MSNBC contributor and former congressman David Jolly likened Parkland survivor Kyle Kashuv to a school shooter on Tuesday because of his series of old controversial posts.
Kashuv made headlines Monday after sharing on Twitter that Harvard University rescinded his admission after racial comments he made as a teenager resurfaced. Critics have said this decision was motivated by political animus as Kashuv is a conservative who supports gun rights.
After MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle asked Jolly whether this move by Harvard could be interpreted as political, Jolly replied that he didn’t see it as such.
"Stephanie, I take a much harder line on this,” Jolly said. “I think this is the perfect story for our time, when within our culture, we have leaders who are giving greater permission to racist statements and to people with racist feelings, they are given greater equity. I think it is important for Harvard to say, not in our community. That is not a voice we are going to give equity in our diverse community."
Jolly likened Kashuv’s past comments to those made by a potential school shooter.
"My immediate reaction when I really dug into this, these are the social media postings we see of a shooter and we ask, ‘Where were the signs?' See something, say something," Jolly said. "We see a shooter, and then we go back and look at social media posts and this is exactly what we see. I understand the sensitivity of this man toward Parkland. I'm not a mental health professional to assess him on those grounds.”
When Ruhle asked if this was too big of a leap to make, Jolly firmly declared it was not.
"It is not. No. No, it is not Stephanie," Jolly responded. "If an incident were to occur—and I‘m not saying it will with this young man—but these are the exact posts we find of people, particularly those who advocate for stronger gun rights, who has been given an audience with the President of the United States in the Oval Office, by Nikki Haley as well, by Vice President Mike Pence, who was an invited guest to a rally to speak for Matt Gaetz and Ron DeSantis, who was a speaker at the NRA recently."
Jolly continued by saying that someone of Kashuv's background should be given “a closer look,” before granted access to a gun.
"The young man deserves redemption," Jolly said. "But he also deserves a closer look if someone with this profile should be able to purchase a firearm under the gun laws in the United States."
Jolly ended his rant by praising Harvard and its decision.
"I commend Harvard for making this decision. I think it was a clear-cut decision, on their part: no controversy at all," he said.
Kyle Kashuv is a Parkland shooting survivor known for his conservative views. When racial comments he made as a 16-year-old made headlines, Kashuv issued an apology via Twitter.
A quick note on callous comments I made a few years ago in high school that are circulating. pic.twitter.com/E6Ki6XIhtc
— Kyle Kashuv (@KyleKashuv) May 23, 2019
This, among other statements made by Kashuv to Harvard, were not enough to convince the Ivy League school to reverse their decision to rescind his admission.
Watch Jolly's Comments Here: