Sean Hannity Says ‘Former Friend’ Cornel West Played ‘Race Card’ to Defend Harvard’s Claudine Gay | Video

Fox News’ Sean Hannity hosted independent presidential candidate Cornel West on Friday as the pair discussed Dr. Claudine Gay, who recently resigned from her role as president of Harvard University. Hannity first introduced his guest as his “former friend — I don’t know if we’re friends anymore,” then accused West of inappropriately citing racism and said, “For you to go to the race card and say that Dr. Gay was pushed out because of racism, that’s not why she was pushed out.”

“You know the code of conduct as well as anybody at Harvard,” Hannity continued. “You almost got tenure at Harvard, you understand it well, and you know that if similar comments about the elimination or genocide of any, quote, ‘identity group,’ African Americans, people in the LGBTQ+ community, if any of these comments that were made against the Jewish people were made against other groups, you would not be saying that’s racism.”

“Why did you sink to this low and claim racism?” Hannity asked.

West was quick to reply. “I know Sister Gay and she doesn’t have an antisemitic bone in her body. She didn’t speak strong enough, I had a critique of that in the Boston Globe — it was a weak response at the congressional committee — but that does not mean she is antisemitic,” he explained. “It doesn’t mean she ought to resign.”

The public intellectual then insisted, “You know and I know there have been attempts to impose tremendous pressures on universities with big money donors dictating various conditions under which they will give, and there’s been attempts to reshape universities.

“Now, you and I know there’s orthodoxies in the universities, I’m against all orthodoxies, there’s no doubt about that, but the very notion that you think it was about plagiarism, that’s window dressing,” he added. “Laurence Tribe plagiarized from Peter J. Abrams much more than she did and he remained a prized professor at Harvard Law.”

In 2004, Tribe publicly apologized for plagiarizing passages of his 1985 book, “God Save This Honorable Court.” Even though he blatantly copied parts of Henry J. Abraham’s book “Justices and Presidents,” Tribe was roundly defended.

West continued, “There’s a whole host of folks who plagiarize and don’t get this kind of vicious treatment.” Gay has said that she’s received numerous death threats and been called the “N-word” numerous times since the allegations against her arose.

In a piece titled “What Just Happened at Harvard Is Bigger Than Me,” she wrote, “My character and intelligence have been impugned. My commitment to fighting antisemitism has been questioned. My inbox has been flooded with invective, including death threats. I’ve been called the N-word more times than I care to count.”

Hannity and West also debated the Israel-Hamas war. After Hannity insisted West “should be leading the charge” against those calling for the elimination of Israel, the academic replied, “I stand against any genocide, Brother. I stand against the genocide of your Irish brothers and sisters, I stand against the genocide of Black people, I stand against the genocide of Jews, but I also stand against the genocide of Palestinians, and it is no accident that some of the same people who were behind pushing her out, [Bill] Ackman himself, Summers himself, whole host of Blum and others who have been against affirmative action, they also won’t say a word about the genocide against Palestinians.”

On Saturday, West tweeted the video of his interview with Hannity. He also wrote, “I appreciate appearing on my Brother Hannity’s program. It is deeply troubling and shameful that too many people in the corporate media and the derelict #duopoly refuse to name what is right in front of the world to see.”

West continued, “Make no mistake, we are witnessing barbaric genocide and war crimes against the Palestinian people at the hands of the State of Israel who must be held accountable, and yes, Gaza is ABSOLUTELY occupied by Israel. We must continue bearing witness to the suffering in Gaza and never stop speaking about it until the genocide ceases and the occupation is ended once and for all.

“I look forward to seeing many of my precious siblings in D.C. next weekend to do just that and more,” he concluded.

Watch the interview with Cornel West in the video above.

The post Sean Hannity Says ‘Former Friend’ Cornel West Played ‘Race Card’ to Defend Harvard’s Claudine Gay | Video appeared first on TheWrap.