The talk shows this past Sunday was conspicuously absent of Congressional Republican leadership willing to talk about President Trump in the wake of last Tuesday’s heated exchange with journalists over his remarks on the violence in Charlottesville, Va.
Chuck Todd, the host of NBC's "Meet the Press," said."In fact, even the White House was unable, or perhaps unwilling, to provide a guest, right down to the White House press secretary."
ABC's Martha Raddatz said that the White House had declined to provide an official to appear on the “This Week” show. Instead, she said, the White House referred the show to Jerry Falwell Jr., the president of Liberty University and son of Liberty’s founder, the late Pastor Jerry Falwell, an ardent Trump ally outside the White House, according to The Hill.
From the Washington Post:
Since the early days of the 2016 presidential campaign, Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. has been a staunch supporter of Donald Trump. For some students and alumni of the evangelical Christian school in Lynchburg, Va., Liberty’s perceived alignment with the president has been a source of “shame and anger,” a group of graduates wrote last week.
Last week, many reached their breaking point. After Trump’s equivocation about neo-Nazi groups following the violence in Charlottesville, Falwell once again voiced his unwavering support for the president, tweeting that he was “so proud” of Trump for his “bold truthful” statement on the tragedy.
In response, Liberty University graduates are calling on fellow alumni to take a stand against by returning their diplomas. They are also writing letters to Falwell’s office and to the Board of Trustees, calling for his removal. More than 260 people have joined a Facebook group titled “Return your diploma to LU.”
By publicly “revoking all ties, all support present, and future,” the graduates hope to send a message to the school that “could jeopardize future enrollment, finances and funding,” according to the Facebook group. They are urging graduates to return their diplomas to Falwell’s office by Sept. 5.
In addition, several alumni have written a letter to university officials calling on Falwell to disavow Trump’s statements, NPR reported. In it, the graduates said Falwell’s characterization of Trump’s remarks were “incompatible with Liberty University’s stated values and incompatible with a Christian witness.”
By Samantha Schmidt and Amy B Wang
