Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Republican lawmakers were repeatedly and loudly heckled during a combative press conference at Columbia University on Wednesday as they gathered to condemn antisemitism and the pro-Palestine demonstrations taking place on campus.
Johnson — joined by GOP Reps. Virginia Foxx (N.C.), Mike Lawler (N.Y.), Anthony D’Esposito (N.Y.) and Nicole Malliotakis (N.Y.) — traveled to the Manhattan campus, where pro-Palestine protesters are refusing to leave their encampment until the school agrees to divest from Israel and companies associated with its war effort against Hamas.
The GOP lawmakers were met with shouts of “boo” right when they walked to the podium for their press conference and were frequently drowned out by protesters as they denounced the treatment of Jewish students on campus and addressed student demonstrators directly.
“The cherished traditions of this university are being overtaken right now by radical and extreme ideologies,” Johnson said. “They place a …