Congressman Peter King (R-NY) said Wednesday that college students shaken by President-Elect Trump’s victory are “morons.” On a local Long Island radio program, the congressman mocked them for needing “crying sessions” and “comfort dogs.”
Since the election, tens of thousands of people have turned out in cities across America to protest against Trump. The protests began in some West Coast cities on election night, where the news came earlier in the night than it did on the East Coast. In some cities, the massive gatherings have continued daily since the election.
King told radio host Jay Oliver that these demonstrations are “really unfortunate.” King was a staunch supporter of Donald Trump as the Republican nominee, and spent the latter part of election night at Trump’s campaign headquarters in Manhattan.
“First of all, we do elections for a purpose. Nobody’s contesting the fact that Donald Trump won it honestly, so in that case he should be supported, it’s part of the way our system works.”
Then, he pivoted to attacking college students for supposed inaction.
“These college students. I find it incredible. I dunno what would happen if a real war ever came. You think back to the greatest generation. And now you have these people, they’re having crying sessions, giving them comfort dogs, they’re giving them group therapy, they’re giving them consolation, because they’re so upset that Hillary Clinton lost the election,” said King.
“C’mon, have some guts, have some nerve, get out there, we’re supposed to be a great country. Are these the morons we’re counting on to be leaders in the future?”
You can listen to King’s comments here, starting at 9:41:
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A few colleges have offered therapeutic support to students following the election, which propelled a man who has bragged about sexual assault, offended Gold Star families, and promised to deport millions of immigrants to the nation’s highest office.
And many young people have taken to the streets. While the protests across the country have a wide demographic spread, many have been driven by young people.
ThinkProgress reported from one such protest on Tuesday. Thousands of students in Washington, D.C. walked out of class and marched around the city for hours. Protesting in front of the Trump Tower hotel and the White House, they declared that young people would not stand for the president-elect’s racism, sexism, and bigotry.
One of the students told ThinkProgress that they were “trying to get [their] voices heard.”