Ben Ferguson: ‘Amazing’ that We’re Cheerleading for Harvard, Standing up to Trump But Not While Anti-Semitism Was Rampant

PHILLIP: “You just read Harvard acknowledged that in a very lengthy report that it created itself.”
JENNINGS: “But they would never have done it if it hadn‘t been for Trump. They would never admit it if it hadn‘t been for Trump.”
PHILLIP: “That‘s not true.”
QUINN: “That’s not true. Chronologically, that’s not true.”
PHILLIP: “Exactly. Chronologically, factually, that‘s not true. What you just read indicated that, yes, it is embarrassing to Harvard, but Harvard themselves acknowledged it, created an entire report to try to figure out what to do about it. And the question, again, for the Trump Administration is, are they really serious on the anti-Semitism piece? And if they were — “
Ferguson: “Yes, I can assure you.”
PHILLIP: “ — would they not be serious about wanting to fix the problem rather than get a dollar amount out of Harvard?”
Ferguson: “It‘s amazing to me that, like, we‘re cheerleading for Harvard standing up to the Trump Administration, but we‘re not saying that they should have done that to anti-Semitism when it was rampant on their campuses, to the point where Jewish students had to sue the university. So it’s like, ‘Let‘s just — we‘re going to stand up to Donald Trump, we‘re going to fight.’ By the way, I‘m going to make a prediction. Donald Trump is going to win this one. It‘s going to be a win for him. It will be appealed. He will win. But again, you go back to Harvard‘s sin. The sin was they created a university and an atmosphere where Jewish students did not feel safe, to the point where they had to sue. Now we have a judge saying that this is a place that was not safe for Jewish students. And people were like, ‘Well, at least Harvard’s standing up to Trump. That‘s insanity.”
QUINN: “No one is saying that anti-Semitism is okay, and Harvard itself — “
Ferguson: “But we‘re overlooking it because we‘re standing up to Trump.”
QUINN: “Absolutely not. Absolutely — the judge herself has said — “
Ferguson: “You said a second ago, ‘I‘m glad they‘re standing up to Trump.’”
QUINN: “I’m glad they are. And I‘m also glad — “
Ferguson: “I’m glad that Harvard has been reprimanded because it put kids’ lives at risk at Harvard just because they’re Jewish.”
QUINN: “I‘m also glad that there is a plan for — propagated by Harvard — “
Ferguson: “I don’t think you guys are talking about both. You’re talking about one — “
ABRAMS: “I just started — I just started — “
QUINN: “We’re in the middle of a segment. I was asked a question and I answered.”
PHILLIP: “Often at this table, a failure to hold multiple ideas at the same — in our minds at the same time is the reason that we end up in these back-and-forths. But it is possible to say Harvard was wrong and also, as the judge has said, you cannot try to rectify that by stomping on other rights.”