Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Quentin Fulks, President Isaac Herzog, Mike Memoli, Peggy Noonan and Kimberly Atkins Stohr
Interview
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Great to be with you, Kristen.
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Well, first, Kristen, I wouldn't say it's a winning argument. In fact, in 2022, Democrats lost the House, and House Republicans ran on the issues that matter to the American people. We ran on securing the border. We ran on addressing the historic inflation, which the American people know is a result of Joe Biden's failed policies and the trillions of dollars of reckless spending.
And what Joe Biden didn't mention in his speech were any of the policies that have created a crisis across America. So, zero mention of the border, which is wide open and a top issue even in my home state, in New York. You have Democratic mayors who are speaking out about Joe Biden's border crisis. No mention of inflation, which continues to be a concern for voters across my district. And when it comes to threats to democracy, Joe Biden and Democrats are a threat to democracy. We see them attempting to remove President Trump from the ballot. We saw this in Colorado and Maine. That is the suppression of the American people and the American people's ability to cast their ballots this November. So, it's Democrats that are a threat to democracy.
It was long overdue. She should have resigned immediately following the hearing. And, of course, this follows the resignation of Liz Magill, the Penn president, who also answered, almost verbatim, the same way that the Harvard former president did, as well. And so did the MIT president, I might add. And I've called for all three of their resignations. It's not just me who called for the resignations. We passed a vote, bipartisan, who called for the resignation on the floor of Congress. But I want to take you a little bit into that hearing, Kristen.
That was the last question of the hearing, and I tried to structure the question in a way that was a moral question and not political. And it was a moral question. And I was expecting them to answer, "Yes." And I was astonished in real time that they said it depends on the context. You put up three of my constituents, a farmer, a manufacturer, and a suburban mom, they know how to answer the question correctly. It is – it was the most morally bankrupt testimony I've heard ever in Congress, and that's why it's the most viewed testimony ever.
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Well, I would respond that she failed to stand up for Jewish students on campus who have been facing antisemitic attacks, who have been facing physical assault. We've seen that footage. We've heard that directly from students on campus. We've also heard faculty concerns about her tenure, and her position, and her lack of academic integrity. But it really goes back to protecting Jewish students. And, frankly, when it comes to Harvard, the only time that Harvard has pled for academic freedom or freedom of speech was when it comes to the genocide of the Jewish people.
That is inherently unfit for a person to be president of a university. It is part of a broader issue at these schools, which is why our investigation is so important. We're going to look at DEI, which inherently has refused to bring up concerns from Jewish students of the rise of antisemitic attacks. We're going to look at foreign funding as well as taxpayer funding and the governance of these universities. You saw that these boards doubled down to support these university professors despite the morally bankrupt testimony.
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Well, yet again, we have the media, which is so biased, which is reiterating whatever the talking points the Biden campaign is giving.
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Let me be clear –
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– our border crisis – our border crisis is poisoning Americans through fentanyl. It is poisoning people, including in my district, who are dying from overdoses of fentanyl. And you know what? Because of Joe Biden's wide-open border, that executive actions he took on day one. So, yes, I stand by President Trump. And President Trump also has –
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Yes. He has the strongest record when it comes to supporting the Jewish people and supporting the state of Israel, whether you look at the historic Abraham Accords or whether you look at the ability for Jewish students to sue and stand up for equal treatment at schools under the Title VI executive order that President Trump put into place, not Joe Biden.
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These university presidents answered the question, "Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate your university's code of conduct?" They said it depends on the context. And even in the case of the Penn president, they said it would have to take a step towards conduct. Those – that testimony speaks for itself. It was morally bankrupt. It was viewed by over 1 billion people in less than a week. And when you are the president of these universities, you need to show moral leadership as well as academic leadership, and they have absolutely failed.
And what was interesting, Kristen, is they did not even realize in the moment, what you can't see in that hearing, in the video, is there were Jewish students from each of those schools. And, from our vantage point, where I was seated, they were physically shaken by those answers. So, they're unfit to be those presidents, and these schools need to do a lot of soul searching to make sure that they have morally fit leaders as university presidents, which is why our investigation is important.
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Absolutely. House Republicans stand strongly when it comes to condemning antisemitism. And let's be clear, Kristen. Over 100 Democrats in the House voted against condemning antisemitism, whereas it got universal support among House Republicans. When we put the resolution on the floor calling for the resignation, House Republicans voted in support of that, and so did a fair number of Democrats, but there were a number of Democrats who did not vote in support of it. The rise in antisemitism is an issue on the left. And you know who hasn't spoken out loudly and clearly calling for the resignation of those presidents, was Joe Biden.
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But Joe – but Joe Biden did not –
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It did not come from Joe Biden.
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I credit Doug Emhoff, the second gentleman –
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– for speaking out and the press secretary did. But the president of the United States did not.
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And he was a teacher at Penn, and he could have spoken out, and he should have spoken out.
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Well, let's take a step back, Kristen. It is Joe Biden who would rather shut down the government than secure the border. Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer in the Senate have failed to take up our Secure the Border Act, which we passed. It has strong policies returning to the very effective border security policies of President Trump, including construction of a border wall, ending catch and release, returning to Remain in Mexico. And the Senate negotiations are ongoing. We will see what they produce, but it needs to be real border security policies that we know work, which did under the Trump administration. Joe Biden has failed to take that up, and so has the Senate.
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We don't support shutting down the government, but we must secure the border –
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We must secure the border. That's where the American people are. We're losing our country in front of our very eyes. And, again, I take it to my home state of New York. Every state across the country is a border state. So, the person who's threatening a government shutdown is Joe Biden, who refuses to secure the border. And, again, you have Democrats like in New York City speaking out about this Biden border crisis.
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Well, I, of course, would be honored to serve in any capacity in a Trump administration. I'm proud to be the first member of Congress to endorse his reelection. I'm proud to be a strong supporter of President Trump, and he's going to win this November.
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I'm not going to get into the content of my conversation with President Trump. I talk to him frequently. We've been focused on winning. There's so much work to do as the House Republican Conference chair, as the reproductive for New York's 21st congressional district. And we need to make sure that President Trump is in the strongest position to win in the general election. That's what I've been focused on, and that's what I'm going to remain focused on –
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Well, I've said for a year now I'd be honored to serve in the next Trump administration. But I'm focused on doing my job right now, which is a really important role as the conference chair and as, most importantly, the representative for the people of New York 21.
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