothing we can do.'"
Hope people understand the trajectory that we’re on: if the executive is arguing that it has no recourse once people here end up in a prison in El Salvador, then that’s the precedent for there being no recourse when this starts happening to United States citizens.
[image or embed]
— Alexander Ross (@alexander-ross.bsky.social) April 4, 2025 at 7:03 PM
As Trump expressed interest in expelling U.S. citizens to a foreign prison system, Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council pointed out that the details of the White House's deal with Bukele have not been publicly disclosed.
"We literally know nothing about it, other than we're paying them $6 million," said Reichlin-Melnick. "No law in the United States authorizes us to pay another country to imprison people. And yet! They're doing it."
Setareh Ghandehari, advocacy director for Detention Watch Network, told Newsweek Monday that the deal with Bukele is being used "as a tool of propaganda with the core objective to dehumanize and villainize people while carrying out their cruel mass detention and deportation agenda unchecked."
"Bottom line, Trump and Bukele's partnership deepens collaboration with authoritarian leaders," said Ghandehari, "further jeopardizing democratic values in the U.S. and around the world."
Mahmoud Khalil Rips Columbia University's Complicity in Trump Rampage
"The logic used by the federal government to target myself and my peers is a direct extension of Columbia's repression playbook concerning Palestine."
Apr 07, 2025
In an op-ed dictated to his attorney from a detention facility in Louisiana, Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil late last week condemned the Ivy League institution's complicity in the Trump administration's targeting of Palestinian rights advocates and campus dissent more broadly.
Khalil, who has said he is a political prisoner, argued in the Friday op-ed that Columbia "laid the groundwork for my abduction" last month by U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents. The Trump administration's detention of and effort to deport Khalil—who helped lead student protests against Israel's assault on Gaza—have sparked widespread alarm and backlash, much of it directed at Columbia.
"The logic used by the federal government to target myself and my peers is a direct extension of Columbia's repression playbook concerning Palestine," Khalil wrote, pointing to the recent arrests of other international students who have spoken out in support of Palestinian rights.
Writing in the university's daily student newspaper, Khalil noted that "Columbia has suppressed student dissent under the auspices of combating antisemitism," an approach also taken by the Trump administration, which said the arrest of Khalil was carried out in alignment with the president's "executive orders prohibiting antisemitism."
"This institution's singular concern has always been the vitality of its financial profile, not the safety of Jewish students. This is why Columbia was all too happy to embrace a superficial progressive agenda while still disregarding Palestine, and this is why it will soon turn on you, too," he warned. "If there was any illusion left, it shattered last week when the board of trustees executed a historic maneuver to seize direct control of the presidency. Cutting out their middleman, the board appointed fellow trustee Claire Shipman to a position reserved for academic leadership. Who can still pretend this is an educational institution and not the 'Vichy on the Hudson'?"
"Faced with a movement for divestment they couldn't crush, your trustees opted to set fire to the institution they're entrusted with," Khalil continued. "It is incumbent upon each of you to reclaim the university and join the student movement to carry forward the work of the past year."
Khalil and his legal team are currently fighting the Trump administration's effort to remove him from the country. Earlier this month, a second federal judge rejected the Trump administration's request to transfer Khalil's case to Louisiana, a demand that civil liberties advocates decried as a ploy to "manipulate federal court jurisdiction" in order to receive a favorable ruling.
Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union—which is representing Khalil—stressed in an NBC News op-ed last week that Khalil "has never been accused, charged, or convicted of any crime."
"The Trump administration is sending a message to everyone in America: If you dare to disagree with the president, you will be punished," Lieberman wrote, alluding to a fight over federal funding. "Columbia was just the first target. Harvard and Princeton are now in danger of similar treatment. This is a full-scale attack on the system of free inquiry, discussion, and debate that is at the core of higher education, which is so crucial to the strength of our democracy."
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