Ivanka Trump smiles in photos with university president in favor of arming college students

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner posed for a photo at the White House with Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr. and his wife, Becki Falwell. (Photo: Instagram/BeckiLu71)
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner posed for a photo at the White House with Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr. and his wife, Becki Falwell. (Photo: Instagram/BeckiLu71)

During a White House party to await the results of the midterm elections, Ivanka Trump spent time with Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr., an advocate for arming students with concealed weapons.

In the fifth photo in a gallery posted Wednesday by Falwell Jr.’s wife, Becki Falwell, the couple poses with Ivanka, who is wearing a black dress and red lipstick, and husband Jared Kushner. “An amazing night at the White House watch party!” wrote Falwell. “So grateful to be invited to witness history being made by President Trump with lower than usual turnover in the House and gains in the Senate! Always love being with these sweet friends!”

Falwell Jr., who presides over the Lynchburg, Va., Christian school that was once voted “Most Conservative College in America,” is an ally of President Trump. In October, when he was asked by the Guardian whether President Trump was a “good moral example,” he replied, “Absolutely. Ever since I’ve known him, he’s been a good, moral person, a strong leader, a tough leader — and that’s what this country needs.”

The university leader also aligns with Trump’s views on “concealed carry,” a practice that allows citizens to carry concealed guns in public. In 2015, reported CBS News, Trump released policy papers stating that concealed carry should be “a right, not a privilege.” And in February, the president tweeted that arming teachers to prevent mass shootings should be “up to states.”

According to NBC News, since 2011, Liberty University has supported “concealed carry,” allowing students and staff with gun permits to bring concealed weapons on campus, except in residence halls. However, after the 2015 San Bernardino shooting that killed 14 people, Falwell Jr. lifted that ban.

“If some of those people in that community center had what I have in my back pocket right now… Is it illegal to pull it out? I don’t know,” he told students, according to the Washington Post. “I’ve always thought that if more good people had concealed-carry permits, then we could end those Muslims before they walked in … and killed them.”

“I just wanted to take this opportunity to encourage all of you to get your permit,” he said. “We offer a free course. Let’s teach them a lesson if they ever show up here.” He told the Post that his “Muslim” remarks were limited to specific Islamic terrorists, not all Muslims.

In September, Falwell Jr. also encouraged students to travel to Washington, D.C., to support Judge Brett Kavanaugh during his testimony on sexual assault in response to accusations by Christine Blasey Ford. “I think the Republicans are going above and beyond, giving the accuser the right to be heard, maybe more than they should, but I think they should be commended for hearing her out, for taking her seriously and delaying the process so she can be heard,” he said, according to the Huffington Post.

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