Republican strategist Scott Jennings confronted Harvard professor Jay Michaelson during a heated CNN exchange on Monday after Michaelson accused the GOP and the Trump administration of enabling white supremacy. The confrontation occurred amid discussions of antisemitism on U.S. college campuses, particularly elite institutions like Harvard.
Jennings defended the Trump administration’s efforts to link federal funding to measures combating antisemitism, noting its stand for Jewish students. Michaelson dismissed that claim, sarcastically referring to controversial figures like Nick Fuentes and accusations against Elon Musk—claims that were previously debunked by the Anti-Defamation League as misinterpretations.
The back-and-forth escalated when Jennings argued that the Trump administration was one of the few to take real action against antisemitism in higher education. Michaelson responded with a barrage of accusations, linking Trump’s orbit to extremist figures and invoking inflammatory terms such as “Sieg Heil salute” and “Alliance for Deutschland,” prompting Jennings to call the commentary “unhinged.”
The debate gained traction against the backdrop of recent pro-Hamas protests on college campuses following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre in Israel. Demonstrations have involved antisemitic rhetoric and aggressive behavior toward Jewish students. Jennings pointed to these incidents to underscore the need for federal pressure on institutions receiving public funds.
Michaelson’s criticism also targeted Harvard’s rejection of federal reform proposals intended to address antisemitic harassment. He questioned the legitimacy of the Trump administration’s stance, despite the administration’s record, including ICE’s deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Hamas protest leader at Columbia University.
Jennings concluded the exchange by highlighting that Ivanka Trump is a convert to Judaism, and her children are Jewish, pushing back strongly on the accusation that the Trump administration harbored white supremacist sympathies.
